So, you’re preparing to start your new role within interim management? Or perhaps you have already begun on a temporary basis. Regardless of your position within a company, starting somewhere new is always quite daunting and establishing yourself amongst colleagues can be tricky. However, if you are in an interim management role, you will have to think about more than just making friends and settling in, as you will have to manage a team of employees.
Taking the right path to assert your authority when starting in a new management position can be conflicting. As you will want to make a good impression and be respected and listened to, it’s important that you apply excellent management skills.
In this article, we will discuss a few tips for asserting authority in an interim position.
Build Trust & Be Honest
Building trusting and honest relationships with your employees should be a priority. When in an interim management position, or any management position for that matter, your team should be able to look to you as an ally. Taking the time to get to know your team members and building this trust, will ultimately authority is the fastest way to become disliked and difficult to work for, meaning you could risk employees leaving or a decrease in work productivity.
Strong Communication Skills
As a manager being a strong communicator is a vital attribute to better manage your team and assert authority. As a manager, it’s your role to handle conflicting relationships within the team, delegate tasks, and keep everyone motivated alongside various other key tasks. All of this can be done a lot easier when you are a strong communicator – firm but fair. If your communication skills are strong you will be able to assert authority respectfully and in a way that will be absorbed effectively by your team.
Be Collaborative Rather Than Directive
Collaborative leadership has become excessively popular over the last several years as employees are demanding more say and input. As a manager trying to assert authority, we can see how this looks like it might not help you do this, however it does! Creating a workspace environment that gives your team a voice and allows them to be heard, will make it managing them a lot less hostile than if you were constantly directing. It all circles back to trust, and using elements of the role to create this with your team members will make asserting your authority where needed a lot easier.
To Conclude
Ultimately, the key to asserting authority as an interim manager is to; gain your employee’s respect through building trusting relationships, giving them a voice through strong communication skills and creating an inclusive environment. When stepping into your interim management role, consider the above tips and apply them to your management skills. We believe that people work better when they are working for someone they value, trust and respect and remember to avoid using your status as a form of dominance – it never ends well. earn respect which is what you will need to be able to successfully assert your authority. Asserting authority purely on the basis that you are of higher authority will lead to an unhappy team and workplace. Using your status within a company to assert
