Why Top Performers Fail After Promotion and What Great Leaders Do Differently
- Brainz Magazine
- May 8
- 6 min read
Andrew Beaulieu is well-known for his unique leadership development programs. He is the founder of Bold Moves Coaching & Consulting Inc, an ICF-certified coach, and a public speaker.
Have you ever promoted someone who was the best on your team, only to find that they struggled in their new leadership role? Chances are, you have, or at least you’ve witnessed it. You’re not alone. Many organizations promote top performers, thinking that excellence in execution automatically translates to excellence in leadership. But in reality, that leap from being the go-to problem solver to becoming the person who develops others often reveals a critical gap.
In my past career in general contracting, I saw firsthand how promoting high performers based primarily on seniority or execution ability could quietly derail teams and leave new leaders frustrated, overwhelmed, and disengaged. While my experience was rooted in construction, this pattern repeats itself across industries.
The promotion paradox
We all love to reward excellence. So when someone consistently delivers on time, solves problems, and seems unflappable under pressure, it feels only natural to give them more responsibility. But the very traits that make someone a top performer – independence, attention to detail, and hands-on problem solving – do not always align with the traits needed in leadership.
Gallup reports that companies fail to choose the candidate with the right talent for managerial roles 82% of the time. The reason? Most organizations promote based on past performance, not leadership potential.
Even more challenging, many newly promoted leaders find themselves walking into roles where they’re not just underprepared, but also under resourced. Thanks to automation and leaner teams, leaders today are often responsible for both delivering projects and managing people. Instead of stepping into a strategic mentorship role, they’re thrust into a hybrid reality, part player and part coach. And often, without the proper support or clarity from upper management.
This hybrid model might seem efficient on paper, but it creates a fundamental tension. Leaders are expected to empower others while still being deeply involved in execution, leading to confusion, burnout, and underperformance at every level.
Sound familiar?
From builder to leader: When doing isn’t leading
Early in my career, I was a Service Coordinator at Dama Construction, working in our national 24/7 maintenance and repair division. I’ll admit it, I was really good at it. I had strong relationships with clients, solved problems quickly, and alongside my manager, we built a department that exceeded seven figures in annual revenue, something we were told couldn’t be done.
We were machines.
When my manager moved to another department, I became the obvious choice to lead. I accepted the role with pride and learned very quickly that being exceptional at the work and being exceptional at leading others to do the work are two completely different things.
Like many high performers, my identity had been built on execution. I was the one who jumped in, fixed things, and made things happen. That instinct had served me well, until it didn’t. Leadership, I came to learn (the hard way), wasn’t about being the solution. It was about creating space for others to find their own.
Without that shift, even the most capable leaders risk becoming bottlenecks, stepping in to protect outcomes instead of developing their team’s ability to succeed without them. It took me far too long to understand this, and not without some costly missteps along the way.
And the challenge wasn’t just internal.
The weight of old expectations
When someone is promoted from within, old dynamics tend to stick around. Former peers, now direct reports, still see you as the fixer. They have muscle memory. When pressure mounts, they don’t hesitate to ask for help because they know how effective you were when working side by side.
The problem? New leaders often haven’t yet found their footing or their boundaries. So they roll up their sleeves and get back in the weeds. Instead of using the moment to coach or delegate, they do what they’ve always done, execute.
This blurring of roles, rooted in unresolved peer dynamics, keeps everyone stuck. It reinforces dependency and deprives the team of the opportunity to grow.
True leadership is about building capacity in others, not carrying the load alone. It’s about shifting from hero to guide, helping others rise so the whole team can move forward. Without this mindset shift, even the most talented performers can become overwhelmed, disconnected, and ineffective in leadership roles.
Emotional labor: The hidden work of leadership
Most first-time managers think their biggest challenge will be workload: budgets, client demands, keeping the team on track. But the real challenge? The human beings you are working with.
