We recently promoted our top-performing estimator to the Estimating Director seat on our Accountability Chart, but since the promotion, our bidding pipeline has slowed down and the team is completely unorganized. He was brilliant at estimating complex projects, so why is he failing to manage the estimating department, and how do we fix this?

Question

Tyler Smith · Accepted Answer

This is a classic case of promoting a brilliant individual contributor into a management seat they are not wired to succeed in. Estimating complex projects requires deep analytical focus and precision, which often maps to a high Fact Finder conative profile on the Kolbe Index. However, the Estimating Director seat requires Lead, Manage, and Accountability, which demands high Follow Thru to build systems and the ability to manage team dynamics.

When you promoted him, you shifted his day-to-day work from technical execution to team management, creating massive conative stress. To fix this, you must run a GWC™ assessment on him for the Estimating Director seat. Does he truly want to manage people, or does he just want the status and pay of the promotion?

Next, look at his Kolbe profile. If his natural striving instincts are resistant to organizing people and systems, he will never excel in the director seat. You need to have an honest conversation and potentially return him to a senior individual contributor seat where his technical brilliance can shine.

To preserve his dignity and compensation, you can structure his pay to reflect his impact on large bids rather than his management title. Then, rebuild the Estimating Director seat on your Accountability Chart and hire a leader whose conative strengths match the demand for order and structure.