Mr. Bradt, thank you for your comment. We agree that there are no clean edges in an internal promotion. We have seen that having an internal mentor (someone who takes the role seriously) to be helpful with the transition. The more the person knows what to be aware of, the better prepared they will be to handle the promotion.

Response to Gino Conti’s comment:

Mr. Conti, you raise an important point in your comment. An anonymous 360 feed back process has many flaws, and we do not recommend it either. The intent behind a valid and meaningful 360 is to obtain additional information on the candidate that can be used in the decision to promote. In our work we’ve found people who manage up extremely well and manage subordinates poorly. Our intent was to gain insight on how the candidate manages a wide range of relationships – and not just the boss. We recommend a 360 conducted by neutral third party and we further recommend that it be done in an (confidential) interview format. The decision to promote is too important to leave to an anonymous paper (or electronic) process. We appreciate your comment.

There are a great number of problems with 360 evaluations and I would rather work with an open and honest feedback session from manager to employee and vice versa to discuss performance strengths and weaknesses as well as career preferences and potential. Because the 360 system is often anonymous, focuses on negatives, and includes feedback from people who may have little to no management experience it doesn’t seem to add much value in my opinion. Meaningful feedback is absolutey essential to an organization and an employee with an eye for career growth, but this can (and should be) achieved without bringing peers who may have their own agenda into the mix.

1. They can’t control the context – so they need to prepare in advance and be ready to adjust as required in planned, unplanned or interim changes, securing resources and support along the way.

2. It’s hard to make a clean break – so they need to take control of their own transition by managing the announcement cascade, securing their base, and managing first impressions in the new role.

3. There’s no honeymoon – so they need to accelerate team progress after the start by evolving the stated and defacto strategies, improving operations and strengthening the organization.

(Adapted from my book “The New Leader’s 100-Day Action Plan” – Wiley, 2009)

George Bradt
PrimeGenesis Executive Onboarding and Transition Acceleration
http://www.primegenesis.com