Why your Best Worker may not be your Best Leader

When it comes to picking middle managers, many executives think the decision is easy. They assume that if you want to fill a management position in sales, you simply take the best individual contributor in that department and offer them the promotion.

However, the idea that your best workers will be your best leaders is a misconception that often comes from a disconnect between associates and executives. Those higher up in a company tend to be more focused on the final product and who is doing it, rather than how it is getting done. For this reason, it is easy to value the most efficient individual contributors the most, even if they lack leadership skills.

If these same executives looked a little deeper, they would find that they are overlooking the employees who actually keep everyone on track and ensure deadlines are met.

Individual Output vs. Leadership Potential

Take Jim and Sarah, for example. Jim is the best graphic designer in the marketing department. When a new campaign rolls out, a large chunk of the work is assigned to him because he flawlessly executes the team’s vision. When other people are at a standstill, they give their work to Jim to finish off and make sure it is perfect.

On the other hand, Sarah is an average contributor when it comes to her own design work. But when someone needs help, she jumps in, not just to finish the work for them, but to guide them so they have a deeper understanding of the concepts. Sarah is the one keeping the team on track by checking in on everyone and double-checking that all deadlines are being met.

On the outside, it looks like Jim is the top contributor. In reality, the project would be a mess without Sarah. This raises two critical questions for any leadership team:

Who really deserves the promotion?
How do we make sure people like Sarah aren’t being overlooked?

To build a strong middle management layer, we have to stop mistaking "individual output" for "leadership potential." If we only promote people like Jim, we gain managers who want to do all the work themselves, but we lose the Sarahs who actually know how to lead the team to the finish line.

Spotting a Middle Manager

To identify the best fit for a middle management position, look beyond the “who did what” of a given project. Instead be more mindful of how the work is getting done. Who are people going to when they’re struggling? Who is asking the important questions of why and how things are getting done?

Rather than looking for the highest output, look for the soft skills that suggest someone can handle the shift from doing into leading. Some of the soft skills include:

Team Focused Mindset: Does this person naturally help others improve? Look for someone who acts as a mentor to those around them and focus on the team’s success rather than just their own.
High Emotional Intelligence: Can they handle conflict? Middle managers should be able to calm the stress of those on their team and act as a buffer between pressure from executives and employee morale.
Delegation Potential: Can this person get over the “If you want something done right, do it yourself” mindset? A potential manager must let go of wanting the praise of being the best and instead take pride in the team’s success.

How to Ensure they’re Ready

Given the importance of picking the right people as your middle managers, be sure to give them the opportunities and information to be prepared for when they are offered the role. This way, you see them in action and can be confident you're making the best choice for the team, and the person you’re promoting can be confident that they are ready to take on new responsibilities.

Give them a “Trial Run”: Before rushing into a promotion, give potential leaders smaller leadership opportunities within their teams. This might look like training a new hire, running a team meeting, or leading a smaller project. During these trials, pay less attention to the project's final score and more to how the team feels while working under them.
Be Transparent about what Middle Management Entails: Having a conversation with employees you are considering for a promotion about not only the responsibilities of being a middle manager, but also the challenges. New middle management should be prepared to make decisions that won’t always be popular with the team.
Training in Essential Soft Skills: To prepare them for the role, make sure they have the proper soft skills. Middle managers should know how to properly give feedback without “sugar coating.” Prepare them for having difficult conversations with colleagues.

The Bottom Line

The goal of a promotion shouldn't just be to reward past performance; it should be to ensure the future success of the team. When we look past the "Gold Stars" of individual output, we find the quiet leaders who make everyone around them better.

By prioritizing the ability to multiply the team’s effort over the ability to execute a task, you build a resilient middle management layer that can handle growth, absorb pressure, and develop the next generation of talent.

Ultimately, a middle manager is the glue of an organization. When you pick the right person, they don't just manage tasks; they build a culture of shared knowledge. They ensure that the skills of your highest individual contributors are taught to the rest of the staff, turning a group of talented individuals into a cohesive unit.

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