KINGSTON, Jamaica—Richard Byles says many middle managers struggle after promotion because companies elevate strong technical performers into leadership roles without preparing them to manage people, arguing that the skills that make employees excellent individually can become liabilities at management level.

Speaking at the Make Your Mark: Middle Managers Leadership Conference on Tuesday, the Bank of Jamaica governor said organisations often reward precision, discipline and individual output, but fail to train managers for the transition into leadership.

“They were great technicians. They were promoted because of the quality of their output as individuals,” Byles said in prepared remarks. “But then they fail to make the critical transition from being great at the work to being great at leading the people who do the work.”

The comments highlight a longstanding issue across many Jamaican companies and public-sector entities, where high-performing employees are frequently promoted into supervisory positions without formal management development or leadership training.

Byles argued that leadership requires a fundamentally different orientation from technical work, shifting from personal execution to creating conditions that allow teams to succeed.

“As a leader, the job is no longer to do it yourself. The job is to create the conditions for others to do it excellently,” he said.

He added that many managers struggle to delegate responsibility or derive satisfaction from the success of others, despite those abilities becoming essential at higher levels of leadership.

The governor also argued that authority alone is insufficient to lead effectively, saying large-scale success depends on earning the trust and respect of employees rather than relying on title or position.

“To leverage the capability of the people around you, you need two things from them. Their respect; their trust,” Byles said. “None of those things come from authority.”

Drawing on his own career path, Byles said his professional advancement came less from long-term ambition and more from consistently delivering high-quality work, arguing that excellence itself creates future opportunities.

The speech comes amid growing focus by companies on succession planning, management development and employee retention as firms contend with tighter labour markets and increasing competition for skilled workers.