The market has changed, and you may be asked to take on a new role. In response to a volatile stock market and slowing economy, organizations are changing strategy – this means rethinking what initiatives take priority, how budgets are spent and how staff is deployed. For you, this could mean that a project that was once a big focus is now relegated to the background. Or you might be serving a client base that has diminished.
To protect your own job security and continue to thrive in your career, you want to be indispensable to your company (use this checklist to gauge how valuable you are to your company as it stands now). Be flexible and open to the challenge. Here are six strategies for how to cope when you are asked to take on a new role:
1 - Stay positive
Your manager is probably already hearing a lot of negative chatter. They are getting pressure from senior leadership about cost-cutting, tight deadlines and other problems. Stay positive, and be a beacon of light for your manager, your colleagues and your team.
As the anxiety increases around you, keep a cool head, and reassure others with a template confidence-booster, such as “I’m sure we can come up with a solution to this.” Notice that you are not volunteering to come up with the answer all by yourself or to do all the work. You are inviting people to come together and to focus on a solution, not the problem. In so doing, you rise to the occasion and encourage others to do the same.
2 - Confirm the new priorities – and what to drop
When your manager comes to you with your new role, confirm specifically what you need to deliver and when. Let’s say that you are in finance and heads-down working on the April tax filings (which are now pushed to July). Your manager now asks you to oversee the applications for new monies your company may get from the recently signed trillion stimulus plan. Make sure you understand exactly what this means: What specific stimulus requests are you work on? Who else is working on this project? What is the deadline?
Ask specifically what can be postponed or delegated so you can take this on. Confirm that your manager is okay with you dropping the tax filings (or other task) for now. Whenever your role changes, your tasks, deliverables and timelines also change. Don’t assume. Confirm everything, including what to prioritize and what to drop.
3 - Confirm how you will communicate
Even if you have worked with your manager for years already, any time there is a change, your communication may also change. Even if have a check-in system already set up, your new role may not fit within the previous system. With any new role, you should check in more frequently so you can identify problems and course-correct earlier. New anything (new role, new client, new project) typically brings more questions.
Let your manager know that you may need to reach out to them more frequently, especially in the beginning. Ask them outright how you can get ahold of them, how they would prefer to meet (e.g., email, phone, text, video) and what updates they would like for your new responsibilities. Your manager will appreciate how proactive you are since they likely have a new role and are overwhelmed themselves. Your manager also may have little or no experience managing remotely and will appreciate your foresight in confirming how you can best work together.
4 - Ask for help
As you start your new role and uncover additional questions and difficulties, keep your manager apprised of where you need help. You may not have realized that the new role requires a database system you don’t already know – maybe there’s an in-house tutorial or company L&D group that can easily help you, but you have to ask. Or a report takes longer to run than you estimated – maybe your manager actually could get by with less information but they need to realize that the original request is impractical.
You can maintain a positive, can-do spirit and still ask for help. Itemize exactly where you are struggling, think about possible solutions for each and then bring all of this information to your manager so you can work it out together. You may need:
- Training on systems or skills;
- People — either resources dedicated to your new projects or introductions to contacts around the organization who influence getting your work done;
- Information – background info on the projects or best practices from others doing a similar job.
5 - Create an inspiring vision
If you preferred your previous role or if you are overwhelmed by this new role, re-frame your situation in a way that it inspires you and creates positive momentum. You can think of this role as a challenge, a chance to do something different or a learning opportunity. You can also look at your role as part of a larger mission to keep your organization, industry and economy going. Finally, you can feel flattered that your manager asked you to step up – clearly they thought you could handle it.
Remember that others around you might also need some inspiration – including your manager. Thank your manager for the opportunity. Thank your colleagues as you figure out this new world of work together. Thank your team for staying flexible. Say kind words to yourself as well!
6 - Set small goals
Set small goals at first so you aren’t overwhelmed by your new role, you can notch some encouraging wins and you can identify problems early. For example, if you’re the finance person working on the stimulus paperwork, a small goal would be to simply list all the information you need – e.g., download the application forms, list the supporting documents you need to supply, list the people you need to get data from. Another small goal would be to create the project timeline and input key deadlines into your calendar. Another small goal could be to find three other people in your network who may be working on a similar project or who have filled out government applications before so you have a sounding board for advice and ideas.
Whenever you start a new role, you will be inefficient at it. Things will take longer because you don’t yet know the best way to do things or the specific people who might be a shortcut to the information you need. You might be using skills that are new or have not been used recently. By breaking down your new role into bitesize tasks, it becomes accessible – less likely to overwhelm you mentally and physically.
Your role has already changed even if not officially
In response to the pandemic, more people are working from home – this means, you need to set up a whole new work space where you live (and possibly two work spaces for the dual-career couple). Interacting remotely with your manager, your colleagues and your team requires you to be more proactive, since you won’t be able to catch someone in the hall or just walk over to someone’s desk. Even if your role isn’t new, the way you are working is probably new in many aspects. Therefore, if you are asked to make additional changes, recognize that you already have shown the ability to pivot quickly and you can most certainly do it again!