There is a natural tendency for companies to promote their best performers on the Team Leader position. Because she or he is good, they deserve to become a people manager! That is true; on the other hand, managing people has nothing to do with technical skills …
60% of new managers fail within the first 24 months of their new position according to Gartner’s research. There are different reasons for failing and the line manager plays a major role in it.
If you have a new promoted TL in your team, be generous with the time spent in supporting and developing your TL. The best course of action is to run a development plan with this new TL, covering:
new responsibilities – people and business related
how time should be used: spending more with the team and less with their own technical tasks
skills they need to develop (planning, performance management, delegation, coaching, motivation, recruiting, feedback, people development, etc.) and how to do it
what does success look like
Make them understand it is no longer about them and their performance, but rather about their team and its performance.


