Promotion ≠ Preparation: Why So Many New Leaders Flail

Happy Wednesday!

Welcome to Leadership Unscripted. Each edition, we share 1 Case Study, 1 Framework, 1 Question. These are real moments and practical strategies for rethinking your approach to leadership.

Let’s dive in.

Vanessa was a top-performing individual contributor at a fast-growing company. She hit her numbers, managed complex projects, and quickly earned a reputation as the go-to problem solver. So when the opportunity to lead a team came up, promoting her seemed like an obvious move.

At first, she felt confident, ready to take on more responsibility and shape the team in her image. But within a few weeks, everything felt harder than expected.

Deadlines slipped. Team meetings stalled. And the very people she was excited to lead now seemed disengaged.

In coaching, Vanessa admitted something she hadn’t said out loud before:
“I thought I was supposed to have all the answers. I didn’t realize leadership would feel this… lonely.”

Her coach offered a gentle but clear insight:
“You weren’t promoted to do more. You were promoted to lead differently.”

That’s when it clicked. Vanessa had brought her doing mindset into a leading role. She was still acting like a super-IC, trying to solve everything herself instead of helping her team solve things together.

As she shifted her approach, things changed.
She started asking more questions than she answered.
She clarified expectations instead of jumping in.
She created space for others to stretch, even when it felt uncomfortable.

The result? Her team picked up speed. Ownership increased. Vanessa felt more effective and less exhausted.

Because leadership isn’t just about delivering outcomes. It’s about building people who can.

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1 Framework

The Leadership Shift

When individual contributors get promoted without support, they often default to doing more instead of leading better. That’s not sustainable—and it’s not leadership.

Here’s a simple model to guide the shift:

• Doing – Owning outcomes yourself.

• Directing – Clarifying expectations and setting direction.

• Developing – Coaching others to think, lead, and grow.

This isn’t about working harder. It’s about building capability in others so the team can grow beyond you, not because of you.

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1 Question

You were promoted to lead, not to keep doing it all. 👉 Are you building the people, or still trying to carry the work?

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Let’s Keep the Conversation Going

What’s one leadership behavior you had to unlearn after stepping into your role? Reply and share your experience—your insight could be the perspective another leader needs to hear today.

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More to Explore

Is someone on your team stepping into leadership for the first time?

Our Arrive. Leadership Academy helps new and emerging managers lead with clarity, confidence, and capability—before bad habits take hold.

Explore the Arrive Academy →

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Real Stories. Real Tools. Real Impact.

Forget the fluff. We’re that company, revealing behind-the-scenes leadership wins and strategies that actually work.

Because all it takes is one bold move to shatter barriers, inspire your team, and make your mark.