Business results and achievement come from the ability to organize and mobilize other people for productivity and effectiveness.
Doug achieved respectable success in a commercial construction firm through his estimating skills. After being promoted to Vice President, he struggled with letting go of estimating. He explained to me that he believed his credibility and value to the company was directly tied to his technical ability.
There was one problem. The president of the firm viewed this as Doug’s inability to work through others and build a team around himself. The president said, “Doug can’t be a leader because he still wants to be an estimator.”
There is a time in one’s career when people skills become more critical than technical skills. A choice will need to be made. Leader or technician?