I’m tempted to say there’s a “managerial crisis” in the modern organization.
But the truth is that companies have struggled for a long time at getting the right people into management.
It was a problem back when The Peter Principle was published in 1969, arguing that the least competent people end up in roles of authority.
It was a problem in the 1990s, when Steve Jobs first started talking about the Bozo Explosion.
It’s still a problem now. If you venture into the right corner of Instagram or TikTok, you’ll find comedians racking up millions of views by impersonating insufferable Zoom-mediated boss archetypes that clearly resonate with Gen Z workers.
I’ve argued before that, at scale, a company’s performance is equal to the performance of its managers. Managers determine the quality-of-work-life of every employee (including the managers’ managers).
When a company’s managers suck, it’s usually clearer than the CEO thinks. If a customer of yours interacts with an employee who hates their manager, there’s a high likelihood that it will come across in the interaction. What you have there is a single node of management dysfunction that, in the customer’s mind, taints your whole business.
DDI has even found that 57 percent of employees have left a job because of their manager.
A big part of the problem lies in the common path to early-stage management:
Step 1. Person is really good at their individual contributor job.
Step 2. Person gets promoted to management under the assumption that excellence as an individual contributor translates to excellence in management.
Step 3. Person gets thrown into the management deep end with no training or support in how to manage the team.
Step 4. Person inadvertently fails in basic management duties, thereby irritating and demotivating most of their team.
If you ARE able to promote the right people into management, and make sure they’re great managers when they get there, you’ve got a big advantage over your competitors. And it’s not hard, with a little intention.
Who Is Management Material?
How do you identify people in the organization who have high potential for being great managers?
The interesting thing is that some of your best internal candidates for management roles are already doing some of the work naturally. If you spot them doing certain things, you can identify nascent management ability.
Let’s break down some of those telling behaviors into the three distinct tools of the manager (management, leadership, coaching).
1. Aptitude in the Management Tool
Management is about making decisions within your sphere of authority—who does what, how processes work, what the team’s responsibilities are, what goals you’re driving toward.
Signs that indicate management aptitude:
They practice voluntary accountability.
Watch for people who say “That’s on me” when things go wrong, even when it’s not entirely their fault. They don’t shift blame or make excuses. They understand that authority comes with responsibility.
They’re comfortable making decisions.
When the group is stuck debating where to order lunch, they’re the ones who step up and say “Let’s go with the sandwich place.” They gather input, but they’re comfortable making the call.
2. Aptitude in the Leadership Tool
Leadership requires demonstrating what I call the 3 Cs—credibility, competence, and caring. This is your ability to influence people to eagerly follow your direction, not because they have to, but because they want to.
Signs that indicate leadership aptitude:
People respect them.
People like them, not necessarily in a “drinks after work” way, but they respect their opinion, seek their counsel, and believe what they say.
They make others look good.
Leadership-bound people can see past their egos and put them aside for higher causes. They find satisfaction in helping others succeed and don’t need to hog the spotlight.
They ask questions to gain understanding, not to appear smart.
The person who raises their hand in the all-hands meeting to ask for clarification cares more about getting it right than about preserving their image.
They see multiple sides of issues.
They understand their colleagues as complex humans. They can play devil’s advocate and shift their thinking when someone makes a strong point that contradicts their previous stance.
3. Aptitude in the Coaching Tool
Coaching means developing one-on-one relationships with employees centered on maximizing their growth. It requires the ability to hold people accountable and endure the awkwardness of hard conversations around performance.
Signs that indicate coaching aptitude:
They’re already helping others develop.
You catch them training new team members, offering constructive feedback, or helping colleagues work through problems. They naturally gravitate toward helping others improve.
They don’t avoid difficult conversations.
They speak up in difficult situations, and are willing to have awkward conversations if it serves the team. They push others to grow beyond their comfort zones.
The Red Flags
Before we get on to the promotion process itself, here are some of the red flags that might make you think twice about putting someone into management. It’s not to say these are insurmountable with coaching but they do not bode well.
The Credit Collector. Always ensures their name is attached to successes but mysteriously absent when things go wrong.
The Conflict Avoider. Consistently avoids difficult conversations, hoping problems will resolve themselves.
The Micromanager-in-Waiting. Already showing signs of wanting to control every detail of their current work and their colleagues’ work.
The Popularity Seeker. Makes decisions based on what will make them liked rather than what’s right for the business.
Two Critical Considerations
1. Do they WANT to be a manager?
Before you even think about promoting someone to management, you need to have a frank conversation about whether they actually want the role.
Some of your most talented individual contributors have zero interest in managing people, and that's perfectly fine. Forcing these people into management roles is a recipe for disaster. You’ll lose a great individual contributor and gain a miserable manager.
On the flip side, some people are genuinely excited about the prospect of management but lack the natural aptitude you've identified. That’s also fine. Management skills can be developed, and with proper training and support systems, motivated individuals can become effective managers even if they don't start with all the natural indicators.
2. Are you just adding management to their current plate?
The second consideration is resisting the temptation to create “player-coach” roles where new managers are expected to continue significant individual contributor work while also managing a team.
This hybrid approach might seem efficient on paper, but when you ask someone to split themselves between being an individual contributor and a boss, several problems emerge: the manager becomes personally overwhelmed trying to excel at two demanding jobs; team members get confused about when their manager is wearing which hat, leading to unclear authority and responsibility; and the manager inevitably favors the work they're most comfortable with, usually their old individual contributor tasks, at the expense of their management duties.
When possible, create pure management roles where the manager's sole responsibility is enabling the performance of their team. That's a full-time job in itself.
Promotion Is a Process
Great, so you’ve found a perfect candidate for management and given them the job!
Now you can move on, right?
Not so fast. Promotion to management, even of the most promising, naturally skilled person, must be paired with systematic training and evaluation of how it’s working. Make sure that promotion is a process at your organization and includes all the steps, starting with the ones we’ve already discussed:
Assessment and Interest. Evaluate candidates for aptitude in management, leadership, and coaching behaviors while having honest conversations about their genuine interest in the role. Don't assume someone wants to manage just because they'd be good at it.
Preparation and Expectation Setting. Provide pre-promotion development opportunities and have frank discussions about what management actually entails. Make sure they understand they’re signing up for a fundamentally different type of work.
Promotion and Initial Setup. Create a pure management role when possible and provide comprehensive training in management, leadership, and coaching skills. This should include emotional intelligence and human skills (DISC and CliftonStrengths are great starting points). Most importantly, equip them with your organization’s management system, i.e., the operating framework that defines how managers function in your company. This system should include clear expectations and tools for:
• Goal setting for the team and individual employees
• Regular team meetings and agenda management
• 1:1 meetings with direct reports
• Talent development and career planning
• Performance management and feedback delivery
• Decision-making authority and escalation protocols
Example of a management system. This is the one I train managers in. Ongoing Support and Development. Implement regular check-ins to discuss how the new manager is feeling, what struggles they're facing, and whether management is what they expected.
Evaluation and Adjustment. Assess performance against clear metrics, gather feedback from the new manager’s team, and make adjustments or additional investments as needed.
Unfortunately, 60% of new managers fail within their first 24 months. But if you’ve got your eye out for leadership potential in the workforce, if you train and develop wisely, and if you follow up to validate your promotion decisions, you’ll put yourself far ahead of that troubling statistic.
And when your managers watch the latest TikTok roasting corporate managers, they’ll be able to laugh without also wanting to cry.