Minute Learn Opportunity - PROMOTIONS
Posted on September 03, 2024 by Barbara Valentine, One of Thousands of Executive Coaches on Noomii.
An information-packed quick read that will overview promotions and includes a take-away suggestion
When is a promotion not a promotion? Strange question since most people have received one or more promotions in their professional careers, and hopefully, these were positive experiences. But what happens when the person being promoted doesn’t want the promotion?
The majority of organizations reward superior performance with a bonus, a raise in salary, or an upward promotion, generally to a management position. Isn’t this what we all aspire to? So, why wouldn’t someone want a promotion?
One of my consulting clients had a star salesperson that always achieved over-quota and met or exceeded all goals. His reward was a promotion to Sales Manager. Perhaps the company decision-makers felt the move would result in his ability to turn all sales staff into carbon copies of himself so sales would soar. In actuality, he was miserable, hated the administrative work, had no idea how to develop staff – and, worst of all, the organization lost the exceptional sales he had produced.
And, let’s not overlook morale. The new Sales Manager didn’t believe the company understood what he wanted or appreciated what he had done as a sales person. He felt he had to take the promotion or be labeled as ungrateful or not wanting to move ahead. The sales staff felt they were being punished with a manager who didn’t want to, or know how to, help them. Can you guess what the result was? It took three months for sales to plummet to an all-time low.
Organizations need to recognize that rewards must be aligned to the individual person and, of course, result in improved performance for the organization. For our star salesperson, he returned to the field and was given a larger and more challenging territory and received acknowledgement from senior management with his achievements made known in the company communications. A new Sales Manager was hired – one who preferred administration over selling and was savvy enough to assess and identify the skills of the star salesperson to use in developing all sales staff.
Take-away suggestion: Profile your people so you know their strengths and weaknesses, what motivates them, and their short and long-term career goals. This will help promote the highest levels of performance, engage employees, and minimize unwanted turnover. If you are an employee, communicate with your manager to foster understanding and ensure they know you, what your goals are, and your value to the organization.
This article is the sole property of Barbara Valentine and Performance + Coaching and may not be copied, in whole or part, or used in any way without the written consent of Barbara Valentine.
