Technical expertise opens doors; management capability ensures career longevity
THERE is a familiar tragedy that plays out across almost every industry. People who excel at their jobs are rewarded with a promotion into management.
Once there, however, they find themselves unequipped to lead effectively, often micromanaging and struggling to delegate. As a result, team morale fractures and performance plummets.
What went wrong? They fell victim to the Peter Principle, a 1968 management concept by Dr Laurence J. Peter stating that in a hierarchy, every employee tends to rise to their level of incompetence.
To see this in action, consider a typical corporate scenario. A technically outstanding engineering specialist is promoted to lead a production team. His technical knowledge is unquestionable; he diagnoses equipment problems faster than anyone else.
However, as a manager, he continues solving every problem himself, questions employees publicly and refuses to delegate.
Within months, decisions stall and the team stops raising issues early because everything depends on him.
“This is a classic manifestation of the ‘accidental manager’,” says Mahadevan Sivaramakrishnan, a Human Resources (HR) advisory expert with 33 years of experience across local conglomerates, public listed companies and multinationals.
To resolve such a crisis, Mahadevan, who goes by Devan, notes that the turning point for this specific engineer came when he stopped asking, “How do I fix this?” and started asking, “How do I help my team solve this?”
To facilitate this mindset shift, Devan advises companies to implement targeted coaching, structured one-to-one mentorship and clear delegation frameworks.
This scenario points to a critical shift in today’s automated, AI-driven job market. Technical skills might secure the initial hire, but soft skills and leadership competence dictate career longevity and team success.
“In Malaysia, where top technical performers are the default choice for promotion, we must be more intentional. Promotions should recognise leadership readiness, not just reward individual expertise.
“The younger generation is already rejecting the old school of thought; they want career growth built on management capabilities, not just climbing a ladder based on technical know-how,” Devan says.
Breaking the toxic cycle
Devan’s observations point to a systemic issue that extends beyond individual competence and deep into corporate culture.
Veteran HR professional, registered counsellor and current UCSI Hospital affiliate Masni Tan says: “Technical excellence does not automatically translate into effective leadership. Management requires communication, empathy and the ability to develop others.
“Without proper preparation, new leaders unintentionally pass down poor management practices to the next generation.”
Noting that this dynamic creates a generational echo chamber, Tan says leadership is learnt through observation.
“When ineffective management becomes the norm, future leaders replicate it, creating a cycle that is difficult to break.”
She recalls a technically brilliant leader whose rigid style caused high team turnover.
“His expertise was unquestionable, but his people management came at a significant cost. Achieving operational results is only half the battle – engaging and retaining people is equally vital.”
This lack of leadership preparation often manifests as simple pass-through management.
Tan observed a middle manager who passed senior instructions straight to her team without context or assessing their core challenges.
“Managers must do more than relay orders. They need to analyse situations, explain the rationale behind decisions and help teams translate objectives into action,” she says.
These experiences demonstrate that the higher professionals climb the corporate ladder, the more vital people management becomes.
Executive success hinges on the ability to lead others, collaborate across departments and achieve cross-functional goals.
“Just as parents shape children, leaders influence how their teams view leadership. Repeated exposure to rigid thinking, poor communication and a lack of trust causes employees to accept toxic behaviours as the acceptable norm,” Tan says.
Bad management is costly
When technical experts enter management without preparation, the toll on an organisation shows up quickly. This reality is especially prominent in highly technical environments.
Devan notes that in sectors like construction, project specialists often respond to mounting deadlines by micromanaging, shifting priorities late and contacting staff after hours.
He says delivery may appear under control short-term, but the hidden costs are overtime, rework, strained relationships, absenteeism and attrition.
Furthermore, an untrained manager quickly becomes an operational bottleneck.
“When a boss second-guesses every decision, talented employees stop taking initiative. The manager is then forced to work punishingly long hours to compensate, triggering a vicious cycle of burnout on both sides,” he says.
In an era shaped by hybrid working models, evolving generational expectations and rapid AI disruption, modern managers must learn to provide absolute clarity and trust rather than constant, stifling supervision.
Echoing these severe consequences, Tan says: “For employees, a lack of support and limited opportunities to voice concerns lead to frustration, disengagement and emotional exhaustion, ultimately driving burnout.
“For organisations, it results in a loss of experienced talent, disrupted team continuity, weakened morale and reduced productivity.”
Essential skills for youths
For parents and students mapping out future careers, it is moving beyond that technical expertise that opened the door and turning their thinking to developing the core leadership skills that will mean progression and sustain long-term growth.
Highlighting that integrating management skills alongside technical knowledge equips graduates to become dynamic future leaders, Chartered Management Institute (CMI) chief executive officer Ann Francke says: “Embedding management skills early delivers the balanced capabilities employers value most.
“The ultimate goal is to set students up for success and turn accidental managers into capable, competent and confident leaders.”
It is a sentiment echoed by Tan. “While academic qualifications provide valuable knowledge, working life demands interpersonal skills, resilience, adaptability and collaboration,” says Tan.
She points to “managing upwards” as a vital, underrated skill. “It involves understanding a manager’s priorities, expectations, working style and adapting your communication accordingly to build a professional relationship based on mutual understanding and accountability.”
Above all, Tan emphasises on the most critical yet neglected quality – the “human touch”.
“It is the tactical ability to understand different personalities, appreciate alternative perspectives and recognise what uniquely motivates people to bring out their absolute best.”
From Devan’s perspective, while graduates arrive with clear potential, sharp development needs exist in self-awareness, communication under pressure and handling disagreement respectfully.
“Emotional intelligence and conflict resolution matter, but the ability to receive feedback without becoming defensive and then act on it, is the foundation of learning agility.
“In fast-moving workplaces, especially as artificial intelligence (AI) makes information easier to access, the differentiator is being willing to question one’s assumptions, learn from colleagues and change course.”
Embedding management capabilities
To bridge this gap, Devan advocates that universities proactively prepare students through structured programmes that ensure graduates are genuinely ready for the real world.
In Malaysia, progressive institutions are partnering with the CMI to embed professional standards directly into degree pathways. Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS (UTP) offers dual-award degrees paired with three years of post-graduation CMI membership, while Asia e University (AeU) provides an APEL.Q pathway for scholars to earn Fellow (FCMI) status.
CMI also collaborates with leading Malaysian institutions to embed industry-aligned management frameworks early into higher education.
They include Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM), Sunway University, Universiti Poly-Tech Malaysia (UPTM), Universiti Malaya-Wales (UMW), Perdana University, Ariq Global Sdn Bhd and Putra Business School.
Data from CMI reveals that 93% of Malaysian Chartered Managers feel professional recognition adds distinct value to their curriculum vitae (CV).
“A recognised management qualification, such as Chartered Manager (CMgr) status, sends an incredibly positive signal. It proves that a candidate treats management as a serious, formal discipline rather than assuming that industry experience alone is enough,” Devan observes.
When hiring, he uses this qualification to actively probe candidates for hard evidence of how they navigated real-world friction, managed cross-functional conflict, or turned around a struggling team.
Tan emphasises that credentials must translate into behavioral impact.
While a credential signals a commitment to growth and continuous learning, she notes that HR professionals must screen for actual application – how a candidate balances competing priorities, exercises emotional intelligence and displays the humility to reflect on their own personal limitations under pressure.
“The true measure of a leader lies in how effectively they apply that knowledge to develop people, build trust and achieve organisational goals.”
