One of the most common mistakes business owners make is assuming that a great worker will make a great leader. All too often, it feels only natural that a person who is the best employee amongst their peer group should be promoted to a leadership position, but super workers don’t always make the best supervisors. This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t reward talent and promote from within, but you need to prepare your employees for the roles that you put them in by fostering potential and allowing for timely transitions.
Are You Setting Your Employee Up for Failure?
By taking an employee out of the job that they excel at and putting them into a management role, you might be setting your employee up for failure. Without proper training and clear communication about what you envision as the future path of your employee, you can’t expect your worker to instantly and easily transition into a leadership role.
While some people have natural leadership instincts, great leaders develop and hone their skills over time. Not all of your employees will be ideally suited for leadership positions, but by identifying potential and fostering growth through professional development, you can give your best workers the tools that they will need to succeed in higher-level positions.
Consider Alternative Rewards for Your Super Workers
As mentioned before, hard work should be rewarded, but you shouldn’t assume that a role in management is the reward that your employee is looking for. It may be that your best systems engineer would make a superb supervisor, but they might be more interested in becoming a subject matter expert and helping you develop better products rather than managing a team. The key to advancing your employees and your business is identifying talents that are being underutilized in an employee’s current position.
Help Your Employee Succeed with Professional Development
When you do find an employee that you think could make an excellent supervisor, it’s important to help them succeed with appropriate professional development programs. You can’t expect someone who has never managed people before to instinctively know how to take charge and deal well with colleagues in a supervisorial role. By creating a process for transitioning workers into supervisory roles, you can provide them with the leadership development tools that will help them succeed while giving them the time and preparation necessary to transition smoothly into their new position. When you see potential, even in very young or new employees, it’s important to nurture that potential right away to build a strong leader who will be an asset to your business.
One way in which you can nurture potential is through the professional development programs offered by Level Up Leadership. Our programs are built around the principle that success occurs when individuals are personally invested in the achievement of their goals and committed to their own personal growth. To learn more about our various leadership programs and tools, contact our team today.
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