A promotion can be exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. It can lead to a head swelling moment of ego or debilitating moments of anxiety from which there is no recovery. While the over-inflated ego can cause its own problems, performance issues due to angst are more detrimental to your performance.

Most companies build in a development/training period to be become acquainted with the new position responsibilities. While there is always the hope a newly promoted employee can hit the ground running, it is often impossible. So once the promotion occurs, it’s time to calm down and utilize the following techniques to make your transition as easy as possible.

Accept the change. As easy as this sounds, it is also the most difficult. If the promotion has made you a manager, your non-promoted peers are expected to accept the change in status quo. As strange as it may sound, you also need to accept the change.

What happened to the easy going camaraderie? You may not understand why your friends are not as open and friendly as they used to be. You need to accept attitudes will change. You need to get comfortable with this uncomfortable shift. Your success hinges on your being able to accept the fact you are now one of what you used to call management or “them”. Accept the environmental changes and move on.

Rejoice and acknowledge your accomplishments. Don’t be obnoxious, be humble and celebrate. Do not throw or expect a lavish congratulatory spread at work. Consider bringing in the cookies and punch yourself. Save the lavish celebration for outside the workplace. Do your best to show you are grateful for the promotion, but realize you may not have done it alone.

Spread the generosity. Thank your team mates for their hard work on the projects. Morale may be at an all time low from your project mates. Remember not to step on people as you work your way up the ladder. You will need their support in your new role.

Remember respect is earned. You may think adding a new title to your nameplate should automatically command respect, but it will not. Just like any other new employee, even more so, you will need to earn trust and respect.

So what is the bottom line? While the most important consideration in any promotion is performance, it would be negligent not to consider the other factors playing into your promotion. Feelings of envy, jealousy and resentment may rise up to heights you never imagined possible from your former colleagues. Dealing with these emotions is inevitable, but the key is to acknowledge them and move on. Earn respect by giving a solid and consistent performance in your newly promoted role. It will be difficult, but do the best you can.