Recently promoted:I wasn’t expecting this
If you are good at your job, chances are you’ve been promoted. Well done you.
The thing is in many vocations the higher you get up the corporate ladder, the less it becomes about the actual job itself; there’s a new set of skills you need.
For example, I remember years ago when I was promoted from Chief Press Officer to Head of Media, I was talking to my boss about some issues in the press office. She stopped me dead and looked me in the eye and said ‘Danny, you’re not press office anymore, you are Head of Media.’ She was right, and what she meant was, your job is not about managing the day-to-day press stuff, it's about leading, representing at the top table and managing heavyweight external stakeholders.
This can be a real shock to the system and can really test your confidence. Suddenly you’re regularly in front of the CEO, you have a department that you need to lead, engage and motivate with monthly presentation and you need to talk with authority to senior people from other companies or public bodies.
No one has taught you these skills so it's easy to feel out of your dept.
You go on the management training but that’s all about dealing with staff and company strategy. Nothing about gravitas or personal confidence and how to handle your new responsibilities.
What now? Here are three things you can do:
Remember you got the job for a reason – You either passed the recruitment process or were thought good enough for the promotion. Others have faith in your abilities and so should you
You don’t have to be perfect – if you’re not making mistakes, you ‘re probably not trying anything new. No one gets it right all the time. Relax and give yourself a break.
Understand why and change it: get a coach – everyone lacks confidence from time to time but there’s no need to let it hold you back. A coach can help you explore not just what’s going on for you right now but more importantly why. Once you understand why you can start to do something about it so you know how to handle this situation and any similar future situations.