The first months in a bigger role
A promotion is usually announced as good news, and it is.
But for the person stepping into the role, the first few months can feel less like a celebration and more like starting over. The skills that earned the promotion still matter. They’re just no longer enough on their own.
Transitions are happening at the top, and they ripple down
Leadership change has been unusually active. Executive search firm Russell Reynolds Associates counted 77 incoming CEOs across the 13 indexes it tracks in the first quarter of this year, the highest first-quarter total since at least 2018. That followed a record year for CEO departures in 2025.
Those numbers describe large public companies, but the pattern is familiar in organizations of every size. When one senior leader changes, it often sets off a chain of moves below: a new vice-president, a director stepping up, a manager leading former peers for the first time.
Each of those people is starting something new, often without much of a runway.
What tends to get harder
Every transition is different, but a few challenges come up often.
The measure of success changes. Leaders who were rewarded for their own expertise are now judged on what other people deliver.
Relationships shift. A former peer becomes a direct report, or a new boss brings different expectations that haven’t been spelled out.
The pressure to show early results can push leaders to act before they fully understand the situation they’ve inherited.
And there are fewer people to think out loud with. It can be hard to admit uncertainty to a new team, a new boss or a board that has just expressed confidence in you.
Why a thinking partner helps in the early months
The first months in a role are when many of the most important patterns get set: how a leader makes decisions, how they build trust and where they spend their time.
An executive coach can help a leader slow down enough to make those choices deliberately. A coach asks the questions others may not, helps test assumptions before they harden into decisions and offers a confidential place to work through what isn’t going well.
That support doesn’t replace the leader’s judgment. The aim is to help them use it well when the stakes are high and the ground is unfamiliar.
How Vision can help
Vision Coaching’s One-to-One Executive Coaching pairs leaders with an experienced, independent coach for confidential conversations focused on the challenges that matter most to them. For leaders moving into a new role, that can mean support with setting priorities, building relationships and leading through the uncertainty that comes with any transition.
If you’ve recently stepped into a bigger role, or you’re supporting someone who has, connect with us to start a conversation.
The Vision Team
Comments