Great points. Dual career track exists for good reasons. If your ICs want to become managers, apply similar hiring criteria as you would to outside managers.

Great points. Dual career track exists for good reasons. If your ICs want to become managers, apply similar hiring criteria as you would to outside managers. Also keep in mind that first-time managers can require a lot of mentoring to come up to speed as managers. If you're a small startup without additional bandwidth for proper mentoring, transitioning someone from IC to manager without proper support is not doing them any favors.