Most managers want to be promoted. But even when a manager is a high performer, assuming they’ll be a great manager is not a foregone conclusion and can be a trap that is easy to step into.
For example, if you’ve been a Vistage member, you’ve likely been warned by various speakers of the danger of assuming your best salesperson will make a great sales manager. This is a special case of a more general rule that great performance doesn’t necessarily imply great leadership potential. (If you doubt this, how many of the great sports coaches were also great athletes?)
Chief Executive Magazine explores the phenomenon of “Why Top Performers Don’t Always Make Great Leaders” and offers five key leadership traits to help you identify candidates for promotion who can become great leaders.
