How I Promoted the Wrong Person to Manager And Almost Lost Half the Team

He was the most senior.

He knew the code inside out.

He had some lead experience at a previous job.

So when we needed a manager - I promoted him.

Logical choice.

Easy pick.

Wrong call.

Within weeks:

And then the kicker: Every engineer he tried to hire rejected our offers.

Not because of comp.

Not because of tech.

Because they didn’t want to work under him.

One candidate told me directly:“It doesn’t feel like a team. It feels like his way or the high way”

That’s when I knew:

I didn’t promote a leader - I promoted tenure.

I stepped in.

Repaired the culture.

Had the hard conversation.

We moved him into an technical role.

No reports.

No hiring.

Just deep technical work - which he crushed.

Leadership isn’t about who’s been here the longest. It’s about who makes others want to stay.

The Baseline