A manager can decide someone is not ready without giving that person a chance to demonstrate what they can do. John’s September post asks leaders to test their own role in that ceiling: offer a meaningful challenge, coach through the struggle, and raise the bar after progress.
Illustrative operating example — not a client result
An aerospace program manager gets room to lead a recovery
Imagine a program manager at a growing aerospace supplier who has only been trusted with routine updates. A customer schedule slips, and the executive director usually takes over every cross-functional recovery. This time, the director asks the manager to lead a short recovery meeting with operations, quality, and engineering.
They agree on the result, the customer and quality decisions that require escalation, and a daily check-in. The director coaches through a difficult tradeoff without taking the meeting back. Afterward they review which decisions the manager handled independently and what the next, harder responsibility should be.
Check what opportunity you actually gave
Before concluding that an employee has reached a limit, list the consequential work they have been trusted to own. A lack of evidence may reflect a lack of opportunity.
Allow productive struggle
State the result and the boundaries, then give the employee space to reason through the work. Coach with questions when they struggle. Step in when a safety, quality, customer, or other agreed limit is at risk.
Raise responsibility after capability grows
Development stalls when someone masters a task but never receives a harder one. Give the next challenge a clear purpose and enough support to make learning possible.
Review your own intervention
After a project, ask what the employee could now handle independently and where your involvement helped or hindered that growth. Use that answer to design the next assignment.
A bounded growth assignment
Give a capable employee one unfamiliar decision within a clear boundary: lead a handoff review, coach a newer operator, or present a quality issue with a proposed fix. State the result and the escalation trigger.
Tell the employee who will coach them and when feedback will happen. Growth needs room for an imperfect first attempt, but regulated quality and safety decisions still belong with the authorized approver.
At the review, ask what the employee would repeat, what support was missing, and whether the next assignment should be broader. The measure is expanded capability and reliable work, not whether the leader would have used the same style.
Frequently asked questions
What if an employee is not ready for a larger role?
Give a bounded assignment that tests a specific skill, with coaching and clear escalation points.
Does letting someone struggle mean leaving them alone?
No. It means allowing room to solve the problem while staying available and protecting agreed limits.
How should progress be measured?
Look at decisions and results the employee can now own with less intervention.
Sources and related reading
The operating example in this article is illustrative and is not a reported client outcome.
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