You've promoted someone into leadership. What happens next?

You've promoted someone because you believe they're capable of taking on more responsibility. They've demonstrated their ability, earned your confidence and you've decided they're the right person for the role.

But once the announcement has been made, the congratulations are over and the handover is complete, what happens next?

It's easy to assume that someone who's been successful in their previous role will find their feet in the new one. They know the organisation, understand how things work and already have relationships with the people around them.

But knowing an organisation and knowing how to operate at a different level within it are two quite different things.

Their responsibilities have changed, expectations are different and some of the behaviours that made them successful previously may now need adjusting. Relationships can change too, particularly if they're suddenly responsible for people who were previously their peers.

You haven't necessarily promoted someone who's ready to do everything the new role requires from day one. You've promoted someone you believe has the capability to grow into it.

So, what are you putting in place to help them?

1. Start with what's actually changing

Before putting together a development plan or booking someone onto a leadership course, have a proper conversation about what the new role requires.

What will they need to do differently? Which of their existing strengths will continue to serve them well, and where might those same strengths become less helpful?

Someone who's built their reputation on being the person with all the answers might find it difficult to stop being that person. They've spent years developing their expertise and being recognised for it, so it's understandable that they'll continue to rely on it.

But their new role may require them to spend less time solving problems themselves and more time developing other people's ability to do so.

Similarly, someone who's been successful because they're highly organised and involved in the detail may need to become more comfortable stepping away from it.

These aren't necessarily things they'll recognise immediately, especially when those behaviours have served them so well until now.

Talk about what they need to develop, but also what they might need to let go of. Be clear about what success looks like in the new role and check that you both understand it in the same way.

And don't assume you already know where their development needs lie. Ask them what they're anticipating, what concerns them and where they think they'll need support.

2. Help them identify the conversations they need to have

One of the first things I'd encourage a newly promoted leader to do is work out who they need to spend time with.

Not just the people they'll be managing, but colleagues, stakeholders and senior leaders whose work connects with theirs.

Who do they need to understand better? Whose support will be important? Are there relationships that might need attention now their responsibilities have changed?

This is particularly relevant when someone has been promoted internally. A colleague they previously worked alongside might now report to them, or someone accustomed to making decisions independently may find themselves working within a different structure.

Those changes aren't always comfortable, and leaving them unspoken doesn't necessarily make them easier.

As their sponsor, you can help them identify the important people, make introductions where appropriate and encourage conversations early rather than waiting until something becomes difficult.

They don't need to arrive with all the answers. They'll probably learn far more by asking questions and listening.

3. Help them make one-to-ones useful, without taking on all the work

One of the traps I see leaders fall into is believing that a good one-to-one needs to last an hour, with the manager responsible for preparing the agenda, asking all the questions and making sure the conversation is worthwhile.

New leaders can take this to extremes. They're keen to demonstrate that they care about their people and are invested in their development, so they put enormous effort into preparing for every meeting. Before long, they're spending hours each week on one-to-ones, quite apart from the time spent preparing for them.

It doesn't have to work like that.

Encourage them to start with proper conversations about what their direct reports need, what's working well, where they'd like to develop and what they expect from their manager. The leader also needs to explain their own expectations and how they want to work together.

From there, they can agree a loose structure for regular one-to-ones, with shared responsibility for making them useful.

The direct report should come prepared to discuss what's important to them, where they're making progress, what they're finding difficult and where they need support or a decision. The manager provides guidance on what to prepare, asks questions and helps them think through their options.

And not every conversation needs an hour. Some might take 20 minutes, others longer, depending on what's happening.

This isn't about reducing the time spent with people. It's about making that time worthwhile and encouraging individuals to take responsibility for their own work and development.

If you can help a new leader establish this approach early, you'll save them a considerable amount of unnecessary work while helping their team become more independent.

4. Give them permission to protect time for thinking

When someone moves into a more senior role, their diary can quickly fill with meetings, decisions and requests from other people. They may also be trying to hold on to previous responsibilities, particularly if nobody has properly taken over the work they used to do.

Before long, they're spending their days responding to whatever needs attention, with very little opportunity to think about what's coming next.

If you want someone to become more strategic, are you giving them the time to do it?

