Quit. Just kidding. After an acquisition, my manager quit. She was replaced by a man who was a colleague and had directly reported to her, like me. He was kind or self-aware enough to ask me if I would be OK working for him. I said “yes,” but there was no better alternative. Had I said “no,” that would have only left me in an awkward spot with my new manager. A “no” would not have changed the higher-level decision to make him my manager. “Yes” was the only choice.
However, what was behind the “yes” was uncertainty. Uncertainty of would I like working for this guy as much as I enjoyed working with him. Uncertainty of change. Uncertainty of a future under the leadership of a colleague rather than the woman I chose to work for.
Fortunately, I now have four years of history working for my colleague. Even though saying “yes” was the only choice, it was the right choice. He had also chosen to work for the same company and woman before me; we were in the trenches as colleagues before the change. If I had said “no” or had been bitter or difficult, I would have missed out on the battle scars we have continued to earn together.
Change in reporting relationships can be challenging. An open, positive, enthusiastic mindset helped me to continue doing my best in an unplanned situation.
If faced with a similar situation, don’t quit. Say “yes,” try it out, and you can always change your mind later. Do not be too quick to anticipate what work life may be like with the new boss, and keep in mind that hopefully, at the core, the reasons that brought you to work at the company or in a specific division/function or on a particular project hold and the relationship that you built as colleagues can be foundational to your new, a bit more hierarchical, relationship.
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