Last week, we started a series to support you and your team, with the challenges you may be facing, in the aftermath of a layoff. In that post, we talked about the importance of showing up and creating a culture where people feel supported.

Another challenge you may be facing in the midst of layoffs, is a promotion. This could leave you to asking, “I’m the new boss?”

Managing people who used to be your peers, can be difficult under the best of circumstances—add to that, the uncertainty of recent layoffs and you may feel unprepared to handle this new responsibility.

So today, we’re providing some suggestions for making the transition as successful as possible.

As you may know, we believe that leadership is a way of being in the world. We’ve seen that when people step into their leadership, they’re more successful, and their teams and companies thrive.

We define leadership like this,

Leadership is the willingness to influence your world
and the willingness to be influenced by your world,
regardless of role or title.

Engaging with people and getting to know what motivates them is a great first step in your leadership.

As you prepare for your conversations, remember to influence them and be influenced by them.

You can do this by asking some of these questions AND sharing similar insights about yourself.

  • What’s the best way to communicate with you when things are going well? How about when things aren’t going well?
  • How do you like to be recognized for your contributions and successes?
  • How do you like to receive feedback?
  • What motivates you in your work? Demotivates you?
  • What’s your vision for success?
  • What do you love most about your role or this company?
  • What’s something you would change if you could?
  • What do you need from me to be successful?
  • What do you need from the team to be successful?

We encourage you to read through the list of questions and see what might help you to create meaningful connections.

Showing up with a genuine interest in the people you’ll be working with, will let your team know that you’re invested in creating success together.

If you’d like support
leading after a layoff,
contact us today.