May carpenter be a manager?

In the office.
And on the beach

The web magazine for top managers - who's promoted, who came, who left? And what to do when you're not in the office.

Although the question in the headline seems simple and the answer is simple indeed, there are few important point that company must be aware of.

How one becomes a manager or team leader? Generally speaking, the shortest way to position of manager or team leader is to prove that you have knowledge and skills that are required on your working place. After finishing school, one gets the job and tasks that must be done. An accountant gets the book, a carpenter a piece of wood, a salesman a products that he needs to sell.

If they are successful and if they show knowledge, skills and devotion, it is great probability that they will be asked to become something more. At that moments a company thinks that they proved themselves and that they will achieve equally good results as a leaders. And here lies the trap visible in so many companies, especially smaller ones. After the promotion and euphoria that follows, both sides are slowly realize that good worker is not so good leader. His results are bad, his has no support from his team, and his superior officer is not satisfied too. This is total opposite to win-win situation: The company lost good worker, and get a lousy leader.

good worker good boss

What happened? The company thought that the results will be the same. After all, he was brilliant worker. But to expect that good worker will be a good manager without any help is exactly the same as expecting a good carpenter to be a good doctor. There is a possibility, but carpenter needs education. If he has patient and if he company provides him means to learn, he will succeed.

However, the leaders of the company must be aware that people aren't born to be managers and leaders. They need support, learning and help from other colleagues. There is some unexplainable belief that good worker will be a good leader just like that. Very often young managers think the same and they are not happy with their inability to lead the team efficiently. They tend to lose self-confidence and they may ask to return to their old duties.

It is important to recall a simple fact: A workers becomes good after years of learning and work. Every worker has some kind of education and working experience and because of that he may become good. The same for managers. When a company announces a new leader, it must give him support and proper education for his new position. To work with wood is hard, to work with people is even harder. The new leader must learn new skills that are completely different from his previous experience, and company must explain to him what is expected. That way both sided may expect a win-win situation. Good worker will become a good leader, and company will be a better company. And carpenter will enjoy his new position as a manager.

June 20, 2008

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