Dodo Loves Marketing

You have a subordinate who you feel has the makings of greatness. If developed and encouraged, this person could climb to the very top. But with a department or division to run, plus your own responsibilities, it’s not always that easy to give your potential star the support and encouragement that’s needed. It’s a universal problem most managers have to contend with.

Some managers think that talent will win out in the end and that nothing need be done to help promising rookies along. With luck and initiative, they’ll make their talents known eventually.

There is some validity to this contention, yet many experts—like James Clawson, an associate professor at the Colgate Darden School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia—feel that managers ought to take an active role in helping subordinates make their mark. ..more

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Sometimes you elevate a staff member only to discover that the person is not up to snuff. In over his or her head, the newly promoted employee can slow the output of your department, unsettle customer relations, or call your judgment into question.

Letting the employee go may be a quick way of handling the problem and saving face, but it can hurt your standing with the rest of your staff, particularly if the person was a good performer in the past. Here are some alternate strategies:

• Be on the lookout for potential trouble. “During the initial honeymoon period, managers often overlook the person’s shortcomings, but doing so means mistakes can reach even greater proportions before they’re caught,” says Dr. Chester Schriesheim, distinguished professor of management and the Rosa R. and Carlos M. de la Cruz scholar in leadership at the University of Miami School of Business Administration. ..more
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