Encourage them to block out a couple of hours each week, or perhaps half a day if that's realistic, when they're not available for routine meetings.

Be clear about what that time is for, though. It's not simply an opportunity to catch up on emails or work through outstanding tasks.

It's time to consider what's coming, where the risks and opportunities might be, what decisions will need making and whether they're spending their time on the things that really require their involvement.

You have a part to play in protecting that time too. It's difficult to encourage someone to think more strategically while expecting them to remain available to everyone, all the time.

And if they're still carrying significant responsibilities from their previous role, that's something you may need to help resolve rather than expecting them to manage both indefinitely.

5. Help them recognise the strengths within their team

A newly promoted leader can feel considerable pressure to demonstrate that they deserve their position. Sometimes that means trying to prove they're capable of doing everything, even when their new role requires them to work differently.

Encourage them to look at the capabilities of the people around them.

Who has particular expertise? Who is good at bringing people together or working through complicated problems? Who could take on more responsibility but hasn't yet had the opportunity?

And who might be capable of taking ownership of something the new leader is still reluctant to let go of?

This isn't simply about delegation or getting work off their desk. It's about recognising what people are capable of, making better use of their strengths and creating opportunities for them to develop.

It also starts to build a picture of the team's longer-term capability. Where are the gaps? Who might be ready to step into a more senior position in the future, and what experience would help them get there?

You can support this by challenging the assumption that the new leader needs to be the most knowledgeable person in the room.

They don't. But they do need to understand the expertise available to them and how to make the best use of it.

6. Agree what support looks like, without taking over

Have an explicit conversation about how you'll work together now that they've stepped into the new role.

How often will you meet? What decisions are theirs to make? When do you expect to be consulted? What should they do if they're uncertain about something?

And how comfortable do they feel coming to you when something isn't going particularly well?

Someone who's recently been promoted may be reluctant to admit they're struggling, particularly to the person who made the decision to promote them. They might worry that asking for help will make you question whether they're capable of doing the job.

You can help by being clear that you don't expect them to know everything immediately and by making time for conversations about what they're finding difficult, not just what they've achieved.

But be conscious of your own behaviour too.

If you become involved in every decision or step in whenever something becomes uncomfortable, you may unintentionally reinforce the idea that they're not quite ready to take responsibility themselves.

You won't always agree with how they approach something, and that's part of allowing them to develop their own judgement.

Sometimes the most useful thing you can do is ask what they're considering, explore the options with them and leave the decision where it belongs.

And what if they need support they can't get from you?

However good your working relationship, there may be things the newly promoted leader doesn't feel comfortable discussing with you.

They might be questioning their ability, struggling with a particular relationship or finding that the responsibility feels rather different from what they expected.

They may need somewhere to think things through without worrying about how what they say will be interpreted.

That doesn't mean you've failed to support them. There's a difference between having a supportive manager and having someone independent with whom you can explore things openly.

For some people, an experienced colleague or mentor outside their reporting line might provide that space. Others may benefit from independent executive coaching, particularly when they're dealing with a significant change in responsibility or need to understand how their behaviour is affecting others.

What matters is finding out what would actually be useful for that individual rather than assuming everyone needs the same approach.

The promotion is only the beginning

You made the decision to promote someone because you could see their capability and potential. But becoming effective in a new role takes time, particularly when it requires them to change how they work, make decisions and lead others.

They don't need you to manage every aspect of that transition, and they certainly don't need you to have all the answers for them.

They do need clarity about what's expected, opportunities to develop their own judgement, time to think beyond the demands of the day and someone who's paying attention to how they're getting on.

So, once the promotion has been accepted and they've started the role, it's worth asking yourself: what have we actually put in place to help them succeed?

Would you like extra support?

There's plenty you can do to help someone settle into a new leadership role, and much of it doesn't require additional resources or a development programme.

But sometimes having someone independent involved can make the transition easier, both for the individual and the organisation.

At Storm McQueen, I work with organisations and leaders stepping into greater responsibility. That might involve understanding what's changing and where development would be useful through stakeholder interviews and assessments, or providing executive coaching as they work through the challenges of their new role.

If you're supporting someone who's recently been promoted, or planning a promotion and want to get the support right from the beginning, click here to book a call with me and we can talk through what might be useful.