Crucial Considerations In Promoting

Recently, I had a conversation with a close friend regarding promotion. He told me the case of his new manager who seems to be incapable of holding the leadership position — when he in fact saw how efficient that employee was in his position before. The employee was professional. He submitted his works in a timely manner. He is presentable and sure of his work. But everything seems to have changed after my friend granted the promotion to him. He was always in a hurry, stressed out, and couldn’t seem to grasp the whole concept of training or delegation — two qualities that are necessary to become an effective manager.

It’s easy to say that a hardworking employee deserves a promotion. After all, we need hardworking managers. But in reality, there are a lot of factors to consider. Perhaps the same employee was efficient in his job, but that’s it. He might not possess leadership or communication skills. Maybe he did not get along well with the other employees and this is why no one wants to follow his requests. Before considering giving a promotion, here are a few indicators if the employee is ready to take on the bigger challenge:

1. Mastery of work. Of course, knowing what he’s doing will be the first of all the indicators of a potential promotion. Proficiency is a big sign of mastery as it shows how experienced he is with the task. However, a leader is someone who must know how to do, as well as how to teach. He must be able to train new members of his team and produce skilled employees for the organization. Only then can you consider him a master of his own work.

2. Willingness to achieve more. Is the employee eager to learn new things? Is he or she open to the changes that you implement in the organization? A leader is someone exposed to daily challenges that will test the ability to adapt and formulate strategies to overcome them. That person must be someone who will consider challenges not as barriers but as stepping stones for success.

This is the reason why a lot of companies consider giving a promotion to those who have taken up post-graduate studies. It not only shows how willing the person is to equip oneself with new knowledge that can be used as an advantage in the corporate world, but also the desire to grow and achieve better things in life.

It does not have to be necessarily post-graduate studies. Perhaps it can be someone who actively gets involved in organizations with positive causes in the local barangay or assists in Sunday masses. Or perhaps it can be someone who seeks seminars that can enhance his current knowledge for his position and work. The point is that the person must have the willingness and actually commits himself in achieving more.

3. Openness to suggestions. Imagine promoting someone who loves to decide without checking if they were actually effective solutions to problems. No matter how skilled an employee is, being too stubborn will lead to failure. Just like willingness to achieve more, there must be a willingness to learn from the feedbacks of others, as well as the ability to shift to different points of view in order to learn new ways of doing things, or prevent problems for the team.

4. Loyalty. Finally, one of the most important factors of all in considering a promotion is when the employee shows true loyalty to the company. I have met a few people that exemplified this. One of them is my wife’s uncle who always refused to drink any bottled water unless it was made by the company he once was a part of. And he still does this even though he’s been long retired. This is true loyalty.

For business owners, managers are imbued with trust. This trust is exemplified by the fact that managerial decisions impact not only the manager but also many other people in the company. Just imagine someone who decides only for his own benefit. Loyalty drives an employee to decide for the company’s benefit. Decisions will be made in order to produce more, spend less, and sell more!

Finally, after having narrowed downed the best candidates, you must assess the likelihood of the person staying for long. You will be investing time and money in developing your managers and losing one is large loss. Ideally, we should choose someone who we know won’t leave the business too early. Unfortunately, this aspect is hard to predict except for knowing how long the employee has stayed in past jobs. Picking the right person for a promotion is not an easy task. Be sure to have a well-thought-out process in place before the need arises. The success of the company will, in a very large part, depend on the manager handling it.
*Originally published by the Manila Bulletin, C-6, Sunday, August 14, 2016. Written by Ruben Anlacan, Jr. (President, BusinessCoach, Inc.) All rights reserved. May not be reproduced or copied without express written permission of the copyright holders.