Management Development: From Temporary Promotion at Yorkshire Water

Abstract

Explores the factors which contributed to the development of 14 senior managers in Yorkshire Water plc, who experienced temporary promotion for periods of about three months in 1992. These promotions, which were the result of planned absences of top managers, enabled each of the 14 to work in “new” jobs in a relatively controlled situation. The writer assisted the managers in various ways and at the end of the temporary promotion explored in in‐depth interviews the factors which contributed to their development. These were: the individual′s capacity to learn (which in turn was a function of his/her expectations and opportunities); the learning “gap” between the normal and the promoted post; the support received from a range of colleagues; the length of the promotion; and fortune in encountering “one‐off” events. Includes some suggestions for making the best use of this type of learning opportunity.