#46 Handling Colleague Jealousy After Your Promotion – Turning Tension into Trust

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Getting promoted is a career milestone worth celebrating—but it can also create friction with colleagues who feel overlooked. In this episode of The Exceptional Leadership Podcast, we tackle the all-too-common challenge of navigating colleague jealousy after your promotion.

I share four practical strategies every leader should know:

•  Expect opposition and prepare mentally – Anchor yourself to your core leadership values and principles to stay grounded.
•  Let actions speak louder than words – Results change perceptions far more than talk ever will.
•  Address ongoing issues privately – If resentment lingers, have a professional one-on-one conversation to appeal for unity.
•  Know when to escalate – As a last resort, use the disciplinary process for truly disruptive behaviour, but avoid doing so too soon to prevent appearing insecure.

We also discuss the emotional toll this situation can take and the importance of having regular stress-relief practices in place to protect your wellbeing as a leader.

Whether you’ve just stepped into a new role or want to prepare for the future, this episode offers the mindset and tools to transform post-promotion tension into lasting trust and respect.

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Mathew Hamilton leads a high performing team of professionals and has worked across numerous industries in both the public and private sector.

He holds an MBA from the Australian Institute of Business.