Managing Former Peers? Have These 4 Conversations First (Ep 324)

<p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">Six months ago you sat next to these people. You complained about leadership together, covered for each other when something slipped, and knew exactly what got said in the hallway versus in the meeting. Now you run the team, and every one of those unspoken rules is up for renegotiation. </span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">Most new managers handle this by saying nothing and hoping the awkwardness fades. Ramona did exactly that after her promotion into leadership. Within two years, she had damaged some of those relationships and felt more stressed than she ever had as an individual contributor.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">In this episode, Ramona walks through the conversations she wishes she had opened with, and why the manager who tries to stay liked ends up losing both the relationship and the team.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">She covers:</span></p><ul><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">The two kinds of expectations that shape every working relationship, and why the unspoken ones do the damage</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">A four-box matrix of management approaches, including the trap that feels the safest and costs the most</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">The four things to renegotiate out loud with every former peer in your first two weeks</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">What to say to the person on your team who wanted your job</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Why the trust you built as a peer is already banked, and the one question your team still needs answered</span></li></ul><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">Whether you were just promoted over your peers, you can see that promotion coming, or you are two years in and still avoiding the elephant in the room, this episode gives you the words for the conversations you have been putting off.</span></p><p><br></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent;">Watch on YouTube: The Manager Track on YouTube: </span><a href="https://youtu.be/LYlESAru-U0" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://youtu.be/LYlESAru-U0</a></p><p><br></p><h2><span style="color: rgb(26, 138, 138); background-color: transparent;">— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE —</span></h2><p><br></p><ul><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">The Leadership Accelerator (12-week cohort program for new and early-stage managers): archova.org [verify link in show notes]</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">"The Confident &amp; Competent New Manager" by Ramona Shaw, including the explicit vs. implicit expectations framework and the productivity/rapport matrix: archova.org/books or Amazon</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Free masterclass for new managers: archova.org/masterclass</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Personnel psychology research on multiplex workplace relationships (friendship plus reporting line) and maintenance difficulty</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Fiske, Cuddy, and Glick research on warmth and competence in how we assess leaders</span></li></ul><p><br></p><h2><span style="color: rgb(26, 138, 138); background-color: transparent;">— LINKS —</span></h2><p><br></p><ul><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Schedule a Leadership Strategy Call with Ramona HERE (link: https://calendly.com/ramonashaw/leadership-strategy-session)</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Grab the free New Manager Toolkit mentioned in the episode: archova.org/freetoolkits</span></li><li><span style="background-color: transparent;">Learn how