Chris Myers, right, a supervisor with Elliott, Robinson & Co. LLP, speaks with staff accountant Benjamin Zachary. Myers says one of his biggest adjustments in his leadership position has been learning to delegate responsibility.
Up the Corporate Ladder
Kerri Fivecoat-Campbell
Posted online
Promotions to management roles are often a step toward professional fulfillment, but the transition isn’t always a smooth one.
“Anytime you go into management from some other position, you’re changing your entire set of duties,” said Glenn Pace, acting director of the Management Development Institute at Missouri State University. “These people typically haven’t had a job that has involved as much decision making or working with people.”
And when the promotion puts an employee in a supervisory position for people they worked with – or perhaps were friends with on a social level – the upward movement can be particularly challenging.
Dean White, a production supervisor at Springfield Remanufacturing Corp., has dealt with the challenges of climbing the career ladder firsthand, after getting his start at SRC as an 18-year-old high school graduate.
“I started as a parts cleaner, and at the time, just wanted a job,” said White, who was promoted to an operator who tested engines within four months.
Seven years later, White was promoted to quality auditor. His latest promotion came last year, when he was named a production supervisor, and he now manages 25 people in six departments.
“It was very difficult at first to get people to listen,” White said of leading his former peers on the shop floor.
He quickly learned that there were two types of employees: those who respected what he’d done as an employee prior to promotion, and those who didn’t like the fact that he was moving up in the company.
“I learned I had to gain respect before I could lead,” White said.
White credits mentors – other supervisors whose examples he followed – with helping guide his journey and pointing him to education and training that prepared him to lead.
He honed his people skills through courses at MSU’s MDI, which offers a supervisor series that teaches communication skills, team building and problem solving, and also addresses legal issues in human resources. Now, he’s beefing up his technical skills, working toward an associate degree in manufacturing technology at Ozarks Technical Community College.
White said he eventually gained respect from his team by leading the department to better results.
“When we implemented my ideas and they saw it made them look better, it went more smoothly,” he said. “You want to continue to be their friend, but you also have to realize we have a job to do.”
For Chris Myers, a supervisor with Elliott, Robinson & Co. LLP, one of the biggest adjustments has been learning to delegate responsibility.
“It’s easy to get into a routine of just doing it myself,” he said. “Time is of the essence, especially during tax season, and doing it myself rather than helping others do it is not the best thing for them or the firm.”
Myers, an MSU graduate, interned with the firm, left for a year to finish his master’s degree and returned as a full-time staff accountant in 2007. By 2009, he had moved into a senior accountant slot, and he was promoted Jan. 1 to supervisor. He said holding offices in student organizations and participation in Elliott, Robinson & Co.’s mentoring program helped prepare him for management.
He notes, however, that people have different ways of learning, so the key to leading others is to learn those unique learning styles and communicate effectively.
Bernie Dana, chairman of the business department at Evangel University, said learning various communication styles is a key skill new managers must acquire.
He pinpointed four distinct communication styles: dominance, which is more assertive; influential, which is more assertive and more expressive; supportive, which is less assertive and more expressive; and conscientious, which is less assertive and less expressive.
“A lot of conflict can come from different communications styles if people aren’t aware they exist,” Dana said.
Managers also need to be flexible in dealing with team members, Pace said.
“One management style won’t work for 10 different people,” he said. “Managers have to realize they might have to modify their management style for different personalities.”
Another reality leaders will likely have to face is conflict resolution.
“Managers tend to ignore conflict, and they just hope it goes away,” Dana said. “It’s important to have a clear methodology of working through it, either as a facilitator for other people or (between the manager) and another person.”
Dana noted that a promotion doesn’t necessarily mean that friendships at work must end – but they may change.
“Managers must be more cautious with some interactions,” he said, noting that one thing new leaders should not do is engage in negative conversations about the company or other managers.
“A manager should never respond to a request from a friend for insider information,” he added.
Pace said maintaining professionalism goes a long way in helping recently promoted managers make the jump to leadership.
“People can still be social, but sometimes it is not the best idea,” he said. “The key is making sure it doesn’t look like a manager is showing favoritism.”[[In-content Ad]]