Situation: A CEO has a high-potential manager who heads a remote office of the company. This individual seems most comfortable with hands-on work, but the CEO believes that she has the talent to grow into a superb manager with broader responsibility within the company. How do you motivate a high-potential individual?

Advice from the CEOs:

• The key is the motivation and ambition of the individual. Without this the individual will not make a successful move in the direction that is sought. Understand and respect her goals and interests.
  • Two books by William Ury may help: Getting to Yes and Getting Past No.
  • The potential danger is the Peter Principle – that the individual will get promoted to their level of incompetence.
• Does this individual have a talented subordinate who could take on additional responsibility – to back-fill for her as she takes on new responsibilities?
  • The process of training an individual like this will become an important growth exercise for her as a manager.
• If the individual agrees that she wants more responsibility, look for a mentor for her, or hire a trainer to work with her to facilitate the process.
• If she is amenable to the move that the CEO envisions, establish written SMART objectives to guide her development and assumption of new responsibilities. This will give her a road map to success.
  • SMART Objectives – Specific Measurable Attainable Relevant and Time-bound
• If she prefers her current track and responsibilities to the vision that the CEO has for her, the CEO may want to develop her subordinate to fill the desired role.
  • There are many cases in which a talented subordinate has surpassed not just one but many of their supervisors.

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