星空传媒

Getting a promotion is supposed to be a cause for celebration. But if you find yourself the boss of people you used to work with, it can be tough knowing how to assert your new authority and you may be on the receiving end of resentment from former colleagues.

Most of the time there鈥檚 probably no reason to feel nervous. But Valerie Moodie, human resources adviser at Hyde Housing Association, says: 鈥淚f other people have been in the job for the same amount of time, there鈥檚 always going to be one or two who think they should have had the move themselves and they might be uncooperative.鈥�

It鈥檚 a good idea to assert yourself early on. Sue White, head of human resources at Community Housing Association, says: 鈥淵ou鈥檝e got to take control. If someone鈥檚 sulking, behave completely normally and they鈥檒l get over it.

鈥淧eople will deliberately test the boundaries and if you ignore it, you will start to look weak, so don鈥檛 be afraid to deal with issues.鈥� Often, the first indications of problems will be minor infractions such as timekeeping, she says 鈥� providing the perfect opportunity to demonstrate your authority. 鈥淯nlike more serious things like attitude problems, which are harder to pin down, you can sit the person down and say: 鈥楾his is when I expect you to be at your desk; I鈥檓 not going to stand for anything else.鈥欌��

Moodie agrees: 鈥淚n the end, they will comply because it鈥檚 just not worth the hassle. So persevere and be brave about asking someone to do something.鈥�

Don鈥檛 be shy about reminding people why you got the job in the first place. Helen Dighton, personnel manager at the Luminus Group, says: 鈥淓ven if you鈥檙e not confident, you鈥檝e got to give the impression you know what you鈥檙e doing.鈥� White recommends taking every opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge, because this will make people respect you. But don鈥檛 get carried away trying to impress your old colleagues.

You will have to accept that the way you act with your former colleagues will shift, says Dighton. 鈥淚t鈥檚 important to put some distance between you and the people you manage 鈥� which might mean people don鈥檛 like you very much, but that just goes with the territory.

鈥淚f you鈥檝e had a friendship before, to cut it off could be negative. If you鈥檙e used to, say, going to the pub with the team after work, you can still go, but perhaps not every time. And you should behave differently: stay sober, and don鈥檛 talk about anything confidential or other people in the team.鈥�

Beware of people abusing your former relationship as well. Dighton warns: 鈥淧eople will try to use the pub situation as a chance to raise issues or to find out things they shouldn鈥檛. If that happens, try saying: 鈥業 thought I came here to relax, not to get my ear bent about problems in the office.鈥欌��

But Moodie says that coming from the team is often a good thing: 鈥淢ost times, people were more than happy to assist me because I came from the ranks. They all know you and they鈥檙e generally quite glad that you鈥檝e got a higher position because they鈥檙e your friends. Basically, it鈥檚 all about how you treated them before you moved up.鈥�

So if you鈥檙e hoping for a promotion, now鈥檚 a good time to ask the person across the desk if they鈥檇 like a cup of tea...