When Technical Excellence Becomes The Leadership Job
Industrial organisations are rigorous about developing technical capability. The move from being good at the work to becoming responsible for the people who do it is a different transition, and it is not always developed with the same discipline.
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Industrial organisations are very good at making technical readiness visible. A person progresses through instruction, supervised practice, correction and assessment. Someone is responsible for whether capability has actually transferred. The transition into management is different. The new manager may receive a title, induction and development programme, but the daily operating environment immediately begins teaching its own lessons. If the shift is behind, fixing the problem yourself may be rewarded. If difficult feedback creates risk, delaying it may feel safer. If technical expertise is what created status, surrendering the role of the person with the answer may feel like surrendering credibility. These are not necessarily training problems. They may be questions of selection, incentives, role design, workload or leadership capability. **The first task is therefore not to prescribe development. It is to understand what the system is currently teaching its managers to do.**
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