Jobs and Individuals: Chicken Or Egg?

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...and ‘Fran’ may be ideal for one of the new posts you have in mind, at least given the opportunity and training required.
It may also even be that any of ‘Al’, ‘Bren’ and ‘Charlie’ may be far better positioned for an even more demanding role than you had first envisioned — or perhaps may not be as appropriate for their new roles as you had first thought?

Case Studies

Practical examples of the above considerations inevitably involve being ‘wise after the event’. The names in the following case studies have necessarily been changed to protect their identities,...

...but the lessons to be learned remain.

- Jackie was a greatly accomplished networker and successful sales person, who generated more new business than any peers. But promoted to Sales Manager, with no interest in administration and process, or in managing others, Jackie failed miserably in the new role. Eventually Jackie left the organisation — and years later is still a very highly accomplished sales person in another company. But not a Sales Manager.

- Kris was never perceived to be a great team-player (in a minor role) and was seen as being ‘expendable’ to the organisation. But what became clearer on further examination was that Kris paid invaluable attention to detail and had unusually adroit commercial awareness. Kris’s talents were thankfully recognised - and is now a very successful Contracts Manager in the same organisation.

- Lou was a highly competent manager and probably always destined for greater things, but was the first to say when the organisation wasn’t working well, whatever the consequences. Offered a new job in the reorganisation, Lou’s first response was to reject it - probably because Lou knew that the insights previously presented were rarely welcomed by senior management. And as Lou was... continued on page five >

 

 

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