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Is it always appropriate to promote your ‘best’ employee into a people management role?

Organisations often promote people into management positions based on their outstanding performance in their area of expertise. However, as Caroline Taylor from The Oxford Group explains, your ‘best’ employee may not be the right person to manage your people. The key to this issue is defining what we mean by ‘best’. People frequently take it to mean the best on a technical level.
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Organisations often promote people into management positions based on their outstanding performance in their area of expertise. However, as Caroline Taylor from The Oxford Group explains, your ‘best’ employee may not be the right person to manage your people. Contributor Caroline Taylor, Principal Consultant – The Oxford Group.

The key to this issue is defining what we mean by ‘best’. People frequently take it to mean the best on a technical level. However, when recruiting, best means the ‘best match’ for the requirements of the role. It is when these two equally correct definitions get confused that the ‘best’ employee ends up being promoted into the wrong role.

What is ‘best’ also must be contextualised to the specific role. For example, creating new products requires a manager who is the best at encouraging innovative thinking from their team, whereas an operationally focused team may need someone who is skilled at organising and planning work and ensuring accountability.

That said, there is a range of generic management skills that are relevant in all management roles including planning, organising, delegating, strategic thinking, setting clear expectations and managing performance. Your best technical employee may be very good at taking direction and performing under supervision but may struggle when they are responsible for setting that direction and structure for others.

Creating an environment that allows people to thrive requires an understanding of the different motivations and strengths of the people in their team. A good manager needs to hone their coaching skills and have the confidence to hold their own solutions back to allow alternative ideas to be voiced. This can be challenging when you are used to being the expert.

Furthermore, Line Managers now need the skills to lead virtual teams, leverage technology, lead through change and ambiguity, and harness diversity of thought and experience.

Establishing what is strategically important to the organisation determines what skills a manager needs to be successful, both now and in the future. Identifying employees with these skills and behaviours – or those with the potential to develop them – is the key to building robust succession plans.  Learning agility and comfort with ambiguity and change are important indicators of future leadership potential and should also be considered. That means that the person you need is not always the ‘best’ technical expert in the team.

Transitioning from individual contributor to manager can be challenging too, particularly if the person doesn’t have the will, or the skills, to do so. Often people struggle to let go of the ‘doing aspect’ of their previous role so slip into what is second nature – even when the role no longer requires it. Making the delicate shift from peer to manager within the same team does not come easily either so organisations must set individuals up for success when making this important transition with effective support mechanisms like coaching and mentoring.

If someone who is technically brilliant aspires to broaden their career into management, a promotion is an ideal opportunity to do so, providing they receive the right support including on the job training, structured programmes and mentoring. This works particularly well when, for the sake of credibility and acceptance from the team, the management role demands that the person has a certain level of technical expertise in addition to management skills.

However, be mindful that some employees have ambitions for progression that don’t always involve people management, so be sure to clarify what their aspirations are before you funnel them into a progression path that doesn’t work for them. Organisational structures that provide different  ‘streams’ that allow people to progress either in their area of expertise or into management, can be highly engaging for employees.

When you do promote someone who isn’t the ‘best worker’ you will face pressure to justify that decision to your team. Transparency and clarity are key – communicate to the entire team about the skills and behaviours you need for management positions so there is no doubt why you appointed a specific person.

Providing regular, specific feedback to all employees, both on their technical expertise and their management and leadership behaviours, enables aspiring managers to seek out opportunities to develop their skills and breadth of experience. They will then be positioned as the ‘best’ candidate when the next role comes up.

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