There's a disease that is prevalent in business today that no one is talking about. I’m not sure how long it’s been around, but its symptoms can be highly contagious. The primary warning signs are disgruntled behavior, low morale, bitterness, and resentment. If not careful, these symptoms can spread throughout an organization. The condition is Talent Dysmorphia.*
People tend to think they possess skills they don’t necessarily have. They also often think their talents are greater than they truly are. Not everyone is a prodigy, genius, or virtuoso. How many times have you heard someone watch someone else do their job well and say, “I could do that!” Highly talented people make their jobs look effortless. I assure you, whatever the job, it is not easy.
My analogy is watching any type of performance, whether it is a play, movie, or TV show. When well executed, we may think that the acting was very good, but we rarely comment on how well written the dialogue was. The words the actors said were not their own. Yet, the conversations seemed extemporaneous. It’s easy to think, “I could do that.” It’s only if you try to replicate the effort that you realize how difficult it is.
Unfortunately, many managers and businesses enable this type of thinking. One organization (much like many others) valued promoting from within. A noble cause for sure. People who worked there for several years were regularly promoted. Others who were more talented were told, not yet, they had to put in their time. It’s no wonder that one day someone came into my office asking for advice. She had been a loyal, dedicated, hard worker at this company for seven years, but she hadn’t received a promotion to “manager.”
It wasn’t my decision, but I asked her to make her case. Why should she become a manager? She repeated that she has consistently done a great job and exceeded expectations for seven years. My response stunned her. She was not very happy with me. I asked, “And how many years do you have to work here to be CEO?” I said that "by your logic, if you put in enough time, we will all become CEO of this company." That’s a lot of CEOs I noted.
Once she recovered from the initial shock, I explained that there are three main categories of successful professionals: high-performers, managers, and leaders. Each has its own set of skills necessary for proficiency. One of the most common mistakes organizations make is assuming that their top salesperson would make an excellent sales manager. Often, the company loses its best revenue stream and creates a dysfunctional sales team. Everyone loses.
Before I expound upon those three categories of professionals, I am going to take a short, but related, detour. There are also three types of workers: the heavy anchors, the well-oiled gears, and the main sails. The anchors are the under- achievers. They are a drag on your organization and should be replaced at the earliest possible opportunity. The gears are the core of your workforce. Without them your business would come to a grinding halt. They know their job. They do it well. They could be replaced, but you’d rather not. The high performers, or sails, don’t need to be told what to do or how to do it. They are highly motivated and dependable. They are the top 10% of your workforce that propel the organization and are not easily replaceable.
As a manager it is critical to identify which of these every one of your staff is. You do not want to invest in an anchor. You want to support and reward the gears according to industry norms and standards. The sails must be nurtured and tended to consistently. You want to make sure the sails feel like they always have the wind at their back.
Often, the sails will think they’re ready to be captain of the ship. The skills required for someone to excel at a particular job function are different than those of a successful manager. Management must organize, prioritize, and navigate multiple stakeholder interests and personalities. Managers develop plans and processes, evaluate performance, and make critical decisions about how to improve. They must build teams, organize roles and responsibilities, and are accountable for outcomes based on the work of others. People can be both high-performance workers and competent managers, but not always.
Similarly, not all managers are leaders. Leadership is more visionary and strategic, whereas management is often tactical. Leaders see beyond the present state of the organization, industry, or society. They have a clear vision of what the future could and should look like. They are articulate, inspirational, motivational, and charismatic. They can clearly communicate their vision and make others share their dream and believe it’s possible. They set a long-term goal, a timeline, milestones, and core values needed to achieve it. Managers then develop plans and teams to achieve the vision. Some managers are also great leaders, but not often.
Recognizing your core skills and your value is essential to your personal happiness and professional fulfillment. You may or may not be a strong leader, but I assure you the real world is not like grade school. You do not get promoted by simply doing your job well for a year.
* Not an actual disease. I am not making light of any other mental or physical health issues with which people struggle. Those are very serious, and I am not comparing or assigning any kind of equivalency.
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