Rising Stars: What to Look Out For When Promoting Staff

Promoting the wrong person into leadership damages more than that individual’s career. It affects team morale, sets the tone for your culture, and signals what you value as an organisation. I’ve seen promotions that looked good on paper fail spectacularly because the person promoted lacked critical capabilities that weren’t obvious until they had authority. I’ve also seen people promoted who seemed unlikely candidates but became exceptional leaders. The difference isn’t always obvious until you know what to look for. Here’s what I’ve learned about identifying people who’ll actually succeed in more senior roles.

What are the key challenges of distinguishing team players from problem solvers?

When I evaluate people for promotion, one of the most important things I assess is whether they’re primarily team players or individual problem-solvers. Both are valuable, but they require different roles to flourish. Someone who excels by working independently and solving complex problems might struggle as a manager who needs to develop others. Someone who’s brilliant at facilitating group work might find individual technical leadership frustrating.

This isn’t about liking people versus not liking people. Some brilliant individual contributors are wonderful human beings—they’re just energised by complexity and autonomy rather than by leading teams. Promoting them into people management often makes them and their teams miserable. Instead, I look for roles where their strengths play to their advantage. Perhaps they lead a technical function. Perhaps they become individual technical authorities. Perhaps they mentor without having formal authority.

Real rising stars usually show evidence that they can do both—they can solve problems independently and they can work collaboratively. Watch whether someone brings others into problem-solving or solves things alone. Do they help teammates improve or hoard knowledge? Do they celebrate others’ contributions or minimise them? These patterns predict whether someone will actually lead teams effectively.

How do you assess genuine motivation and drive?

Motivation matters enormously and it’s often invisible until you look for it. Some people are driven by titles and authority. Some are driven by genuine impact—they want to build something meaningful. Some are driven by income and security. Some are driven by intellectual challenge. None of these are wrong, but they predict very different things about whether someone will succeed in specific roles.

When I evaluate promotion candidates, I’m looking for people whose motivation aligns with the role’s actual requirements. If someone’s primary drive is title and authority, they’ll struggle in a role that requires genuine service to others. If someone’s driven by impact, they’ll thrive when given resources to make meaningful change.

I assess this through conversation and observation. Why do they do what they do? What excites them about their work? What would they do if salary wasn’t a consideration? What problems do they get absorbed in solving? People’s answers reveal what actually drives them. Someone consistently drawn to helping others succeed, who gets energised by others’ development, will likely be a good manager. Someone energised by solving their own problems might be terrible at delegating.

How do you recognise the ability to bring new insights?

Rising stars aren’t just people who excel at current requirements. They’re people who can operate effectively in new environments and bring fresh perspectives. I look for evidence that someone can learn quickly, adapt their approach when circumstances change, and contribute ideas that improve how things work.

This is visible through how they handle uncertainty. When faced with something they don’t know, do they become defensive or curious? Do they ask questions to understand before acting or do they pretend knowledge they don’t have? Do they learn from mistakes or repeat them? Rising stars tend to be genuinely curious about how things work and why. They bring ideas not because they’re asked but because they care about improvement.

I also look for people who have successfully navigated changes—switching roles, learning new skills, adapting to new bosses. Not because change is easy for everyone, but because someone who can adapt is likely to succeed in bigger roles where adaptation is constant.

Evaluating Readiness for Leadership Responsibility

The final assessment is whether someone’s actually ready for the next level. This isn’t about capability—it’s about readiness. Some capable people aren’t ready for leadership. They might need more experience, more maturity, more self-awareness. Promoting someone who’s not ready sets them up for failure and damages them in the process.

Readiness includes things like: Do they understand the political dimensions of work? Can they operate under uncertainty without needing constant reassurance? Are they willing to make difficult decisions even when they’re unpopular? Can they take feedback without becoming defensive? Can they hold themselves accountable? These aren’t always obvious, but they’re critical for leadership success.

I also look at whether someone’s actually prepared to do the job. Have they thought about what leadership means? Are they prepared for the reality that being in charge means making some people unhappy? That it requires accountability without control? That it demands sustained effort without immediate gratification? Someone who’s thought this through and still wants the role is genuinely ready.

Promoting rising stars should be about identifying people who will genuinely succeed in bigger roles, not about rewarding loyalty or performance in current roles. A brilliant individual contributor doesn’t automatically make a good manager. Someone who’s shown problem-solving excellence might not bring the team-building capability leadership demands. Look for the whole picture: motivation, collaboration, learning agility, and genuine readiness. Promote based on that assessment rather than on past performance alone.

Related reading: Is your team suffering in silence? Four reasons why your colleagues won’t discuss their mental health with you, Train disengaged employees like a pro with these development strategies and How to instil a collaborative working mindset into new team members.