Our top business development manager has been promoted to Head of Sales, but she hates managing people, fails to run the weekly L10 meetings effectively, and wants to return to pure selling. How do we move her back to an individual contributor seat without making it look like a demotion to the rest of the company?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

Promoting your top individual contributor to a leadership seat and realizing they do not GWC™ the role is a highly common challenge. Management requires a completely different set of conative strengths than individual execution. A great salesperson loves the chase and individual achievement, whereas a great Sales Manager must find joy in coaching and building systems.

To transition this person back to an individual contributor seat without damaging their morale or your team dynamic, you must approach the conversation with radical candor and vulnerability, grounding the discussion in trust as outlined in the Trusted Advisor framework.

Start by validating their exceptional value to the company. Be direct: explain that management is a completely different seat with different roles, and it is clear that their true genius is in front of clients, not in managing administrative reports or running Level 10 Meetings™.

Frame the move as a strategic alignment of strengths, not a demotion. Adjust the Accountability Chart to create a prestigious, high-level individual contributor seat, such as Principal Enterprise Partner, that reports directly to the new Head of Sales. Ensure this seat has clear, high-impact measurables that allow them to maximize their earning potential through direct production. By focusing on alignment with their natural conative wiring, you protect your top performer, restore operational sanity to the department, and set a powerful example of structure-first leadership.