Leaders quickly realize that managing human dynamics, such as conflict, motivation, mental health, and communication styles, is infinitely more complex than managing timelines or budgets. And in industries where grit and resilience are worn like badges of honor, we often overlook the emotional labor of leadership.
I once led a high-performing team where one of my reports was twice my age. Technically brilliant. But what made leadership hard wasn’t the work, it was navigating the emotional undercurrents they brought to the workplace. Personal stress, defensiveness, and resistance to change, all of it showed up in the professional space.
Leadership demands emotional intelligence: self-awareness, empathy, regulation, and resilience. And yet, we rarely train for it. We promote based on hard skills and hope people pick up the soft skills on the fly.
Looking back, I wish I had known where my emotional intelligence blind spots were – it would have saved me from a lot of friction, both with others and within myself.
Coaching, not controlling: The leader’s new role
When a high-performing individual becomes a leader, they often default to what made them successful: taking control, jumping in, solving the problem.
But true leadership is about stepping back. It’s about asking the right questions instead of giving the right answers. It’s about fostering independence, not dependence.
Here are four practical shifts to support this transition:
Reframe the role: Start by shifting your mindset. Your value is no longer in what you do, but in what you help others become. Leadership is no longer about solving problems – it’s about growing problem-solvers.
Systematize success: Don’t just delegate tasks – delegate clarity. Document what works. Build templates, playbooks, and frameworks that others can follow without needing to ask you every time.
Coach through, don’t jump in: When someone struggles, resist the urge to fix it. Ask: “What do you think went wrong?” or “How would you approach this next time?” Model curiosity, not control.
Normalize growth, not perfection: Create psychological safety by embracing mistakes as part of the process. Set the tone that learning is more important than flawless execution, and back it up with your behavior.
The coaching trap: Understanding the role distinction
Many leaders say they’re “coaching their team.” But more often than not, they’re mentoring or consulting – offering advice, sharing experiences, or providing solutions.
And while mentoring and consulting are valuable tools, true coaching is something different.
Coaching is about creating space. It’s about helping others generate their own solutions through inquiry, reflection, and critical thinking. It invites ownership, builds confidence, and strengthens long-term decision-making – not just short-term results.
In today’s complex workplace, integrating a coach approach into your leadership style is one of the most powerful shifts you can make. It doesn’t replace mentoring or consulting – it complements them. And as leaders, the more tools we have in our utility belt, the better.
After I completed formal coach training and began applying it in the workplace, I started to see real change. My relationships with direct reports grew stronger. Performance improved. Communication became more open, more honest – and more productive. We stopped treating symptoms and started uncovering root causes.
All of this came from learning to lead with a true coach approach – the very skill set I wish I had years ago, back when I first started managing others.
Don’t promote and pray – Develop and prepare
The biggest mistake organizations make is promoting without preparing. If your leadership pipeline is based solely on performance, you're setting people up to fail.
Instead:
Invest in leadership coaching and mentorship
Train for emotional intelligence
Offer role shadowing before full promotion
Clarify expectations and redefine what success looks like in a leadership role
Managers should know: Your success is no longer measured by what you do, it’s measured by what your team becomes capable of doing without you.
Final thoughts: Rewrite the leadership playbook
Leadership isn’t a reward for performance. It’s a completely new craft that requires a shift in mindset, skillset, and sometimes even identity.
Promoting top performers is still important, but it must be paired with intentional development. Otherwise, we risk losing our best doers and gain burned-out, frustrated managers with disengaged teams.
Before you hand out the next promotion, ask yourself: Are you preparing someone to build others up, or pushing your best talent toward burnout and exit?
Read more from Andrew Beaulieu
Andrew Beaulieu, Leadership Development Coach
Andrew Beaulieu is a Leadership Development Expert and the Founder of Bold Moves Coaching & Consulting. With over 16 years of leadership experience in general contracting, Andrew helps organizations develop the next generation of confident, emotionally intelligent leaders. His work blends applied neuroscience, positive psychology, and practical business insight to create lasting transformation for leaders and their teams.
