Why High-Performing Individual Contributors often struggle at Leading

Does your organization automatically “reward” High-Performing Individual Contributors by putting them into Manager positions? If yes, you are not alone. For example, recent surveys show that 70% of Sales Managers are promoted from within. But maybe we can persuade you to think again.

We hear a new story every week. A star salesperson has been “promoted” to sales manager in recognition of their individual sales success. The result is a double disaster – with declining sales numbers and their team members looking to leave. Or a wonderfully appreciated teacher who has been promoted to an administration management role where they hate their day job and are sorely missed in the classroom. We see ththeir average and low performing salespersons. They used this Job Success Profile to standardize country wide recruitment and selection.

They implemented a parallel track for future managers- which measured the traits of their top performing managers. These future managers are selected as “managers” – and spend time in the sales frontline as important formative experience in that journey.