Why some Top Performers fail at Leadership

It’s common practice to promote our top performers, as it should be, but there are right and wrong ways to do it.

Top performers are highly driven, competitive, and can work with speed. They have many commendable qualities that companies want to bottle up and replicate.

But leadership is a completely different skill set. It requires high EQ, strategic thinking, selflessness, and patience - not the same traits commonly found in your top performers.

If you ignore this, you could end up moving someone out of a role they're good at into a role they're bad at.

Does this mean we should stop rewarding high achievers with promotions? Absolutely not. But recognise that these roles are not the same.

Acknowledge the leadership traits they do have and identify where their gaps are. Then put a plan in place to provide the training and coaching needed to bridge these gaps quickly.

Help them to be as successful in leadership as they were in their last role - doing this will also make YOU a great leader.