How many of your managers or leaders were promoted for skill

Promotions are important. In my view, they can represent great health in an organisation. But there is a flip side: Promotions reward past performance, not future capability.

Ask yourself: How many of your managers or leaders were promoted for skill, not leadership ability?

If you have ignored the leadership component, it is highly likely that you are baking in future performance and retention issues.

Below is a simple checklist that you can follow if you want to check, are your Managers ready to lead people. This will also help you to isolate where you need to put your energy to make this promotion the success that you hoped it would be for the organisation.

Promotion Checklist: “Are Our Managers Actually Ready to Lead People?”

Use this as a promotion and performance reality check.

If more than two answers are “no” or “unclear,” leadership risk is already embedded.

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Promotion Decisions

• Were managers promoted primarily for results, not leadership behaviour?
• Did we assess leadership capability before promotion?
• Were expectations of leadership clearly communicated at promotion?

Leadership Readiness

• Do managers know they are accountable for developing people, not just delivering output?
• Are they equipped to coach, give feedback, and manage performance?
• Do they understand how their behaviour directly affects engagement and retention?

Support & Development

• Do new managers receive structured support in their first year?
• Are leadership gaps addressed early, or tolerated until problems appear?
• Is development targeted to real behaviour gaps, not generic training?

Impact & Signals

• Do teams under certain managers show higher disengagement or turnover?
• Are performance issues recurring within the same teams?
• Do employees trust their manager to support their growth?

Insight & Accountability

• Can we clearly see which managers need support and why?
• Do we intervene early, or wait until attrition forces action?

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