Many businesses retain high performers by thrusting them into management positions thinking they will be the best people to lead their teams. The premise for these decisions is based on the assumption that high performers have the potential to become leaders. The potential is a possibility but the assumption that we can thrust high performers into leadership roles to retain them in the business or that it's the most natural fit is flawed.
Having surveyed the leaders that have participated in the Winning Academy Leadership programs, there are a few reasons why many leaders believe in this assumption, including:
“If I put them in a leadership role, it's a step up. I can pay them more and they will stay with the business.”
This assumption of lazy managers is flawed from the outset, especially when we don't know that the goals and pathways we have set for them align with their goals. Does leadership factor into their plans? We assume that leadership pathways are linear, and for many individuals, being a high performer sales person and project manager etc. doesn't mean they want to be thrust into leadership from the outset.
“They are high performers in their roles now. They should transition into high performing leaders as well.”
We know that many great coaches in sport never played or performed in the top grades of that sport. Likewise, many great athletes never make it as good coaches. However, you need to be a good coach and mentor in order to be an impactful and effective leader of teams, especially when you have to lead a bunch of high performers and some may have been peers previously.
“High performers in my business have all the attitudes, skills and knowledge to pick up leadership very quickly and easily.”
There are many things that leaders are expected to do, to which high performers have never been exposed. Setting strategic goals, leading a team, and having tough conversations with their peers, are just a few examples. Practising the art of leadership requires demonstrating the success habits of a leader, consistently, over a long period of time. The attitudes are most likely evident, but the skills and knowledge required to be a leader need to be learnt.
To access the potential of high performers becoming good leaders, businesses can look at the following:
Implement growth plans for high performers to understand their goals throughout their journey
Expose high performers to the expectations of a leader in your business
Give high performers the opportunity to manage projects that help deliver business goals
Seek opportunities for high performers to learn about impactful leadership
Provide high performers with access to a set curriculum of coaching resources for managers to follow up
Find an effective coach/mentor for each high performer to harness the leadership potential
To access the leadership potential of high performers, exposure early and regularly to enable the successful transition of high performers into management positions is crucial. However, the enormous task of uncovering the leadership potential in high performers, so they don't just become managers but impactful leaders, has just begun.
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