Why Leadership Promotion Needs to Become a HR-Led System, Not a Managerial Reward
Summary
Despite modern language around leadership, many organisations still promote using an old-school performance-and-visibility logic: do well, be seen, get promoted. That reflex treats authority as a reward rather than a responsibility, and it breaks down as organisations grow flatter, more global and operationally complex.
Swiss Butter founder Eddy Massaad replaced instinct-driven promotion with a strict HR-led leadership operating model. Promotions are only allowed when two conditions are met: the candidate already performs the majority of the role above them, and they have trained someone to do the majority of their existing role. This flips promotion from a personal accolade into proof of system strength and operational readiness.
The model is reinforced by HR-led hiring, values-first selection, deliberate mobility (including cross-country development) and an expectation that succession is an operational requirement, not a future nice-to-have. Outcomes include clearer readiness signals, reduced internal politics, less knowledge hoarding and more resilient growth.
Key Points
- Traditional performance-led promotion elevates high performers before they are ready, creating fragile leadership layers.
- Swiss Butter’s HR-led leadership operating model requires two simultaneous conditions for promotion: demonstrated performance of the higher role, and a trained successor for the current role.
- Promotion becomes evidence of organisational readiness rather than a managerial reward.
- The succession requirement turns capability-building into an operational necessity, reducing knowledge hoarding.
- HR drives hiring, mobility and values alignment to prioritise judgment and cultural fit over pedigree.
- Cross-market development is used intentionally as leadership education, not just temporary disruption.
- Results are structural: clearer readiness, less politicking, replicated leadership generations and more resilient regional continuity.
- The broader implication: HR must design leadership as infrastructure, not merely manage its consequences.
Context and Relevance
As organisations scale across countries and markets, ad-hoc promotion practices expose gaps in succession and concentrate knowledge in individuals. This piece is relevant to HR leaders, talent and people teams who are wrestling with succession risk, distributed operations and the need for repeatable leadership pipelines. It aligns with wider trends towards systemised talent mobility, values-based hiring and operationalised succession planning.
Why should I read this?
Because if your promotions feel like guesswork and you keep firefighting leadership gaps, this article gives you a sharp, practical rule that actually prevents the mess. It’s not fluffy — it tells you exactly what to require before someone moves up and why HR needs to own that process. Read it if you want fewer surprises and leadership that survives growth.
Author note
Punchy and prescriptive: the author isn’t selling another course — they’re arguing HR should architect leadership from first principles. If you care about sustainable growth and fewer one-person dependencies, the detail matters.