A major challenge facing many businesses, both small and large is how to make a great employee, a supervisor, manager, or leader of others, and do it successfully. You both begin really enthusiastically but then it goes south. Your employee doesn’t quite achieve your expectations. How could you have been so wrong? Most times it’s not the employee who hasn’t cut the mustard, but it is you, the employer, who forgot something to help lay the foundation for the employees to succeed in their new role. You simply didn’t train him or her to become a manager.
You have to give promoted employees the tools and training they needed to be successful and it is not just up to you, it is up to the whole senior leadership team. You have to invest the necessary time and energy to give them the training they need and if you do, you will more than likely get great results.
It’s a terrific idea to promote from within, but it is idiotic to promote without being prepared to provide the correct preparation. If you don’t have the resources available to train these potential leaders, then it is necessary to either find the company who provides this training outside your business, or more preferably hire someone who can train your next generation of leaders on your premises.
If you’re going to commit to advancing the careers of your best workers, and one of those opportunities moves them into a leadership position for the first time, these are the minimum things that you must do:
- Give them a mentor for a period of time.
- Invest in either internal or external training.
- Guide them in how to be an example to others.
- Teach the difference between management and leadership.
- Consult with them regularly to help them with new issues they’ll deal with.
- Give them plenty of support and respect in front of all your staff
- Make sure they enjoy the new role.
Remember middle managers or supervisors have tremendous influence, and you can’t underestimate the importance of their roles. Equip and empower the employees you promote, and it will pay big dividends down the road.