How do we know if we’re promoting the right people? Have the individuals checked a box in tenure? Have they completed certain tasks that tell you they’re now ready to step into a new role? Or are you basing a leadership promotion on immediate need and personnel availability?

Promotion as a Path Forward

Too often, people are promoted for the wrong reasons. Often individuals who are candidates for promotion are high performers, which typically serves as evidence to a manager that someone may be ready for the next level. However, not every individual – particularly those who are subject matter experts in technical or highly skilled fields – are interested in management, nor have they been appropriately trained for a leadership position. In scenarios like this, where a high performer wants to work up, but the only path forward includes people management, the result is typically problematic.

The reality is that now an organization has lost a top performer and moved them into a role where they are struggling.

The Outcome

We’ve seen it happen too many times. What inevitably happens is one, or a combination, of four outcomes. Ill-prepared leaders and poorly promoted individuals are detrimental to an entire organization and have the ability to cause ripples throughout teams, for years if not handled with care. 

Individual Performance Struggles

If you promote the wrong person, the new manager may hate their role. They aren’t prepared for what it means to be a leader and their work suffers. They struggle mentally and emotionally, often fueling imposter syndrome. Those not equipped to quickly adapt to the tasks of the new role, will likely leave or perhaps even get fired because they couldn’t meet expectations.

Team Struggles

If you promote the wrong person, and they haven’t been prepared for leadership, a team will feel the ripple effect. Subordinates may feel frustrated that someone not qualified for the role was chosen to direct their work. Possible outcomes include back-channeling, lower team morale, and ultimately team members leaving an organization entirely. It’s often said that individuals don’t quit companies, they quit leaders. 

Team Performance

If you promote the wrong person, based on their performance in a different role, the decision could also impact overall team productivity. Transitioning a high performer from a working team into a leadership role impacts work and product deliverability. If not accounted for in team dynamics and remedied through a new hire, performance could remain low for an extended period of time and could impact overall morale and stress levels. 

Circular Effects

If you promote the wrong person, a team and organization can enter a vicious cycle. Once it becomes clear that performance is suffering, a new manager may be asked to take on additional responsibilities from their prior role, which makes them even worse at managing staff and serving as a leader. And next thing you know, the manager hates their role. You see where this is going…

Executive Coaching

While it can be an easy solution to tap a passionate worker into a leadership role, it’s important to consider if they’re actually right for the job. Do they have interest in leadership? Have they had any managerial training? 

Working with a leadership coach can help executives make those decisions through a strategic lens without jeopardizing overall team performance. 

If you’re interested in learning more on how to promote the right people, join me on Wednesday, May 25 at 1:00 p.m. ET when I’ll host the first of four leadership development workshops. 

Registration is free and even if you can’t attend during that time, we’ll send the recording to you after.