Getting a promotion is exciting, but when you realise that you need to lead a team, it could put a tremendous amount of pressure on you. At first, people might not listen to you or respect you. You might have been their regular colleague before, and your transition to a leadership role might not be easy for them. Now that you have this position, you need to find a way to gain their trust and respect.
Prove what you are capable of
As soon as possible, you need to show to your team members that you have what it takes to be a leader. When you have a project to accomplish, you need to demonstrate to them that you can take on the responsibility and do a great job. Once you have proved your worth, you can expect them to respect you and follow your lead for upcoming projects.
Show how much you care
You can’t impose respect, but you can show you care about others. Once they feel like you are a considerate person with a heart, it will be easy for them to trust you. However, you need to be cautious and not go too easy on them, as they might abuse your kindness.
Find their strengths
You need to show to your team members that you know them. They will feel engaged and be more motivated to contribute to the success of the team if they see that you understand their strengths. They will also prove to you that it was not wrong for you to trust them to do a great job on a specific task.
Learn how to appreciate
You can’t expect people to respect you when you don’t show them that you appreciate them for their work. You need to thank every member of your team for their contributions no matter how small. When they see you as someone who has a heart instead of someone who keeps on making commands, it will be easy for them to trust you.
Give honest feedback
Some leaders are afraid to give input especially if they are still new to the position. They feel like they might lose the trust and respect of their members if they say something negative. You can’t think this way since these people need your honest feedback. When you can give constructive criticism, they will appreciate you as someone who knows the job. You will be unable to provide those comments if you are a mediocre leader. As long as you are careful about what you say and how you say the words, you can give feedback.
Give them autonomy
As a leader, it does not mean that you have to do everything, and all ideas must come from you. It is also crucial for you to trust your members to do a job even with limited input from you. For instance, if you ask your marketing team to come up with quality designs for roll up banners, you should expect them to do it well. You can give feedback once they finish the design.
It takes time to gain their trust, but you can do it if you are persistent enough.
