When Promoting Someone Is the Worst Thing You Can Do
Dr. Linda Travelute
Fusing John Maxwell's proven leadership methods with cutting-edge psychology to maximize your leadership and team. / Host of Live2LeadLakeNona.com / CEO, Maximized Leaders
Why Promoting Someone Is the Worst Thing You Can Do
We love promoting people.
It feels good, right? We see potential, ambition, and hard work, and we want to reward them. We tell ourselves, "They’ve earned this!"
But what if I told you that a premature promotion is one of the worst things you can do for your business, your team, and even the person you're promoting?
I know, I know. That’s not the leadership advice you usually hear. Most people say, "Promote your top performers!" But here’s the truth no one talks about:
High Performance in One Role Does NOT Equal Readiness for Leadership
This is where so many organizations—and leaders—get it wrong.
They take their best salesperson, engineer, or designer and promote them to a management role. But just because someone excels at doing the work does NOT mean they know how to lead the people doing the work.
?? That top-performing salesperson? They know how to close deals—but can they coach an underperformer?
?? That incredible software developer? They write flawless code—but do they know how to inspire a team, delegate tasks, and navigate office politics?
?? That go-getter assistant? They get everything done ahead of schedule—but can they make tough calls, handle conflict, and set boundaries?
Leadership isn’t a reward—it’s a responsibility.
When we promote based on performance instead of preparedness, we set people up to fail—not because they’re not talented but because we haven’t equipped them with the skills they actually need to lead.
The fallout?
? The new leader is overwhelmed.
? The team resents them (because they weren’t the right choice).
? The business suffers from poor leadership decisions.
Instead of promoting based on performance, promote based on leadership readiness.?
Before you give people the title, give them the weight of responsibility.
Test their leadership chops in small ways. I dive deep into this in my latest Leader Fuel episode, Eps 19: "Why Promoting Too Soon Will Blow Up in Your Face." If you’ve ever promoted someone and regretted it, or want to resist the urge when it strikes, this one’s for you.
?? Listen here: [iTunes: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/leader-fuel-with-dr-linda-travelute/id1779811817, Spotify, or Amazon Audible.]
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