How to Meet and Exceed Expectations After a Promotion

A promotion should never be a bad thing but sometimes the stress alone can get to you. You start worrying that the quality of your work won’t meet expectations, that you’re not able to live up to your new role, and that your company will start thinking they’ve made a mistake.

To an extent these anxieties are normal and you shouldn’t let them ruin your moment of success. All the same, the urge to make sure you’re not letting people down isn’t a bad thing. That’s why, in this blog, we’ll be going over several methods you can apply to ensure your quality of work not only meets but exceeds the expectations of your company.

Discovering Your New Role

No matter the job, your first few months will always be about learning the ins and outs, and becoming familiar with how things work. This is just as true for a promotion as it is for a new role entirely.

During those first months you’ll want to get familiar with your new position at the company, ask questions about the targets you’re expected to meet, and start setting yourself goals.

The further you climb in your career ladder, the less likely people are to question your decisions and, while this is mostly a good thing, it does mean that you’re now responsible for ensuring that you’re steering things in the right direction. This is why you should always be defining your own targets and pushing to meet them.

That said, don’t lose track of what’s practical. Yes, you now have more responsibilities but at the end of the day you can only do so much. That’s another reason to see those first few months as something of a personal probationary period. They’re a time to test the waters, to see what you can get done, and learn new ways of working with your team.

Keeping Up Communications

Of course, if you’re really struggling with what to do after a promotion, it never hurts to ask. Showing that you’re working hard to understand what’s now expected of you is, more often than not, a sign of diligence. It demonstrates that you care and that can only serve to reinforce the impression that you’re a good choice for authority.

Asking questions is, ultimately, a proactive step and it’s often a necessary one. Remember your bosses are probably tackling even more responsibilities than you, meaning they won’t always have time to think about what you do and don’t know. If you need information, you should probably speak to them directly.

And it’s not just about asking your superiors for information, either. When you’re the boss, people tend to assume you know everything, or that all the information is coming straight to you and that’s not always true. If you want to make sure you’re informed while also keeping the rest of your colleagues informed, push to maintain as much back and forth as you can.

Being A Better Boss

If you’re new to running a team or managing people, then it really helps to keep your role models in mind. Finding examples of people exceeding expectations at work gives you something to emulate, a goal to strive for.

Think of the best boss you’ve ever had. What was it that made them so great? Was it their personable nature? Their skills with organisation? Their ability to be both a team member and a team leader at the same time?

Whichever traits you found most admirable, try to emulate them yourself, working them into your leadership style.

With that being said, make sure to always pay attention to the needs of your team and if your style isn’t resonating, don’t be afraid to course correct.

If there’s one thing it’s really important to know about taking on a promotion, it’s that you don’t need to slip perfectly into your new role right away. It’s okay to take time to develop, to build that new leadership skill set, and to find methods you can use to get the most out of your colleagues.