1The Road to Management

THERE ARE MANY DIFFERENT WAYS that individuals become managers.

Unfortunately, many companies don’t go through a very thorough process in choosing those who will be moved into a managerial position. Often the judgment is based solely on how well the person is performing in his or her current position. The best individual contributor doesn’t always make the best manager, although many companies still make the choice on that basis. The theory is that successful past performance is the best indicator of future success. However, management skills are very different from the skills one needs to succeed as an individual contributor.

So the fact that an employee is a good performer, even though he or she demonstrates a pattern ...

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