Three Ways to Accept a Promotion With Class

You positioned yourself well, you worked hard, you impressed your bosses — and now you have finally been told you are being promoted. As happy as you feel, don't let your promotion go to your head. Instead, take a minute to think about how to accept this promotion with graciousness and class. Consider these three ways to accept a promotion with grace.

The moments when you accept your promotion and make it public set the tone for your new job. Often accepting a promotion also means continuing to work with the same co-workers who were once your peers but are now answering to you. Some of those peers may have wanted that promotion themselves. Relationships with your former boss and others at his level also change when you accept a promotion. Handling your new promotion with grace and class helps you navigate the delicate relationship shifts that your new role brings.

Express Appreciation

There is no need to show excessive emotion when you accept a promotion. Instead, simply express your appreciation for the promotion and assure everyone involved in the hiring process that you intend to throw yourself into your new role and do a great job. Once you have expressed appreciation to all involved, step immediately into the future. Let the hiring process go and focus instead your plans for your new position.

Establish or Confirm Relationships With Your New Staff

Whenever a new manager is put into place, the employees working under her want some reassurance that their lives are changing for the better. Take time to meet with your new staff. If some of the people who are now working for you actually applied for your job, be gracious and classy. Don't rub it in their faces that you accepted the promotion they wanted. On the flip side, there is no need to be embarrassed or self-deprecating. Instead, express appreciation for their qualities and your own gratitude that you continue to work together. Spend some time with each of your staff as soon as possible to assess the strong points of the team you are about to lead.

Expand Your Network

One of the great benefits when you accept a promotion is the expansion of your own personal network. Step into your new role right away by following up with everyone you meet in your new position. Make the people who chose to promote you feel gratified when they see you taking advantage of your new position. In addition, find time to sit down with your new bosses and expand your knowledge of what they do in their jobs and their perspectives on where your company and your field is going.

The moment you accept a promotion may feel like the culmination of everything for which you have been working, and you may inwardly want to jump on a table and let out a yell of triumph. If you instead accept your promotion with graciousness toward your co-workers and a classy attitude toward your bosses, you get off to a good start in your new position.

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