“What is different about being a Manager?” I asked.
Gerald was quiet. His new Manager had been a great Supervisor, but was having difficulty.
“You have a great employee, team player, always shows up, works well under pressure, your go-to guy in a pinch. What is so different about being a manager?”
Gerald began slowly, “The things he is failing on, are things that go more slowly. He works well in a bit of chaos, but as a Manager, I would expect him to prevent some of that chaos. It’s almost as if he allows the chaos to emerge, so he can show off his stuff. I want him to work on a system, so things are anticipated, projects get routed automatically, conflicts are resolved on paper before they happen.”
“And did he demonstrate any of that behavior before you promoted him?” I asked.
“Well, no, but we thought he would be able to figure that out.”
“Did you ever assign him tasks, management tasks, to test him on his capability to handle those assignments?”
Gerald narrowed his eyes, before his short answer, “No.”
“So, you promoted him to a Manager level, without evidence of Management capability, based on his success at a Supervisor level?” -TF
I think today that too many people are promoted just because they are in the most likely job. There is a big difference between a supervisor and a manager. There is not doubt they are on a continuum but more strategic thinking is required of a manager. I think you must test a person’s ability to think at a different level before you promote them. This can be done is a variety of ways. In the book, Attract, Engage & Retain Top Talent, soon to be released by Encouragement Press, we outline various ways to develop talent before you promote. These include leveraging technology for blended learning, defining new competencies required, providing case studies etc. The idea of having people just sink or swim in the new role is costly to the organization and to the individual.