Ascending someone always seems like good news. It is interpreted as a prize, a recognition, a logical step. But many times, it ends up being a silent condemnation: For who ascends, for his team and for the organization.
Why? Because promoting is not just changing the title. It's changing the game.
And the problem is, no one explains the new rules. People who were brilliant running, now face lead without tools.
They go from doing, to making others do... without preparation.
And there they start the wear, the mistakes, the doubts. The person doesn't feel good about what he does anymore. The team is confused. And frustration is spreading.
It wasn't that it didn't work. It was that no one prepared it.
In many companies, the urgency covers the strategy.
It promotes the one who "best has done so," without asking if he wants to lead, if he knows how to do it, or if he has support to learn it. The promotion becomes a emotional and operational trap.
And not just that. Those who fail to adapt begin to bear the blame: "I couldn't."
When it was actually the system that launched it without parachute.
This is where the Operating Model of Talent —M.O.B.— makes a difference.
Because it doesn't just define posts, too. It designs clear evolution routes, with transition points, prior preparation, mentoring and practice spaces.
Not all promotions should be immediate. Some require time, accompaniment, feedback and above all: intention.
It's not about filling a vacuum. It's about building real leadership.
Today more than ever, leading is not just giving instructions. It is to hold, inspire, coordinate, read emotions, make decisions in the fog.
And that doesn't improvise. He's trained. It's modeled. It supports.
If we really want solid equipment, we need to stop confusing merit and preparation.
Because a poorly managed promotion doesn't just break one person. It breaks a whole team.
