Your best salesperson may be your worst leadership pick. It's the default move. Rep crushes quota, so you hand them overrides and a title. Feels like a reward. Feels earned. Here's what actually happens: a lot of top producers like being in their own bubble. They like the money that comes with management, but they don't actually like managing people. Once they're in meetings all day solving other people's problems instead of closing their own deals, they resent it. Six months later your best closer is a mediocre manager, and your team is unraveling underneath them. The skill that makes someone a great rep isn't the skill that makes someone a great leader. What you're actually looking for is someone who organically likes serving and developing people, not just someone who can sell. Before you advance anyone, write down the specific behaviors you expect to see first, and watch whether they show up without being asked. Have you ever promoted a top rep into leadership and had it not w...