𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐞 𝐚 𝐬𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐞𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐧𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐫?

Is there even such a thing?

I have seen in my career, countless of great experts, becoming managers.

The switch is tougher than we usually think and does require some deep work.

Why do experts get “promoted” to managers?

Many good reasons:

-        Because they perform well and “why not, they have been around for a while and know the team”,

-        because that’s the natural evolution of the “career ladder”,

-        because you get a nice title (and the social recognition that comes with it), and usually a higher salary/bigger bonus,

-        because organizations still don’t’ realise that in doing so they :

o   lose a great expert who took years to develop their precious expertise

o   promote someone that might not want to lead others – creating risky ripple effects.

HR leaders and business leaders, next time you are about to promote an expert to a manager role ask yourself and themselves the following questions:

-        will they be able and willing to step back to let their team DO – how?

-        how often do they ask questions to enable others to find their answers rather than bringing all the solutions themselves

-        Do they provide context, communicate clearly and frequently in a consistent way, to clarify expectations and provide guidance

-        How do they inspire others to do their best job. HINT: they can inspire thanks to their expertise and legitimacy - they don’t have to be “sweet talkers” or extraverts

-        Are they able to trust their team more than themselves on the path to the solution, and focus on the outcome rather than how THEY would have done it

-        Are they able to pass on their knowledge and won’t feel FOMO or threatened when others end up knowing more than them

-        Is it really what they want?

If you are not sure of the answers or cannot commit to really support, mentor and coach the new leader in their role, then they are not the right person at that moment. You do a service to them and to your organization in supporting them to develop as experts.

It is probably time also to focus on really enabling and rewarding meaningful experts career paths (with the right recognition, rewards and learning paths), so your experts talent pool does not shrink and flow towards an ill-equipped manager’s pool (or leave!). You get your experts to realise they can evolve in the expertise track.

Last but not least, It is also a smart move to invest in equipping experts with soft skills – whether they use them in their day to day job or because one day they might become a manager. You do a service to your organization in expanding the impact of your experts and ensure their future employability.

Experts with a good set of soft skills are leaders too!

Like any job, the job of a manager requires distinctive skills to be successful. They are learnable if you prioritise this investment.

When you think just being an expert is enough, you add unnecessary risks on your business.