Meet Ron. Ron was a rock star employee. Everyone loved Ron. So Ron was promoted to department manager. Ron was not a rock star manager. In fact, Ron was a horrible manager and hated it. Ron eventually got frustrated and quit. Goodbye, Ron.
Ron’s story is not unique. In fact, it is an age-old mistake that businesses make time and again. They reward someone who is really great at something by having them no longer do that really great something anymore.
Although the terms often get conflated into one big leadership heap, there is a massive difference in the skill sets required to be a great employee, an effective manager, and a strong leader.
STAR EMPLOYEE VS MANAGER
Say you are a business owner and you have a salesperson who is strong at influencing and motivating other team members. Your first gut reaction might be to promote that salesperson to management – a position you feel will give this employee the opportunity to really rally the troops. But being a motivator and being a manager are two different beasts. Is this motivator good at discipline? How do they do with scheduling? Conflict de-escalation and resolution? Perhaps that great influencer is just where they need to be and working in the capacity in which they – and the entire sales team – will thrive most.
Strong management requires so many more soft skills than being able to motivate. For instance, truly effective managers need to embody:
- Patience
- Accountability
- Humility (not taking credit for others’ work)
- Communication skills
- Mediation and negotiating skills
- Troubleshooting skills
- Trustworthiness
And while these are all important qualities to look for in a manager (and a person), none of them are necessarily required of someone who is simply a great employee or even an influencer.
So, tell me again why Ron got that promotion?
WHAT MAKES A GREAT LEADER?
First and foremost, great leaders are visionaries or at least “big picture seers” who understand how everything fits together and are able to connect the dots. Sure, they usually embody most of those management skills listed above – like motivation and positivity. But great leaders don’t spend the preponderance of their time getting tied up in the minutia of working IN their business. Rather they purposefully spend a great deal of time and energy working ON their business. Great business leaders also tend to be action-oriented dreamers, plotters, adventurers, builders of teams, architects of expansion, supporters of achievement. They expect greatness in themselves, and they inspire greatness in others. Great leaders are not afraid to challenge their people and are never afraid to challenge the status quo. True leaders also invest time, energy and money in growing their people and, if needed, will get their hands dirty and lay everything on the line to help the company.
Now compare these leadership attributes to those management bullet points. The talents and skill sets of leaders, managers and influencers feel very-very different, don’t they?
SO WHAT ABOUT POOR RON?
Was Ron’s career path in that company doomed from the start or was there room somewhere for the rock star’s upward mobility?
While midlevel management was not a great fit for our hypothetical friend, influencers like Ron often make terrific Project Managers. Project Managers are in fact influence managers who can wield their enthusiasm, charisma, and motivational skills for the betterment of customers and really the entire team.
By understanding the differing characteristics of great leaders, managers and influencers, business owners are much better able to promote the right person to the right position – and in the process, avoid those often painful HR mistakes.
Blair Koch is the CEO of TAB Denver West, a TAB CEO Advisory Board Facilitator, and a Business Ownership Lifecycle Coach. Blair has spent most of her career helping small business owners achieve their personal and professional goals. She also hosts the Best Businesses in Denver podcast.
