Dave Anderson on Setting Up a Newly Promoted Manager for Success

This week, one of our viewers sent in the question: We’ve been busy, and I need another manager. What’s the best way to help someone I’m promoting, who’s never managed before, get off to a great start in their new position? Dave Anderson, leadership expert and President of LearnToLead, says dealers really mess this up a lot in the business.

Successful salespeople often get promoted to managerial positions. Dave himself was a good closer. So when he was in a managerial role, he found that he started doing everyone else’s job for them. He started closing every deal, and then his salespeople became completely reliant on him. That dynamic created a lot of stress for everyone involved. By Dave’s own admission, he lacked vision and the ability to hold people accountable. He realized that this promoting method didn’t take into account what it really means to be a manager.

“We really need to start getting people ready for the position before they are in the position,” says Dave. “Sometimes, a guy or gal will come up to you and say I want a next shot at the management promotion, and after I finally learned a little bit about what I was doing, I started asking well how many books on management have you read?

For more great insight and advice from leadership expert Dave Anderson be sure to watch our entire interview above.