Rethinking manager recruitment
In almost every organisation I’ve worked in, becoming a people manager was (and likely still is) viewed as the next ‘natural’ step for high-performing technical & subject matter experts (SMEs). For those who aren’t aware yet:
Leadership is not a reward for technical excellence - it’s a fundamentally different role that requires a different skillset.
Too often, SMEs are promoted or hired into people manager roles with little consideration for their capability or desire to lead people. This can be damaging not only to the individual (who is now dealing with imposter syndrome and wondering why they ever thought they wanted to lead people), but damaging also to the team they lead and the broader culture. I know because I’ve seen the results first-hand - anxiety, confusion, frustration, and anger that the basics a team needs just aren’t there. It drives division, and it drives your good people to leave.
Don’t get me wrong - technical skills matter to a point. But stepping up into management requires us to shift the balance from primarily technical work to primarily people leadership. This requires emotional intelligence, communication, flexibility, feedback, leading through change, hard conversations, thinking strategically, and inspiring others to deliver on your behalf. Leadership means creating a shared and clear vision amid complexity, the fostering of psychological safety, and developing your people for the oncoming challenges. While often written off as ‘soft’ skills, they are in fact very difficult to master and business critical.
When we prioritise technical expertise over leadership capability in hiring and promotion decisions we create a misalignment. Poor leadership is a top driver of disengagement, burnout and attrition. And in today’s VUCA world, the cost of ineffective leadership is too high to ignore.
My two cents (aka - what we need to do)
Rethink hiring criteria for manager roles. Look at your current role criteria/role description and ask whether it will deliver you someone that can lead, coach, and motivate others? Someone who can hold people accountable with care? Someone who can anticipate your needs as a senior leader and work effectively to turn strategic direction into tangible, operational action? Or someone who can navigate interpersonal dynamics and change with confidence?
Shake up your interview questions. Ask them bigger questions like:
“What’s your leadership philosophy?”
“When priorities conflict, how do you decide what gets done and what gets delayed?”
“Tell us about the process you use to manage workloads?”
“What’s the biggest challenge you see this team, and this industry facing, in the next ten years.”
Offer alternative career paths for technical experts. Not everyone wants to lead people, and that’s OK. Suncorp Bank did this years ago as part of a broader view to alternate career paths, to great success. We could all take a leaf out of their books (especially government that is taking a lot longer to catch up in this space).
Invest in leadership development early. Start at the middle-management level (the training ground for senior leaders) and don’t wait until someone is in crisis. Spot potential early, support growth proactively, and set new managers up for success from day 1.
In summary
Promoting technical experts into people leadership roles without the right skills hurts both them and the team they’re hired to lead. If that is the direction you want to go - start working with your future leader early - before they’re in the position. Help them understand the true nature of people leadership, and give them stretch assignments to get started, because throwing them in at the deep end damages people, culture, and long-term undermines business performance, risking their tenure in the process.
And if they are thrown in at the deep end - for the love of all things management - get them a coach.
Davina is the Director of, and Leadership Coach at, Life and Career Coaching.
