Can You Manage? Should the office hotshot be your next manager? Only if he or she really has the right stuff.
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Erika Mangrum was a year into her business and was feelingpressured to promote a star employee to general manager. "Shewanted more responsibility and more pay," says Mangrum,co-founder and president of Iatria Day Spa and Health Center, a 40-employeecompany in Raleigh, North Carolina. Mangrum felt a deep sense ofloyalty to this employee, who had been with the company from thestart, so she went ahead with the promotion. However, it wasn'tlong before Mangrum realized she was promoting doom and gloom.
The new manager's rudeness under stress and her inability tomanage conflict created big problems as the company grew. Mangrum,36, started getting complaints from customers and sensed growingtension in employees. "You could just feel it," Mangrumsays. She offered training, but it was too late. The manager left14 months after being promoted. And that wasn't the end of it.Mangrum, who co-founded the company with her husband, Dave, 47,also lost key employees in the turmoil. "We didn't knowwhat a major impact [a promotion] could have," she says."It's one of the biggest mistakes we'vemade."
She's not alone. Many entrepreneurs feel pressured topromote a star employee into management, even if this person was"behind the door" when soft skills--the ability tonegotiate, influence, listen and mediate--were handed out. Theproblem is, these are precisely the skills needed to be successfulin management. New managers "can get into a place where theirraw talent can't compensate for their inability to work therelationships," says Kerry A. Bunker of the Center for CreativeLeadership (CCL) in Greensboro, North Carolina. In fact,CCL's research estimates that one-third of those who reach theupper levels of companies fail within two years because theycan't build teams, communicate effectively, or keep their coolin tough situations.
Entrepreneurs who haven't developed a recruiting process areprone to promoting too quickly. "They don't want to losesomebody who's valuable," says James Wright, president ofRadican StaffingInc. in Providence, Rhode Island
Entrepreneurs may also see themselves in a star employee, somuch so they're willing to overlook a lack of maturity andpeople skills. "You reassure yourself that the thingsthey're missing don't matter that much, or they'lllearn it in time," Bunker says. But managers get things doneby directing and motivating other people, and you'll have a bigproblem if your new manager can't do this from day one.You'll need to find a strategy for assessing and developingpeople skills before you promote.
A good place to start is by using one-on-one conversations or asurvey to gather in-depth feedback from everyone in the company,before a co-worker is promoted into management. Do other employeessee this person as a good communicator, mediator and listener? Canhe lead, inspire, hold his temper and admit mistakes? Is he matureenough to be a manager? Next, have employees demonstrate theirpeople skills. Require management hopefuls to cultivate a fewclient relationships outside the company, a critical skill in anymanager. Look for temporary projects to improve influence andnegotiation skills, and find a mentor outside the company who isstrong where that person is weak. Your goal is to take managementcandidates out of their comfort zones to see how they react inunfamiliar situations. "You need to be able to challenge themto learn," Bunker says. Some employees will balk. This is agood time to tell them you're implementing managementresponsibilities slowly to make sure they'll succeed asmanagers.
Meet with management candidates to discuss their goals andstrengths. "Talk about how much you appreciate their talentand how they want to grow," says Allan R. Cohen, a managementprofessor at Babson College in Wellesley, Massachusetts. "Aconversation deepens the relationship." It may also makeemployees more likely to stay if they aren't promoted, addsCohen. Finally, offer resources--regular one-on-ones, outsidetraining, books and mentoring--so a new manager knows there's aplace to turn.
Mangrum learned from her experience. Today, she assignsemployees a big project to see how they work with others on amanagement level before she promotes them. "It's goingthrough their thought process and finding out what they'repaying attention to," she says. She also evaluates how apotential manager will fit into the business five years from now.Mangrum's strategy must be working: Sales were $2 million lastyear.
Cris Penttila is a freelance journalist in the Chapel Hill,North Carolina, area. She can be contacted at chris@sitting-duck.com orthrough her Web site, www.sitting-duck.com.
