The Vacancy Chain: Transitions Expose Leaders
Photo Credit: efendiahd | Adobe Stock
First, a scenario. Sarah was her company’s top project manager. She was technically sharp, reliable under pressure, and clients asked for her by name. When a team lead role opened in Maya’s division, Sarah was the obvious choice.
That was eighteen months ago. As VP, Maya closely monitored her division’s performance, and Sarah’s numbers had been steady. Now, one of Sarah’s employees asked for a meeting to talk about the team. Maya was curious.
Robert sat down across from Maya. “I’m being stifled,” he said.
“Tell me more,” encouraged Maya.
“I really like Sarah. She’s smart, a very hard worker, and she cares about people. But she’s not letting me help out. We have two new hires on the project. They aren’t superstars, but they are fine. However, Sarah is always jumping in and helping them with their work. I should be the one mentoring them, but when they get stuck, they talk to Sarah, not me, and Sarah helps them through the issues. It’s becoming the norm, and I think it’s undermining me as a tech lead.”
Robert and Maya talked some more. After Robert left, Maya thought about it. Sarah was carrying a lot, and Robert was an experienced engineer who probably had his own ideas about how things should run. Maya had seen tension between a strong contributor and a new manager before, until everyone settled into their roles. Sarah’s numbers were solid. Maya decided to let them work it out.
Two weeks later, Maya received an email from Sarah. It was Robert’s resignation notice. Maya felt the disappointment in her gut and knew Sarah was probably feeling it, too.
Sure enough, right behind that email was a calendar invite from Sarah, asking to talk about her team.
Sarah came into Maya’s office, sat down, and started talking. Sarah said, “I’m really discouraged about Robert quitting. It is a big loss, and we don’t have anyone to backfill for him. I already have two open positions, and now I have a third.”
“Yeah, it is hard when one of your valuable employees leaves,” Maya agreed.
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July 2026
Sarah continued, “Yes, I’ve been overwhelmed since I took this job. I know the goal is to keep the team highly billable and meet our deliverable milestones. However, I have a lot of work to do to make that happen. The new hires are fine, but they aren’t developing their skills as fast as I’d like, so I help them out a bit. I end up reviewing timesheets and approving invoices after hours, which leaves no time for one-on-ones with my employees. I know Sally in Accounting wants to work on the new invoicing process, but I don’t have time for her.”
Sarah sighed. “Maybe I’m not cut out to be a manager.”
Maya was taken aback. Sarah’s team had been performing well and meeting their targets. Maybe she was a little over her head, but nothing abnormal for someone at her stage.
But then Maya realized there was so much more going on beneath the surface. It wasn’t that Sarah was over her head as much as she was working hard to hold up the team’s numbers. Robert’s complaints made sense now. Sarah was so focused on results that there was no room left for developing anyone, Robert included.
Maya looked directly at Sarah. “Sarah, I’m sorry. That’s a lot to work through. Your team has had great results, but I now understand that isn’t the whole picture. Can you tell me more about what you’re experiencing?”
Sarah reflected, “Well, I think Robert left because we were too busy, and he knew it wasn’t going to get better. We have two open positions, now three, and everyone is just heads down. There isn’t much banter or collaboration. We have a value of teamwork, but it doesn’t feel that way to me.”
Maya could see that Sarah cared deeply but was also very discouraged. They talked a while longer. Then Maya said, “Sarah, I know we need to make some changes and support you so you can grow into the kind of leader we need here. I’ve got some ideas. Let me work them out a little more, and I’ll get back to you.”
Sarah left feeling hopeful. Even though her immediate situation hadn’t changed, she had a different understanding of her role. It wasn’t just about numbers and results, and if Maya could help redefine what good management was, she thought she’d be excited about it.
Maya left the meeting with her brain in high gear. They had been driving their managers to deliver results and neglecting to develop them to build the business. If managers were responsible for the culture, retention would improve. If they developed their replacements, the company would have a real leadership pipeline. Articulating the full scope of a successful manager wouldn’t just help Sarah; it could change the organization.
Maya got to work. Not only was she going to help Sarah become the manager she wanted to be, but she was also going to transform how the company selected, developed, and promoted its leaders.
If managers were responsible for the culture, retention would improve.
If they developed their replacements, the company would have a real leadership pipeline.
The Framework for Manager Effectiveness
Maya and Sarah made the mistake that many organizations and managers make. It isn’t that they look at the wrong measurement. Results are important. The mistake is that they only look at one.
Manager effectiveness isn’t a single measurement; it is a system of three components: results, environment, and capacity. These must be evaluated to assess the manager’s effectiveness.
Results are what the team produced. They are reflected in project deliverables, revenue contributions, and business metrics. This is what most organizations already track because it matters.
In our story, Sarah’s results kept Maya from looking further. If she had, she would have seen Sarah was producing the results, rather than developing her team to do the work.
“Environment” is what it’s like to be on this team right now. These are the conditions people work in every day, and whether they feel physically and psychologically safe. Businesses can evaluate the environment by asking both qualitative and quantitative questions. For example, what is retention over the last twelve months, especially of strong performers? What safety incidents and near-misses have happened? Are people reporting them or hiding them? What do employees say about their team, and what don’t they say?
On Sarah’s team, Robert quit, and the rest went heads-down. Sarah herself sensed something was off. Teamwork had become words on the wall rather than a behavior.
“Capacity” is about what the team can do next. Not what they’re producing now, but what they’re becoming. Are people growing? Is the team’s capability increasing or standing still? Could the team absorb more responsibility if the work demanded it, or is it already at its ceiling?
This is the hardest dimension to evaluate because it’s forward-looking. Asking a question like, “Could this team take on 20 percent more work, or 20 percent harder work, without adding people?” can provide useful insights.
Capacity is undervalued until needed. When Robert walked out with no one to backfill, it put Sarah and her team in a very deep hole that will require significant resources to overcome.
Alaska Needs Great Managers
Back to the scenario. After Maya talked to Sarah, she followed through and changed how the company supported and evaluated managers. Sarah started learning to delegate and develop her people instead of covering for them. She carved out time to do the work only she could do. The new hires started excelling in their careers, and Sarah hired a new senior engineer to replace Robert. This time, she let the new engineer lead.
The team’s numbers improved, and the culture became one that people wanted to be part of. The team grew and started taking on more complex projects.
Every company in Alaska has Sarahs and Roberts working in them right now. If they are only evaluated on results, businesses pay the price later. The leaders a company needs won’t emerge, and the people who could have built the future will have already left.
If Alaska is going to realize its potential, it needs successful managers who create a culture where people want to stay, who invest in and develop the next generation of leaders, and who deliver results that move our businesses and state forward.
