This could be the year you get promoted to a team lead or manager position which is very exciting,  but it can be challenging and awkward if your new team is made up of your former peers. When you’re promoted over people who have always been friends (or rivals), the power relationship is inevitably altered. Here are a few tips on how to manage that transition and achieve greater outcomes for you and your team:

• One to One meetings: Meet with each team member on a one-on-one basis. Individual meetings let you personalise your message and be more candid than a group setting allows. Talk to each person about what they do and how you can help them.
• Hold a team meeting. Using some ideas from the one-on-ones, discuss the purpose of the team, what should change, and what should stay the same. Explain how you like to operate and how you want your team to work together.
• Deal swiftly with challenges to your authority. If someone resists your leadership or goes behind your back, approach the issue promptly and communicate your dissatisfaction with their actions, provide them with an opportunity to express what is causing them the dissatisfaction with you and agree ways to address this. Remember your leadership position and show authority in a constructive and meaningful way.