The first thirty days

The promotion that makes you manager of the team you were in is the hardest one there is, and the first month sets what follows.

Do not change anything in week one. The temptation is to demonstrate that you deserve the role by acting. Resist it. You do not yet know why things are as they are, and reversing an early change costs more credibility than making none.

Talk to everybody individually, properly. Thirty minutes each, with four questions: what are you working on, what is getting in your way, what would you change if you could, and what do you want from me. Then write down what you heard. This single exercise gives you more than three months of observation, and it tells the team you intend to listen.

Name the awkward thing. If you were their colleague last month, say so out loud. "This is strange for me too. Some things will change and I would rather say what than let you guess." Pretending nothing has changed does not work; everyone has already noticed.

Expect the friendship problem. You cannot be as close to your friends on the team as you were, and you cannot pretend otherwise. Being fair to everyone matters more than being liked by one, and the person who suffers most from perceived favouritism is usually the friend.

Find out what your own manager expects, explicitly. Many new managers spend six months guessing.

Fix one visible irritation quickly. Something small the team has complained about for a year. It buys you more goodwill than any statement of intent.