When a New Job Leads to Resentment

Any time someone is promoted from within it may ruffle some feathers. You should be able to smooth them by keeping lines of communication open

by Liz Ryan

Dear Liz,

Dear Chester,

I encourage you to check in with your manager and your human resources department to learn about any available management training courses the company offers or that you could take elsewhere. And yes, it's reasonable to expect the company to pay for these.

A very common reaction to disruptive change is to signal one's displeasure or anxiety in nonverbal ways. That may be part of what is happening in your department—people may be subtly (or not so subtly) letting you know they're not crazy about 'George's' retirement in November, and taking out their unhappiness on you. It's understandable that a big change like that would rattle them, but you shouldn't be the designated pincushion. I would keep in mind a few things:

If people don't talk about their unease or their resentment, don't dignify it with your own questions or soothing comments. Stay pleasant and be open to input, but don't feel you have to console people or interpret and react to their sidelong glances, long sighs, and other signals. For instance, I'd frequently ask your colleagues for their ideas and their reactions to department activities and decisions in your one-on-one conversations. If people do talk about the transition issues they're facing, try to be all ears. Acknowledge what they say and thank them for sharing their concerns the right way—by talking with you about them.

Take every opportunity you can find to ask people face to face, "How are you doing? What can I help you with?" A very common new-manager pitfall is to focus on assigning work and checking on the progress of projects. That is important stuff, but don't forget a manager is a coach, too. Ask people whenever you can, "What do you need from me?"

The resentment will pass, and if it doesn't pass quickly—and lingering resentment shows up in the form of late assignments, poor customer service, absenteeism, or other visible performance problems—deal with those as discrete issues on a case by case basis. If you take the high road, lead by example, and make sure your employees know your door is open, I'd predict the initial quakes and tremors will be behind you by Mother's Day—if not a lot sooner.

Cheers,

Liz

Liz Ryan writes her "Career Insight" column and answers readers' questions every week at businessweek.com/managing. She is an expert on the new-millennium workplace and a former Fortune 500 HR executive.