“Why the long face?” I asked.

“I’m concerned about Rafael,” Eliana explained. “He was our best lead technician, always enthusiastic, knew his stuff, the team really respected him. We promoted him to supervisor two months ago and since, I noticed a slow disheartening withdrawal, from the work and from the team.”

“What does your intuition tell you?” I wanted to know.

“I don’t know, it’s like he is a different person,” she replied. “He seemed like a natural born leader and I wanted to give him the opportunity to shine. So when his supervisor got promoted, it was an easy decision. He said he wanted it. He got a raise, a small office off the production floor. But, now, I am having second thoughts.”

“I am flattered you wanted my advice, but you might find the conversation more productive if you talk to Rafael. He is the one who knows what is going on. Don’t avoid the conversation. If we made a mistake, we can easily correct it now, we have many options. If we wait another six months, the fix may be more difficult and we will have fewer options.”