JUST LIKE FETCH, STOP TRYING TO MAKE IT HAPPEN

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Let me first start by saying, I’m all about playing up strengths and working on areas for improvement. But as the best students do not always make the best teachers, good employees do not always make the best managers. Perhaps they are not successful with employee relations or “big picture” thinking. Maybe they can do the fundamental description of the role, but not look for ways to improve processes, grow revenue, create synergy between various departments, or work with employees with opinions different from their own. So what do you do when you really like an employee or a manager for a certain position, but you know in your heart they aren’t the right person to make that role a success?

The first option is to continue to wait and keep wishing on a star he or she will grow into the role or gain an applicable skillset, even though they’ve had multiple previous opportunities to do so. The second option is to keep actively searching for that unicorn and find the perfect person for the role. The next option is to split the role or add roles to fulfill the obligations of the position. Maybe one person is in charge of the day-to-day execution of tasks, another is in charge of managing and mentoring employees, maybe another is in charge of working with upper management to elevate business. So instead of pushing the person you really like in a position where they cannot succeed, you’re growing multiple people and giving the department the best chance of being successful. I like this option best because it provides growth opportunities for more than one person and sets other people for the next upward opportunity as soon as it becomes available. It also creates a more stable department with clearly-defined roles.

I’ve had some wonderful employees ask me for promotions or roles that were not suitable for them. Although I feared they would leave if they didn’t get the role they were seeking, I couldn’t, in good conscience, give them a position for which I knew they weren’t the right candidate. I also couldn’t risk losing other good employees and putting the department or company at risk of stagnancy or regression. Again, an employee can be competent in several areas, but lack in others. So instead, if I felt they could grow into parts of the role, I set up a path for them or I would try to give them other opportunities for development that may not have necessarily led to the role they were originally seeking.

As a manager, it is within your wheelhouse to find a place for your square pegs. And when you have a roster of great employees and a company with ample opportunities for professional development, this task should be fairly easy.