Every plumbing contractor knows what it’s like to have a technician who stands out from the crowd on day one, immediately demonstrating immense talent and limitless potential. This is the technician who is universally beloved by customers and respected by peers. The technician who consistently hits the numbers and continually validates your trust.
It seems like this superstar team member is a shoo-in for managerial duties. Just one problem: He has absolutely no interest in assuming a leadership role. Or maybe he accepts a promotion, but flames out quickly.
This is a problem that contractors across the country are dealing with; simply put, there aren’t enough qualified young leaders entering the leadership pipeline. To address this problem, it’s crucial to understand that it’s not actually a people problem. Instead, it’s a problem with your internal structures.
The managerial myth
It’s not uncommon for plumbing contractors to oversimplify the leadership pipeline. They assume that a great technician will soon become a lead, then perhaps a service manager or even an operations leader. It seems like a natural, linear progression.
The problem is that being an excellent technician and being an excellent leader, while not mutually exclusive, don’t necessarily involve the same skill sets. Often, elite technicians are wired to solve immediate, tangible problems. They thrive on independence, hands-on work and clear outcomes.
Management, on the other hand, is about navigating ambiguity, coaching people, handling conflict and thinking long-term. It’s not so much about fixing as it is about developing.
Still, contractors often promote their technicians without helping them transition their thinking or broaden their skills. In these circumstances, they are set up to fail.
Why technicians turn down the job
When talented team members turn down managerial promotions, pay attention: it likely signals red flags in your culture or internal processes.
For example, technicians may turn down promotions because:
• They see you dealing with customer complaints or scheduling log jams and assume the role of the leader is too stressful; more trouble than it’s worth.
• They don’t want to step away from hands-on work. They’ve developed a real affinity for their craft and worry that managerial duties will take them away from it.
• They perceive it to be a bad move financially. In organizations where technicians earn competitive, performance-based pay, this may be a valid concern.
• They’ve simply never been trained in things such as communication or team development, so the thought of stepping into a leadership position makes them uncomfortable.
Promotions gone wrong
And what about the technicians who accept a promotion but struggle, underperforming or simply burning out quickly?
Please understand: most of the time, this isn’t due to a lack of effort. Instead, it’s due to a lack of preparation and support.
Saying to a technician, “You’re doing great, so starting Monday you’ll be overseeing other team members,” isn’t much of a transition. In fact, it means little or no training and nothing in the way of clear expectations-setting. He gets a new title and a much larger set of problems.
In the end, your new manager either tries to keep doing everything themselves (quickly burning out), avoids difficult conversations (and loses authority) or reverts to being “one of the guys” instead of a leader. In any case, performance drops; you’ve lost a great technician and gained a so-so leader.
Reimagining the leadership pipeline
So, what’s the answer? Here’s one consideration: stop treating leadership as a reward to bestow on your top technicians, and instead treat it as a skill to cultivate.
That might look like this:
Distinct career paths: Some technicians are cut out for leadership roles and some only want to be techs. Both paths are fine! Consider offering separate trajectories so that employees in both camps have opportunities to earn more and learn more.
Pay attention to leadership qualities: As you scout leadership talents, focus not so much on raw numbers, but rather on the people who impress you with their communication skills, time management and eagerness to help others succeed.
Train first, then promote: Don’t offer someone a promotion that goes into effect the next day. Instead, build in ample time to develop core leadership and people management skills.
Offer ongoing support: New managers need coaching, especially in the first 90 days. Regular check-ins, feedback and guidance can make the difference between success and failure. Don’t assume they’ll “figure it out” all on their own.
Make it worth it: Finally, if you want your best people to consider leadership, the role has to be attractive. This means aligning compensation with responsibility, reducing unnecessary chaos through better systems and giving managers the authority they need to lead.
At the end of the day, your technicians aren’t avoiding leadership responsibilities because they don’t want to help the team grow. Rather, they’re avoiding roles that seem poorly supported or ill-defined. However, you can change that. And in doing so, you may fix your leadership pipeline.
