282 Don't Promote People Without Training Them First

<p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">In the military, junior officers are the equivalent of middle management in business.  In times of warfare these middle managers are often wounded or killed in battle.  There are no replacements from officer school, so the most capable member of the team is promoted on the battlefield, as the replacement leader.  It makes no sense in business to have this as the model.  Yet, this is often what happens.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">The current middle manager is poached by a vigilant recruiter or they jump ship for greener pastures.  The organisation has had no capacity or has given no great thought to the issue of succession planning and there is no opportunity to transfer in a seasoned manager as the replacement.  The most capable member of the team is tapped on the shoulder to step up into a leadership role.  How are these individuals judged to be the most capable?  Usually, this is never based on their leadership capability, because they have never had an opportunity to display their latent talent.  It is mainly based on their technical expertise, functional experience or longevity in the team.</span><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US"> </span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">Having selected the most likely leader, they are now thrust into the job and given the opportunity to learn how with OJT or On The Job Training.  The “training” however is the self-paced, pick it up as you go along variety.  The previous boss didn’t understand the importance of delegation as a way to groom successors, so no one got a taste of what being the boss was like.  The new boss’s reporting line going up are too busy with their own work, to spend much time coaching the newbie boss.  Trial and error is now the established curriculum of leadership.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span lang="EN-US" xml:lang="EN-US">Going from one of the team, to the leader is no easy task.  Your colleagues have a broad range of