Is Your Best Performer Really Your Best Manager?

I've seen this happen throughout my career. 

Someone is brilliant at what they do. They're your top salesperson, strongest engineer, most experienced project manager or the subject matter expert everyone turns to when they need an answer. 

You want to recognise them, retain them and, quite rightly, reward them. 

So what traditionally happens next? 

You make them a manager. 

But there's one question I don't think we ask often enough. 

Do they actually want to manage people? 

Being brilliant at your job doesn't automatically make you a brilliant manager 

People management is a completely different skill. 

An exceptional engineer may have no desire to manage performance, absence or conflict. Your best salesperson might love winning business but get absolutely no enjoyment from managing a sales team. 

Suddenly, the work they loved and were brilliant at has been replaced by one to ones, performance conversations and the day to day challenges of managing people. 

That doesn't mean they've failed. 

Perhaps we put them on the wrong career path. 

Why does progression have to mean management? 

For years, becoming a manager has been one of the obvious ways to achieve more responsibility, recognition and, importantly, a higher salary. 

I think businesses need to challenge that. 

Could your engineer become a Principal Engineer? Could your technical expert become a recognised Subject Matter Expert? Could your salesperson progress into a more senior commercial role without automatically becoming responsible for a team? 

They can still mentor colleagues, lead important projects and become increasingly valuable to the business. 

And crucially, they can be rewarded financially for doing so. 

Someone shouldn't have to manage people simply because they've reached the top of the salary band for doing the job they're brilliant at. 

Who actually wants to manage people? 

There may be someone else in the business who genuinely enjoys developing others. 

They listen, communicate well, are comfortable having difficult conversations and enjoy helping people succeed. 

They may not be your number one performer, but perhaps they have the foundations of a great manager. 

That doesn't mean we should simply promote them and leave them to get on with it. 

People need to be trained to manage people. 

We can't give somebody a management title on Friday and expect them to know how to manage people on Monday. 

And the risk for employers is changing 

This feels particularly relevant now as businesses prepare for changes to unfair dismissal rights. 

From 1 January 2027, the qualifying period for ordinary unfair dismissal will reduce from two years to six months. Employers need to prepare now because employees reaching six months' service by that date will be affected by the change. 

For me, that puts even greater importance on good management from the start: 

• Setting clear expectations  

• Having meaningful probation reviews  

• Giving regular feedback  

• Addressing performance or conduct concerns early  

• Supporting people to improve  

• Keeping appropriate records  

This isn't about turning managers into employment lawyers. 

It's about making sure the people responsible for managing employees have the skills and confidence to actually do it. 

Are we sometimes handing HR problems we've created ourselves? 

HR has an important role in advising, supporting and helping businesses manage risk. 

But HR can't replace good day to day management. 

If we promote someone because they're technically brilliant, don't establish whether they actually want to manage people, give them limited training and then expect HR to step in when something goes wrong, have we really set anyone up to succeed? 

The manager becomes frustrated, their team doesn't get the management it needs and HR becomes involved once the problem has already escalated. 

And potentially, we've taken one of our strongest performers away from the thing they were brilliant at in the first place. 

Perhaps we need two career paths 

I'm certainly not suggesting businesses stop promoting their best people. 

I think we need to give talented people more than one way to succeed. 

One route could be leadership and people management. 

Another could allow someone to become an increasingly senior technical or subject matter expert, with the recognition, influence and salary to match. 

Neither should be seen as more successful than the other. 

So before your next management promotion, ask: 

• Are we promoting this person because they'll make a good manager, or because they're brilliant at their current job?  

• Do they actually want to manage people?  

• Could they progress financially and professionally without becoming a line manager?  

• Who genuinely has the desire and potential to lead people?  

• Are we prepared to give them the training, support and time to do it properly?  

Perhaps it's time we stopped thinking about career progression as a single ladder. 

For some people, success will mean leadership and management. For others, it will mean becoming the very best engineer, salesperson, project professional or subject matter expert they can be. 

Both add value. Both deserve recognition. And both should have somewhere to go. 

Before your next promotion, perhaps the question isn't simply "Who deserves it?" 

It's "Who actually wants to manage people, who has the potential to do it well, and are we properly preparing them for the responsibility?"