The promotion trap: from star player to struggling leader
Here’s a story every organization knows all too well.
You take your best salesperson and you promote them to Sales Manager.
They’re a true star performer who crushes their numbers every quarter.
It seems like the obvious, logical reward for their success.
Six months later, the team is in chaos.
Morale is low.
Your top sellers are threatening to quit.
And your former star is drowning in administrative tasks and interpersonal conflicts.
What happened?
You fell into the Promotion Trap.
The business cost of this single failed promotion is staggering.
You didn't just gain a struggling manager.
You lost your best salesperson.
You're now paying for low team morale.
Decreased productivity.
And missed sales targets.
And you're on the verge of losing your other top sellers due to the chaos.
The replacement cost that can exceed 200% of their annual salary.
This is a management problem.
And a multi-layered financial and operational risk.
You didn't promote a bad leader.
You failed to support a fundamental identity shift.
The skills that made them a great individual contributor:
drive
competitiveness
solo execution
Are not the same skills needed to be a great leader:
patience
teaching
delegation
developing others
This transition is one of the hardest and most high-stakes moments in any career.
It requires targeted coaching on the human skills of leadership.
And the psychological shift to finding fulfillment in others' success.
Not just on management tactics.
Don't let your best people fail by promoting them into isolation.
Let's talk about how to support your newly promoted leaders. Schedule a call today.
