We Promoted Them... Then Crossed Our Fingers
We've all seen it happen. Someone is a rockstar employee. They know the job, get results, solve problems, and everyone enjoys working with them. Naturally, they get promoted.
"Congratulations! You're now a manager. Good luck”
Cue the announcement, the new title, and if they're lucky, a slightly nicer office chair. What usually doesn't happen? Nobody teaches them how to lead. One day they're responsible for their own performance. The next, they're expected to coach employees, hold people accountable, navigate conflict, deliver feedback, motivate a team, and manage difficult personalities. No pressure!
One of the biggest mistakes organizations make is assuming that because someone was great at their job, they'll automatically be great at leading others. But let me ask you this……does your new great employee actually know how to be a great leader? Because those are two very different things. A great employee gets work done. A great leader gets work done through people. That means setting expectations, having difficult conversations, addressing performance issues, and helping others grow. Yet every day, organizations promote someone on Friday and expect them to know how to do all of that by Monday. It's a little like handing someone the keys to a bus because they're a really good passenger.
And that's where many new managers get stuck. Most genuinely want to do a good job. They care about people. They want to help. They also want to be liked. And don’t even get me started on the challenges that come with managing former peers. We’ll save that topic for another time because that can be sooo hard.
The problem isn't being nice. The problem is when being nice becomes more important than leading. Remember they weren’t taught what effective leadership looks like. That's when managers avoid difficult conversations. They hope performance issues will fix themselves. They tolerate behaviors they know should be addressed because conflict feels uncomfortable.
Meanwhile, their high performers are quietly wondering, "Are we seriously not going to talk about this?" Employees don't need another nice manager. They need a leader. Someone who can clearly communicate expectations, provide honest feedback, address issues respectfully, and create accountability without creating fear. The best leaders I've worked with aren't always the most liked. They're the most trusted. And trust is built when leaders do the things others avoid.
Organizations spend a lot of time asking, "Do we have the right people?". Not enough ask, "Have we taught our leaders how to lead?". Promoting a high performer doesn't automatically create a great manager. It simply creates a manager and an employee with a new title. What happens next depends on the training, coaching, support, and development they receive.
We help organizations develop leaders who can navigate accountability, communication, performance management, and employee engagement with confidence. Through leadership training, executive coaching, and management development programs, we help bridge the gap between being great at the job and being great at leading people. Because your best employee deserves more than a promotion.
They deserve the opportunity to become a great leader.
-Erin
