Six months of 1:1 coaching to support newly promoted leaders.

The brief

The first six months after a promotion into leadership are often the hardest, especially for managers stepping up from a senior technical or operational background. We were asked to provide a structured series of 1:1 coaching sessions to support a group of newly promoted leaders through exactly that period.

Letting go of the old role

Technical and operational experts who move into leadership often struggle to step back from the work they know best. A recurring theme across the coaching was helping individuals recognise when they were still operating as the expert rather than the leader, and working through what it actually meant to let go.

Building delegation and a strategic mindset

Coaching focused heavily on practical delegation — not just handing off tasks, but trusting the team to own outcomes — alongside developing a more strategic mindset, helping leaders shift their attention from doing the work themselves to setting direction and enabling others to deliver it.

Communication skills, upward and downward

In parallel, we worked on building stronger communication skills in both directions — downward, to lead and motivate the team effectively, and upward, to manage stakeholders and senior leaders with confidence. Strengthening both freed up time and headspace that had previously gone into managing situations reactively.

The outcome

Across the six-month programme, the newly promoted leaders built the confidence and capability to let go of their old role and lead from the front — delegating effectively, thinking more strategically, and communicating with confidence in both directions. The organisation gained a group of leaders who were genuinely ready for the responsibility they'd been given, not just promoted into it.

Delivered by experienced coaches drawing on real leadership experience across technical and operational environments.