Are you comfortable promoting team members to manage peers?

Our reader poll today asks: Are you comfortable promoting members of your team to manage former peers?

– Yes — I’m fine with making those kinds of moves: 71.66%
– Kind of — I know it can create awkward situations: 25.4%
– No — it creates challenging dynamics: 2.94%

Support their leap. Making the leap from peer to boss is one of the more challenging advancement moves people face in their career. The awkwardness of being your friends’ boss, challenges to legitimacy, and previously “confidential” perspectives now being known by the new boss will stretch the new leader’s capabilities. Your job as their boss is to help them objectively assess their team members and create a plan to lead them effectively. Be sure you invest the time to help your newly-promoted team member succeed.

Do you agree with these poll results? Let us know in the comments below!

– Mike Figliuolo at thoughtLEADERS, LLC

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These results were originally a SmartPulse poll in SmartBrief on Leadership which tracks feedback from more than 200,000 business leaders. Get smarter on leadership and sign up for the SmartBrief on Leadership e-newsletter.