Why the Most Talented Employees Don't Always Make the Best Managers

The employees who do your company’s best work may not be the ones who have what it takes to be great people managers and leaders. Still, organizations often turn to their best individual contributors, assess their performance and if they’re getting the job done and they have good technical and functional skills, put them in line for promotion into management roles.

It Takes More than Talent

While a promotion may make sense from a performance standpoint, there’s a big difference between being able to do great work on your own and having the ability to motivate and manage others to do great work.

According to a 2014 Gallup study, one in 10 people possess the inherent talent to manage others. “If great managers seem scarce, it’s because the talent required to be one is rare,” explained Gallup researchers, Randall Beck and James Harter, who wrote:

Gallup finds that great managers have the following talents:

• They motivate every single employee to take action and engage them with a compelling mission and vision.

• They have the assertiveness to drive outcomes and the ability to overcome adversity and resistance.

• They create a culture of clear accountability.

• They build relationships that create trust, open dialogue, and full transparency.

• They make decisions that are based on productivity, not politics.

Common Talent Traps

So if research has shown what it takes to be a great manager, why are organizations putting the wrong people in management positions? One reason is many aren’t aware of the research and instead rely on conventional wisdom that suggests the next step for a strong performer is to become a strong leader.

I’ve often seen this problematic misconception lead to these common talent traps:

Promotions Based on Length of Employment

Some organizations look to the people who’ve been around the longest as options for management. I’ve heard business leaders say, “He’s been at the company so long, he deserves a shot.” And while rewarding longevity with advancement seems like an obvious step, being with the company for a long time doesn’t magically turn employees into management material.

Promotions as Rewards

It’s a compliment for employees to be considered for management positions because it means they’re a higher individual contributors than their peers. And it can be tempting to reward good performance with opportunities for advancement.

Sometimes great employees don’t even want to be managers, but end up getting seduced into management positions anyway. So employees may think, “Oh, they want me to be a supervisor,” and it feels like a big compliment. Or they may think, “Why wouldn’t I take this? It’s payoff for my hardwork.”

When you reward employees’ good work with promotions, you may end up with managers who don’t have the necessary skill set to lead and those who aren’t even interested in being leaders and building that skillset.

Promotions for Unprepared Employees

A common problem with promoting employees based on their length of time at the company or their individual contributions is they get into their new roles and have no idea what skills and strategies they’re going to need to succeed. They start out unprepared and struggle right out of the gate.

The only way to ensure your managers are great at managing and leading is to work with them to develop the competencies they need before they get promoted, not after.

Need help preparing your best employees to become great managers? Nurture your top talent with help from The Success Labs Management Incubator.

Success Labs is a full-service, strategic organizational and leadership development company located in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. For more than 25 years, our expert team of consultants has worked with hundreds of companies to explore their business potential and improve their company and cultural performance. Contact us to get proactive about your people strategy.