New Leaders face a Most Misunderstood Challenge

New leaders face one of the most misunderstood challenges in the workplace:

They’re expected to lead people without ever being taught how.

Most promotions reward performance, not people-leadership capability.

So leaders enter the role excited—and then quickly feel the weight of:

• Interpersonal conflict

• Shifting expectations

• Emotional pressure

• Team misunderstandings

• Difficult conversations

• Protecting morale

• Balancing compassion with accountability

The gap between “I’m good at my job” and “I know how to lead humans” catches almost everyone off guard.

When that gap isn’t acknowledged, new leaders often misinterpret the struggle as incompetence, when it’s actually a predictable stage of learning.

Here’s what I tell every new leader:

There is nothing wrong with you.

You are simply learning a new discipline—one that’s rarely taught but desperately needed.

People-leadership is a skillset.

A teachable one.

And when leaders are given the right tools, languages, and frameworks, they grow quickly—and so do their teams.

If you’re navigating this transition, you don’t need perfection.

You need support, structure, and skills that make you feel secure and your leadership feel steady.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this topic!

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