Category: Promotion

Individual Contributor to Manager: Advice and Resources

  |   Promotion

OK! You wanted this and now it’s happened. Yesterday you were an individual contributor. Tomorrow you will be a manager. Pop the cork. Celebrate. And get ready to go to work. The transition from individual contributor to manager is one of the most difficult in business. It’s more like a career change than it is like a  »  Read More

Tavern Training

  |   Promotion

“You ever hear of tavern training?” my neighbor, Tony, asked me. We were having one of those conversations that start with “Can I borrow your leaf blower?” and wind up over a beer in the kitchen. Tony was talking about his first promotion to supervisor. He worked in a factory up in Ohio. One day the  »  Read More

The Key to Engagement

  |   Promotion

In many companies, selecting individual contributors to become supervisors is a crapshoot. That’s more than simply gambling, it borders on criminal negligence. Your people are your most important asset. They’re the only source of sustainable competitive advantage. And, as China Gorman points out in  »  Read More

A Conversation about a Candidate for Promotion

  |   Promotion

“Maybe you can help,” John began. He’s a neighbor of mine and a mid-level manager in a large organization. Part of his job is deciding who gets promoted from individual contributor to supervisor. That’s what he wanted to talk about. “What’s troubling you?” I asked. We talk a lot  »  Read More