Promoting "Stars" to Supervisor
- Barbara Giesing
- 2 days ago
- 2 min read
It seems like a natural progression to promote a star employee to be a supervisor in their career. After all, don’t we want all employees to be stars, and who better to show the way than someone who’s proven themselves?
The problem with this practice is that we end up putting someone in a management role who may be great in production or some other aspect of the workforce, but they can't manage people. And rarely do we have the time or resources to provide the training and practice needed to help them be successful in their new role. Or do we?
Most of us feel we have more on our plate on a daily or weekly basis than we can easily handle, and the idea of taking on more is rarely eagerly anticipated. But by skipping important learning opportunities, we’re setting ourselves and others up for problems that lead to inefficiencies and increased costs. And we’re also moving toward alienating or at least, frustrating our star employees.
Before you consider that next promotion, outline the leadership qualities you’re looking for. Does this employee even want to supervise people? They may believe their career requires that for progressive purposes, but not everyone should be a manager. Can you elevate a role without placing someone directly over staff? Maybe consider having them play an advisory role, but have someone else, with appropriate management skills, perform the day to day supervision.
Alternatively, spending the time and resources up front to help an employee be a better manager before they move into the role, can cut down on missteps and potential fallout. Develop a plan to work with your staff on managing employees before they’re put into the role. And make sure you speak with the employees about which are even interested in managing people. Provide career mobility alternatives so staff can grow in a direction that’s more targeted to their desires, skills and talents.
We need to rethink today’s workforce and determine better ways to move forward. We cannot continue with the same expectation of employee/supervisor/manager/director/executive progression, or we will lose valuable talent.
Plan ahead to teach management skills or determine alternative paths for your stars. This will help ensure that they continue to shine.
