Last Updated on August 18, 2023 by Dave Schoenbeck
So you’ve just been promoted. Congratulations! You now have the opportunity to become a better leader and positively affect change within the business. But getting a promotion doesn’t mean you can kick back and relax; there are a few career tips you should abide by to ensure success.
Here, I’ve collected some of the best career advice I’ve encountered throughout my decades of working in the leadership field. If you follow this career guidance, you can knock this promotion out of the park.
20 Career Tips for the Newly Promoted
- Be prepared to show the boss what you’re made of. They picked you to represent your team in your new position—you must demonstrate that you’re worthy. Showcase what makes you different from the rest.
- Don’t underestimate the importance of influencing and leading people. Be approachable, understated, humble, and willing to listen. Some of the best career advice on good leadership drives home this point.
- Learn time and self-management skills before you report to work. It’s up to you to develop your leadership skills on the job and in your spare time. Listen to podcasts and read books to glean career guidance outside of work.
- Regardless of your job, you must understand the operating statement, the balance sheet, and the cash-flow statement. Learning how the business works is critical to working well within it. Know where the money comes from and where it goes.
- Resist the urge to implement all your ideas at once. Employees can resist change under the best circumstances but haven’t learned to trust you, especially if you’re a new leader. So instead, sell them on your vision and work on implementing changes slowly over time.
- You will be paid to do the planning, organizing, staffing, directing, and controlling, but your leadership skills will determine how far you go. The truth is that anyone can be a manager, but not everyone can manage well. So one of the best pieces of career advice I can give is to work on becoming a good leader and manager.
- Take control and ownership of your training and development. You must be tenacious and aggressive. Nobody will care more than you do about your personal development. If you do this right, you can also pass on great resources to your team.
- Practice your communication skills. This is much more important than you realize. Treat others with respect and be mindful of your language so as not to cause confusion or project a sense of superiority. Never assume something doesn’t need to be said; it’s much better to spell everything out than to be vague with meanings or expectations.
- On that note, written, concise, and error-free emails and letters are critical. This is a fundamental point on which you will be judged, but it is also one of the easiest to improve. Be sure your team knows your communication style so they won’t be offended if your emails come off as terse. This is a bigger problem than you might realize.
- Successful communication is best done in person. So please don’t rely on emails, letters, memos, or texts regarding the critical stuff. Video conferences or in-person meetings are better than emails.
- Always write down good ideas and input. You won’t remember the good stuff without it; the activity helps you sort out your thoughts.
- Never take credit for the team’s successes—only the failures and the lessons. Give credit where credit is due, but know that ultimately you are responsible for your team’s success. If any individual fails, it is because you have forgotten them somehow. Work with every team member to be sure everyone has the resources they need to succeed.
- Avoid all office politics and anything that makes you look good at the expense of others. Understand the game, but don’t play it.
- Have an open-door policy. — Foster two-way solid communication with your team members. No one wants to tell the boss when they’ve made a mistake, but if your team is comfortable coming to you when something goes wrong, you can work together to fix it faster.
- Positive reinforcement is everything to an employee. If they only hear from you when they’ve messed up, they will feel like their work isn’t valued and will stop making an effort. So be sure to praise your team for their work—it makes the hard conversations much easier when you need to critique.
- Be willing to change companies. Don’t get locked into believing that one firm will nurture and do the best for you over a long period. Your career is a long path, and the days of staying at one company your entire life are long gone. If another company offers the experience and opportunities you want, don’t hesitate to go for it.
- Be extraordinarily passionate about your role or do something else. Nothing will burn you out quicker than showing up daily in a leadership role you couldn’t care less about. Sometimes this problem can be solved with a change in the job description, but sometimes it means leaving the company altogether. So do what it takes to get fired up about your work.
- While your career is still young, look into relocating to the biggest city you can stand. Be adventurous while you can. Pay your dues and earn your “chops” early.
- Be willing to relocate in the future. Those that do get bigger jobs and more enormous salaries. Some of the best career advice I can give you is to be open to any opportunity that comes your way.
- Encourage your team members to become good leaders. A team of leaders can change the company culture forever.
Getting a promotion is a huge accomplishment, but it’s no cause to slack off on your work ethic. Instead, please complete my contact form for a complimentary coaching session to discuss your management style and career guidance.
Coach Dave
Dave Schoenbeck is a professional business and executive coach who translates complex business methods, processes, and strategies into actionable plans to dramatically improve financial results. Read more about Dave here.
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