A Promotion Is A Hire For A Different Job
The best performer is usually first in line for a promotion, and research on sales teams shows why that can backfire. A short trial before the title, and an ordinary way back, cost far less.
Naomi Withers
By Naomi Withers | Vancouver City News | November 4, 2026 Editor: Karalee Greer Subscription to WBN is Free
The announcement goes out on a Friday afternoon, and everyone agrees it was deserved.
The company's best salesperson is moving up to lead the sales team. Clients ask for him by name, and his numbers have led the sales board for three years. The promotion feels like the obvious thank you.
A year later the team's numbers have slipped, and he is quietly asking whether he could go back to selling.
What The Research Found
Three economists, Alan Benson, Danielle Li and Kelly Shue, tested this pattern using sales data from 214 American companies, published in the Quarterly Journal of Economics in 2019. The best salespeople were the most likely to be promoted. And the stronger a new manager's own sales record had been, the weaker the team performed afterward. Doubling a new manager's past sales went with a 7.5 percent drop in the sales of each person reporting to them.
That study looked at sales teams, and the number belongs to sales. The pattern shows up well beyond it. Doing the work brilliantly and helping other people do the work are two separate skills, and a promotion usually rewards the first while handing over the second.
Find Out Before The Announcement
Most businesses learn whether someone can manage after the title is public. By then the old role has been filled, the raise is in place, and stepping back would feel like a failure to everyone involved.
A trial costs much less. Give the candidate an acting role for three months. Let them lead a short project with two or three colleagues. Ask them to bring the next new hire up to speed. Each of these shows how a person handles the real work of managing: setting expectations, giving feedback, and making room for someone else to succeed.
It also gives the candidate a chance to learn whether they want the job. Some will find they do not. That is a good result, reached early and cheaply.
Make The Way Back Ordinary
The other half of the problem is that people stay in the wrong seat. A move that cannot be reversed without embarrassment rarely gets reversed.
So say at the start that the role will be reviewed together after six months. Keep the person's old path open. If the fit turns out to be wrong, treat the move back as a sensible correction, with pay handled fairly. A business that can call it the wrong seat, and offer a better one, keeps a person it would otherwise lose slowly.
A Step For Monday
Think of the next person you expect to promote. Before anything is announced, write down two lists: what the new role asks for, and where you have already seen this person do those things. If the second list is short, start with a trial.
Why It Matters
In a business of thirty people, one mismatched promotion reaches everyone on that team, and it can cost the company its best individual performer as well. Preventing it takes no human resources department. It takes a few months of trying the job before the title, and a way back that nobody has to be ashamed of.
Adapted from an article first published on the Growth Consultant Services blog: Before You Promote Your Best Performer
About The Author
Naomi Withers | Vancouver City News LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/naomi-withers-7044491b/
Naomi Withers is the founder of Growth Consultant Services, where she advises founders, CEOs, and executive teams on AI strategy, executive coaching, and high-performance leadership. Her advisory and coaching work is at growthconsultantservices.com/services.
Editor: Karalee Greer Subscription to WBN is Free
Tags: #Naomi Withers #Vancouver City News #Leadership #Management #Promotion #Small Business #Talent Development