The first time I met him, I understood why he was being considered for promotion.
He was articulate, assertive, knew the business inside out. His leadership behaviour in promotions hadn’t yet been questioned—but it should have been.
His numbers? Impeccable.
His reports? Always ahead of deadline.
His client portfolio? The envy of the division.
So when the shortlist was drawn up for the new regional lead position, no one questioned his inclusion.
“He’s our best performer.”
“He gets things done.”
“He’s hungry.”
And so, he got the role.
Three months later, his team was unravelling.
The warning signs were subtle at first.
A team lead resigned unexpectedly.
Two high performers requested transfers.
A group strategy session ended in silence.
By the end of the quarter, productivity had dipped by 18%.
Customer escalations doubled.
The team pulse survey — once a healthy 78% engagement — plummeted to 46%.
The HR team launched an internal listening tour.
The feedback was damning.
Words like “intimidating,” “dismissive,” “controlling,” and “unapproachable” kept surfacing.
One team member summed it up painfully:
“He’s brilliant. But he doesn’t lead. He dominates.”
And there it was — the sentence that framed the problem perfectly.
The Promotion Paradox: When Performance Masks Leadership Behaviour
This is not a one-off story.
It’s one I’ve seen play out over and over again — in telecoms, energy, development agencies, financial services, and logistics firms across Africa.
A technically sound, results-driven employee gets rewarded with a leadership role — and the team suffers for it.
Why?
Because in too many organisations, we’re still making the same fatal assumption:
High performance = leadership potential
But here’s the truth:
Being excellent at your job doesn’t automatically make you excellent at leading others.
Delivering results does not mean you know how to develop people.
Driving KPIs doesn’t prove you can build trust, coach others, resolve conflict, or lead with empathy.
And yet, we keep promoting people who can’t lead — because they perform.
What We’re Ignoring: Behaviour is the Foundation of Leadership
Leadership is not first about what you do.
It’s about how you behave while doing it.
It’s about what people experience when they’re led by you.
But in promotion decisions, here’s what we usually measure:
- Performance metrics
- Years of experience
- Subject-matter expertise
- Delivery track record
- Client wins
And here’s what we usually ignore: - Self-awareness
- Influence style
- Listening and empathy
- Team feedback
- Behaviour under pressure
- Ability to develop others
The tragedy?
Those ignored factors are the ones that determine whether someone thrives or fails as a leader.
The Hidden Costs of Getting It Wrong
Every time you promote someone who can’t lead, you risk more than just a poor fit.
Here’s what it actually costs:
- Loss of Talent: Strong individual contributors leave because of toxic leadership.
When leadership behaviour erodes trust, high performers walk.
A global Gallup study revealed that 70% of team engagement is directly attributable to the immediate manager. That’s how much behavioural leadership traits - Team Disengagement: Even those who stay begin to disengage.
They withhold effort, avoid collaboration, and stop taking initiative.
Disengagement is silent, but deadly. - Reputational Damage: Word spreads.
Externally, your brand gets tarnished.
Internally, people stop aspiring to leadership — because it looks like a reward for aggression, not impact. - Culture Erosion: Leadership behaviour defines culture.
Promote the wrong behaviour, and you send a message:
“This is who we reward. This is what we value.”
Culture doesn’t die in boardrooms. It dies in team meetings where bad leadership is tolerated. - Execution Slowdown: Poor leaders hoard decisions, create fear, and stall innovation.
They become bottlenecks, not bridges.
A Better Way: Promote Behaviour, Not Just Output
We recently worked with a regional manufacturing company in East Africa.
They had high attrition in their middle management band and couldn’t figure out why.
On the surface, all their managers were high performers.
But when we introduced a 360-degree leadership assessment, the picture became clear:
- Over 60% of their “star managers” scored low on empathy, adaptability, and feedback receptiveness.
- Their teams reported high stress, lack of recognition, and zero psychological safety.
They had promoted based on output — not outcomes.
So we redesigned their leadership development strategy.
Here’s what changed: - All promotion candidates now undergo a leadership readiness assessment
- Behavioural interviews were introduced into final panel evaluations
- Peer and team feedback became part of promotion dossiers
- Internal coaching was introduced for technically strong but behaviourally at-risk candidates
- Leadership was redefined not as position, but as a standard of behaviour and influence
Within one year:
- Attrition dropped by 31%
- Promotion regret fell to single digits
- Two “on-the-fence” leaders, after coaching, emerged as some of the company’s most respected mentors
That’s the power of getting it right.
Your Leadership Culture Is Built on Who You Promote
Let’s be clear:
Every time you promote someone, you’re not just rewarding their work.
You’re setting a cultural precedent.
You’re telling your organisation:
“This is the kind of leadership behaviour we celebrate.”
“This is what leadership culture in organisations looks like around here.”
So if your promotions favour control over collaboration, aggression over empathy, or silence over feedback — don’t be surprised when those traits begin to dominate your culture.
What Organisations Must Do Differently
Here’s how to break the cycle:
- Redefine Leadership Criteria
Go beyond performance metrics.
Integrate behavioural standards into every leadership role description. - Use Leadership Assessments
Introduce 360-degree feedback, personality profiling, and behavioural interviews in your promotion process. - Separate the Performer Track from the People Leadership Track
Not every brilliant technician needs to manage people.
Create alternate career growth paths that respect technical mastery without forcing leadership roles. - Train Your Panelists
Ensure those involved in promotion decisions understand how to assess leadership behaviour, not just experience or delivery. - Hold Leaders Accountable for Behaviour
Measure leadership effectiveness not just by what their team achieves — but how they achieve it under their influence.
Final Thought: Leadership Is a Responsibility, Not a Reward
Promotions shouldn’t be given to pacify, incentivise, or reward loyalty.
They should be entrusted — to those who can lead with clarity, courage, and care.
Because in the end, your leadership culture is not built by what you preach —
It’s built by who you promote.
So next time you sit across the table and evaluate a high performer for a leadership role, pause and ask:
“Can this person lead people — not just perform?”
If the answer is unclear, then wait.
Because the cost of getting it wrong is a price your people, your culture, and your business cannot afford.
