Your Next Great Manager may Already be on your TEAM
When a management position becomes available (or necessary), many podiatrists immediately begin searching outside the practice for someone with “experience.” While external hires can bring valuable perspectives, promoting a proven team member often creates stronger long-term results from both a culture and accountability standpoint.
An internal candidate already understands your practice values, workflows, patient expectations, and team dynamics. They have established credibility with coworkers and firsthand knowledge of what works (and what doesn’t) in your practice. Because they helped build the culture, they are often more invested in protecting and strengthening it.
Promoting from within also sends a powerful message to the entire staff: hard work, reliability, and leadership are recognized and rewarded. This can improve employee engagement, retention, and morale while encouraging other team members to take greater ownership of their roles.
From an accountability perspective, internal managers typically have a clearer understanding of performance expectations and operational challenges. They know the standards that have been set and can identify problems more quickly because they have lived the day-to-day realities of the practice.
When you promote the right internal candidate, you’re not just filling a management position—you’re reinforcing your culture, rewarding loyalty, and creating a leader who already has a vested interest in the success of the practice and the team.
Things to consider before promoting an existing team member into a management role. . .
Take time to evaluate whether they can successfully handle both the added responsibilities and the shift in workplace relationships that comes with leadership.
Ask yourself:
- Do they naturally take ownership of problems? Managers don’t just identify issues—they help solve them.
- Can they make decisions without constant reassurance? Confidence and sound judgment are critical.
- How do they handle conflict? A manager must be able to address performance issues, policy violations, and difficult conversations professionally.
- Are they respected by their peers? Respect is often a better predictor of leadership success than popularity.
- Can they separate friendships from responsibilities? One of the biggest challenges for newly promoted managers is holding former peers accountable while maintaining positive working relationships.
- Do they demonstrate emotional maturity? Managers must remain professional when employees disagree with them, become frustrated, or challenge decisions.
- Have they shown interest in leadership? Some excellent employees prefer being individual contributors and may not enjoy managing people.
One effective test is to begin assigning leadership responsibilities before making the promotion official. Have the employee train new hires, lead staff meetings, manage a project, or oversee a specific operational area. These opportunities provide valuable insight into how they handle authority, accountability, and peer relationships.
Key takeaway: The best management candidates don’t simply excel at their current job—they demonstrate the ability to influence others, make difficult decisions, and maintain accountability even when relationships become more complicated. A trial period with incremental leadership responsibilities can reveal whether they are truly ready for the next step.