In this eye-opening episode of The Huddle Leadership Podcast, host Kate Russell welcomes Pam MacDonald, founder of Broadspring Consulting, for a candid discussion about one of the most pervasive problems in modern workplaces: promoting technically skilled individuals into leadership roles without proper support. With 17 years of HR consulting experience, Pam reveals why this practice is creating a generation that's actively avoiding leadership positions and what organisations can do to break this damaging cycle.
Key Takeaways
The promotion paradox is creating a leadership crisis - Organisations consistently promote people based on technical excellence, then wonder why leadership fails when no coaching or training is provided to develop human management skills
Past performance ≠ future leadership success - Just as financial disclaimers warn that past performance doesn't indicate future results, technical competence doesn't predict leadership capability without proper development
Psychosocial safety requires capable leaders - Putting people in leadership roles without adequate support creates high-risk situations that violate psychosocial wellbeing principles and endanger both leaders and their teams
Early intervention prevents formal complaints - Most workplace investigations could be avoided if leaders had the communication skills to address tensions before they escalate into formal grievance processes
Strategic vulnerability accelerates problem-solving - Leaders who can "embrace the discomfort" and have honest conversations about concerns can salvage working relationships before permanent damage occurs
Communication method matters more than message - Email and text create negative bias and misunderstandings; difficult conversations require voice-to-voice or face-to-face interaction to preserve relationships
Recruitment should prioritise interpersonal skills - Since culture fit failures drive most departures, organisations should focus more on communication and relationship skills during hiring processes
Next-generation leadership reluctance is rational - Young professionals are observing the stress and self-doubt of poorly supported leaders and concluding that leadership isn't worth the additional compensation
Featured Discussion
Pam MacDonald's insights challenge fundamental assumptions about career progression and leadership development. Her experience with workplace investigations reveals a pattern: technically competent individuals promoted without leadership training inevitably face situations requiring skills they've never developed. The resulting stress, self-doubt, and relationship damage create ripple effects that extend far beyond individual leaders to impact entire teams, families, and organisational cultures.
The conversation explores how organisations can break this cycle through strategic development programs, better recruitment practices, and creating pathways for technical advancement that don't require people management responsibilities. Pam's "test and trust" methodology for leadership development offers practical frameworks for supporting newly promoted leaders while they develop essential human management skills.
Quotable Moments
"We consistently and continually promote people in organisations because they're technically very good at what they do... Then we don't support them with any coaching or training. And then we wonder why it all goes pear-shaped."
"The extra pay that I'm going to earn, that's not worth it" - What new generations are saying about leadership roles
"That's the one time in my life that I would love to have a time machine" - On workplace investigations that could have been prevented
"It's that five-minute phone conversation that wasn't had that turned into a 102 email thread" - The cost of avoiding direct communication
"HR is not the policy and the procedure. HR is actually about people interfacing and working together" - Redefining the HR function
"When people weigh in, they buy in" - Patrick Lencioni quote on the importance of voice in workplace decisions
"We have a false sense of progress. We think that by pushing through and rushing, we're getting a lot more done" - On the downstream costs of avoiding difficult conversations
"Everything's possible, everything's achievable - it just comes down to people" - The fundamental truth about organisational success
Connect with Pam MacDonald
Follow us on socials:
IG - @thehuddle.au
FB - @TheHuddleAus
YT - @TheHuddle5000
LinkedIn - The Huddle leaders and teams