Direct report is after your job what do you do

[AFriendlyVouce]

Has anyone had experience of managing a direct report who has made it very clear they see your role as their next step, in a very short time frame? Particularly where it actually seems the company might prefer them to you.

Are there any secondment opportunities or leadership/development programs they can be encouraged towards until you're ready to move on? When I've been managing someone promising and ambitious I've always thought it part of my role to encourage them to develop and luckily I've had (mostly) fantastic, supportive managers myself, at least until my current one (who I'll be leaving soon, hurrah!!). I've always taken the view that longer term this also benefits the organisation and profession or business area as well.

But others can’t just wait behind you. Having one person in a role for years on end isn’t always a good thing. It sounds like this person can’t progress in the company at all in a way that you would be happy with, even by doing around you by being promoted to your level in a different role.

If that would still give them input on your work they will continue to do well because they will learn their job and have knowledge of yours. Which is then likely to make you feel worse.

If your company encourage development and career progression, why don’t you pursue your own progression. It may not mean you are in your niche area, but your experience and knowledge is bound to help you.

But either this person leaves or they get promoted to your level and still have input in your work which you don’t want. It’s not really an ideal environment for a company who wants to encourage people to progress.

And by letting them shine so much - which I've been very proud of having them within my team - I have of course created a situation where I may now be at risk in this situation.

I can’t see how you are at risk - they can’t sack you to give your colleague your job so surely it’s your job until you decide to move on? Continue to look for opportunities for you and your colleague to shine, whatever shows them in a good light will also reflect that light on you. Feeling threatened by a strong team member isn’t a good look.

Oh yes, my boss liked to talk about "succession planning" as if we would just step aside for our reports (there's a glass ceiling above us), it's highly insensitive and I'd be very wary of your junior colleague

Everybody hires their replacement, or manages them anyway. It’s just the way it is - most people want to move up.

A year is plenty of time for them to decide there’s another job that’s even more exciting or you to plan on a move. It may not happen of course but it’s sensible to plan.

If you don’t want to or can’t move up, what sideways slightly different role might be appealing?

She may well be, corporations work by refreshing roles - it’s easy to move people out by reshaping roles over time.

It may not happen, but it is sensible to plan her own move, while continuing to be generous (but not insanely generous OP - grab some plum projects so hopefully opportunities open up for you.

Just because people aspire to move up doesn't mean they can. That's the limiting factor of the capitalist pyramid structure.

I am sceptical that a successful male leader would be told to dispose of himself so an aggressive junior could have his job.

I'd be wary. The man promoted to my position after I moved up also told me he wanted my job and would be better at it. He was not more competent, but definitely more aggressive and made my job more difficult by undermining me to junior colleagues. I hope your colleague is better than that, but to openly state they want your job, and quick, sounds already entitled and aggressive to me.

Yes, precisely. We have lots of talk about asking everyone what they want to do next, what their next step is. Which is great except when that next step is your role with no other feasible options!

I don't want to move sideways in order to let someone else take my role - I would have to leave if that were the case. I don't want to be outing my stating what we do but we are a niche profession so there isn't a "slightly different role" to easily move into. The sideways step would be like expecting a dentist to become a doctor or vet instead after their many years of training, because there's only one dentist position available for the upcoming dental nurse to move up into.

If they are asked what they see their next step as being, what else can yhey answer? They can't say leaving the company! I shouldn't worry.

Not everyone can or wants to constantly move up. Especially with young people being promoted so quickly these days. The next step 'up' might be senior management which is an entirely different skillset from managing the shop floor...

I appreciate you don’t want to move job. However you also said

But even if they moved sideways to do an equivalent level role to me in a different section, the reality is they'd take a very strong input still in what I / my team do, just because of the specialist niche we are in. It's really not ideal.

You can’t have it both ways. This person, if they are well thought of, will progress. Especially if the company doesn’t want them to leave. As you don’t want to move jobs, there has to be an alternative progression route. So you may need accept this person will move to your level in a different section and will have input.

What’s the alternative? That everyone below you must leave if they want to progress. That’s not your company culture. They want internal progression.

I am sceptical that a successful male leader would be told to dispose of himself so an aggressive junior could have his job.

No one is suggesting Op dispose of herself to give her job to someone else. But this person wants to progress. The company wants people to progress. Op can choose not to progress their own career, but that doesn’t mean people behind her can’t progress their own. She will need to accept it’s likely this person will move to her level in a different section and will have input on her team, as that’s the set up. The other sections have input in her area. Then they may progress beyond that.

Whats the alternative? That anyone working for Op works for her for a bit then leaves?