The wrong person may be in leadership…

Let’s be completely honest with ourselves. As much as we may be disgruntled or surprised by a decision our employer makes, we know deep down that they are acting on behalf of the greater good. And yet, this scenario where actions are made, and employees find themselves angered or befuddled soon after, is quite commonplace. That may be because employers think they know what’s best, and its not always the truth – especially when it comes to filling leadership positions.

Why is it so insanely difficult to elevate the right employee to a leadership role? Simply put, we are blinded by qualities that shouldn’t have much weight on the decision. There are certain facts, numbers, and characteristics of candidates that make a huge splash on paper, but in the end, they do not translate to leadership success.

The real leadership power comes from how authentically someone can hold a team together, generate enthusiasm, and make a genuine difference in the lives of others. Hence the reason why staff may recognize an unfit leader before their employers. In order to make a clear-headed selection for any leadership position, we must remove our blinders. There appear to be two major ‘false positive’ qualities that can steer an employer wrong.

Performance

Need someone to run your sales department? Well, then pick the employee with the best numbers, right? Wrong. First off, selecting your best producer to lead a team will almost immediately cut down on the team’s output. Once promoted to manager, a top salesperson won’t be making the same numbers they did a week ago.

This scenario is evident across industries and various teams. Elevating the top designer to art director creates a gaping hole, leaving the team to pick up the pieces. And surely the newly minted art director will either feel the need to do double work to stabilize output or start to feel incapable of their new position right off the bat. Neither is a sustainable nor a positive situation. (However, if in the end, the team’s high performer is promoted to leadership, it’s the company’s duty to its employees to ensure a succession plan to alleviate any production-related stress points.)

Second off, top performers are often driven and competitive (if not competitive with others, then with themselves). These are hard qualities to suppress, and they are not conducive to being an effective leader where getting a group to drop selfish agendas and work as a team is paramount to the individual success.

Lastly, those at the top of their game are categorically closed-minded when exposed to learning new techniques and tasks, as well as being found wrong. For example, try suggesting a different teaching approach to a tenured educator. You may be met with much more resistance than a newer teacher who enjoys testing out various methods to find their style. Great leaders are committed to being open to new ideas, especially those that directly oppose their own. And a load of experience could hinder that ability.

Busyness

We all have that person in the office. The one who runs by at 2pm with their cold lunch in hand on their way to their fifth meeting of the day. We assume that they are vital to the company’s success. In reality, all those meetings could be smoke screens. The busiest person in the office is not the most valuable because they are too busy to get anything done. These people make for poor leaders.

They cannot decipher between a meeting that is pertinent to attend versus a meeting that they can receive notes on later. Not one employee needs to have a personal presence at every staff discussion. Generally speaking, these busy-bodies lack confidence and stick their nose into every meeting in order to boost their self-importance.

The flip side to this are companies that push full calendars and late nights. Employees with hectic schedules could be attempting to match company criteria of success. They could certainly be supervisory material after all. In that case, it’s important for there to be a culture-shift in the company’s mindset. Busyness makes people lost and untethered, leaving them with no time to create, inspire, guide… breathe.

Being a great leader has more to do with internal traits rather than performance or a maxed-out calendar. No matter the occupational field, this is inherently true. This is not to say that all high performers or extremely busy employees make bad leaders. In fact, they could be just the right fit for management if they possess the proper qualities. When deciding on who should manage a team or lead a project, take off the blinders and assess the candidates based on who adds value to the corporate and cultural environment, who is open and willing to learn and communicate, and who has the authentic desire to see others succeed.