People Development

Helping Them Replace You

Earlier in my career, I had a manager for whom I had no trust. He didn't keep his promises, especially when it had to do with the career advancement of those of us who worked with him. He seemed to be focused only on his own career progression.

 One time, I got in trouble with him simply because I wrote a small piece for the company's quarterly newsletter without his permission. A friend who worked in the PR department had asked me to write an article about the new fully-automated, state-of-the-art production line that we were installing in one of the plants at the time.

I obliged and got in trouble for it.

Much later, I discovered that this manager had a secret fear that was driving most of his actions. He was afraid of losing his job any one of us who were on his team at that time. To ensure that this didn't happen, he suppressed and tried to censure anything that could give us visibility to people in upper management.

Despite his efforts, the nature of my job responsibilities gave me unique exposures to the company's top executives. Eventually, I was promoted without his knowledge. As my manager, part of his job was to advocate for me and help my career. He did neither. But that didn't prevent my promotion even though his actions delayed it for almost a year.

Although this happened more than 25 years ago, it's very conceivable that there are still managers like him in organizations today. They stifle the careers of their team members for any number of reasons. Whether it's due to malice or selfishness, this is a very short-sighted behavior.

It is my belief that if, as a leader, you're able to develop a few of your team members to the level where they can take over your job, that's exactly what you should do. In fact, I think this should be the goal of every manager - develop your team members so at least one of them is able to replace you.

Why should you do this, you ask? Well, a few reasons come to mind.

Firstly, having your team trained to do your job allows you to delegate more of your responsibilities. In so doing, your team members may discover more efficient ways of handling specific tasks. This can be great for your team's productivity.

In addition, such delegation can give you the time you need to focus on something else. This could provide other opportunities that open the door to something new. One or more innovative ideas, products, and services can result from these.

Also, doing this frees you to be available to move up to the next level in your career. What better way to accelerate your own promotion than having others be ready to replace you?

Finally, even if all else stays the same, being diligent in developing your team members can create a sense of belonging. It lets them know that you're fully invested in their career development and growth. With this, you secure their trust and support for the long haul - way beyond your current position and theirs.

Who wouldn't want to be on a team like that?

I definitely would.