My son is a successful web developer.  He’s written numerous
web-based applications you would have heard of.  In fact, if you’re
less than 30 years old, chances are you’re using some of them right
now.  He’s an entrepreneur in the best and most complete sense of the
word.  And like many entrepreneurs, his mind never rests.  He’s
constantly working on something.  Even when he’s watching a movie, his
computer is open and he’s making notes on ideas that flow through his
mind as he watches.  In many ways he’s a business genius.  But there’s
something he has yet to learn about people. . .

The other day he told me, “I don’t understand how people can go
hunting — or fishing, or golfing, or any number of different activities
— every day and leave everything else behind.  How do you do that?  How
do you just go play for hours or days on end and leave everything else
behind?”  It’s inconceivable to him that someone would work at a “job”
they dislike.  He works because he loves what he does.  He can’t put
his work down because that is his fun and recreation — and his job. 
Work and play are not mutually exclusive in his world.

I explained to him that not everyone loves to work.  For some, work
is a means to an end.  The end for some may be hunting.  Work just
provides the means to go hunting.  Is that bad?  I don’t think so.  Not
everyone is cut out to be CEO.  Not everyone in your organization will
dedicate 100% of their waking hours to your business (nor, in my
opinion, should they.)  If they’re doing a good job while they’re
there, and they’re working effectively and efficiently, they’re doing
what you pay them to do.  You can’t begrudge what they do on their own
time.

That brings me (finally) to mis-cast employees.  When we put a
person whose job is just a means to another end into a key leadership
position in the company, the result is often not what we’d hoped for. 
Some people are hard-wired to be indians and others to be chiefs.  When
we try to cast them in a role where they’re not comfortable, they fail.

The example that comes to mind is that of the company’s best
salesman.  She’s done so well, she’s promoted to sales manager.  We do
that as a reward, right?  She’s earned it.  She’s been the best
salesman this company has ever known, and what more could we do to show
our gratitude.  WRONG!  The skill set to be a good salesman is very
different from the skill set to be a good sales manager.  Just because
you possess one skill set doesn’t necessarily mean that you possess the
other.  In many cases, they don’t possess the other.  When we make that
promotion based on performance in one area without thought for other
areas it negatively affects not only the person promoted, but the whole
sales force.

To avoid this problem, make sure the skill set matches the job. 
It’s not hard.  Just don’t assume that someone has all the skill sets. 
Evaluate each person carefully before casting them in a role in your
company.  Doing so will help you avoid the dangers of mis-cast
employees.