The transition to leading leaders

Organisations spend a great deal of time preparing people to become managers.

Far less attention is given to what happens when those managers are asked to lead other leaders.

Yet this transition can reshape almost every aspect of how a person works, influences, and creates value within an organisation.

Many leaders arrive at this point with a strong track record. They’ve built capable teams, earned trust, and developed a reputation for delivering results. Understandably, they assume the next step is simply a larger version of the role they’ve already mastered.

It rarely works that way.

A different leadership role

When leading a team, much of your impact comes through direct interaction. You coach individuals, provide feedback, manage performance, and help people navigate challenges as they arise.

Leading managers requires a different approach.

Your influence becomes less direct and your success becomes increasingly dependent on the success of others. Rather than supporting individual contributors, your focus shifts to supporting the people who lead them.

Success is no longer measured by the quality of every decision you make personally. It is increasingly measured by the quality of decisions being made throughout the organisation.

Instead of stepping into every issue, leaders must learn when to step back. Instead of providing answers, they must create the conditions for others to find them. Instead of being the central source of expertise, they must focus on strengthening leadership capability across the team.

When old habits stop working

Research from CEB (now Gartner) found that around 60% of new managers underperform during their first two years in the role. While that research focuses on first-time managers, the underlying lesson applies across leadership transitions. Every move into a more senior leadership role requires people to rethink how they create value.

Being involved feels productive.

Solving problems feels helpful.

Remaining close to every decision feels responsible.

Yet these behaviours can unintentionally restrict the growth of other leaders. Managers who are constantly rescued never develop confidence in their own judgement. Teams that rely too heavily on senior leaders often struggle to build capability at the next level.

Leadership Pipeline research has long highlighted that leadership transitions require more than new skills. They require leaders to rethink how they spend their time, where they focus their attention, and what leadership looks like at the next level.

From personal contribution to organisational impact

Their attention shifts from how they can personally help their team to achieve, to what their team of leaders can achieve collectively. In other words, what is the positive contagion they are hoping their team of leaders will catch and pass on!

They invest in developing judgement, capability, and confidence in other leaders. They create clarity around priorities and expectations while allowing people the space to lead.

This is not a bigger version of the same leadership role.

It is a different role altogether.

The leaders who navigate this transition successfully are often the ones who recognise that growth sometimes requires letting go of what made them successful in the first place.

As your leadership responsibilities continue to grow, are you still measuring success by what you achieve personally, or by the capability you’re building in the leaders around you?