On paper, everything seemed perfect. The candidate had the right skills, the right experience, and an impressive track record. But months later, the promotion or new appointment isn’t working out.
Why does this happen? What’s the key to making your employee development and recruitment process more successful?
In this latest episode of the ‘Bite-sized conversations – What makes people tick?‘ at Realising Potential, we’ll break down the critical factors such as skills and experience, natural drives, motivation, how individuals naturally like to work, demands of the job, the role of the manager and the organisational culture.
Many organisations assume that if someone excels in their current role, they will naturally thrive in a higher-level position. A top-performing specialist is promoted into a leadership role, or a star employee from a competitor is appointed into a senior position — only to struggle, underperform, or even leave within months. So, what went wrong?
At Realising Potential Ltd, we’ve seen this pattern repeat itself across industries. Today on What makes people tick?, we explore the deeper reasons why promotions and new appointments don’t always work out – such as fit gaps in work styles, expectations, and values.
While skills, experience, and qualifications are important, they’re only part of the equation. The traditional hiring and promotion process can sometimes overemphasise what’s in a candidate’s “briefcase”— their knowledge, skills, and past achievement — while not giving sufficient weight to the “head” (cognitive ability and problem-solving skills and natural behavioural drives) and the “heart” (attitudes and values).
A job description tells you what needs to be done. A CV tells you what a candidate has done before. But in isolation neither reveals how the candidate prefers to work or whether they will thrive in the actual environment of the role.
For example, consider a sales manager who has consistently outperformed targets in a structured, well-supported organisation. When promoted to sales director in a fast-moving, entrepreneurial company, they suddenly struggle. Not because they lack expertise — but because the new role requires high levels of autonomy, risk-taking, and adaptability to ambiguity, qualities that weren’t required in their previous role and that are not in sync with their natural work style.
This misalignment between the person and the job is a common reason why promising promotions don’t succeed.
Beyond skills and knowledge, people have different behavioural drives and motivational needs. Some individuals thrive on independence, taking initiative, and making quick decisions in uncertain environments. Others perform best in structured roles where they can apply deep expertise within a stable framework.
Problems arise when organisations fail to consider these factors. A highly skilled but cautious specialist may feel overwhelmed in a leadership position that demands bold decision-making. A people-oriented, extroverted employee may struggle if their new manager offers little communication or feedback.
Managers play a crucial role in successfully onboarding or transitioning new appointments. However, many leaders default to managing others the way they themselves prefer to be managed, rather than adapting to the needs of their new team members. A new hire or promoted employee may fail – not because they lack ability, but because their manager doesn’t provide the environment or support that they need to be successful in the role.
A poor promotion or bad hire doesn’t just impact the individual — it affects the entire team and organisation. Productivity drops, morale suffers, and companies waste significant time and resources on repeating the hiring process or retraining. Worse still, employees who experience failure in a new role may lose confidence in their abilities, leading to disengagement or even resignation.
To avoid these costly mistakes, organisations need to go beyond traditional hiring and promotion criteria. Here are some questions to ask:
Promotions and new hires need to be about more than simply filling a role. They need to ensuring the right person is in the right environment to thrive. This requires deeper insight, better alignment among stakeholders. Objective people data allow companies to take a more holistic approach. While considering skills, experience and education are of utmost importance, information on how a person naturally likes to work, how quickly they absorb and process new information and whether the job offers them what they need are essential data points for recruitment and promotion decisions.
If you’ve ever wondered why a great employee on paper struggled after joining your organisation or after being promoted, this episode of our bite-sized conversations is for you.
At RPX2 Ltd, we are passionate about helping people and companies realise their potential. To explore more about the services discussed in the episode, please visit www.rpx2.com or contact us.