You Got Promoted. Now What? (Most People Get This Wrong)
- Merve Kagitci Hokamp
- Jan 12
- 9 min read
Congratulations. You got the promotion.
The title changed. The compensation went up. Maybe you got a new team, a bigger scope, or a seat at a different table.
Most people think the hard part is over.
It's not. It's just starting.
Here's what usually happens: People spend months (sometimes years) positioning themselves for a promotion. They work extra hours. They take on stretch projects. They manage up. They do everything right.
Then they get the promotion — and promptly take their foot off the gas.
They assume the new role is just "more of the same."
Bigger team. Bigger budget. Same playbook.
Wrong.
A promotion isn't just a reward for past performance. It's a bet on future performance at a higher level.
And if you don't understand what's expected at that new level, you won't make it past the first year.
The Statistics No One Talks About
Here's a sobering fact: Research from CEB (now Gartner) found that 60% of new leaders fail or underperform in their first 18 months in a new role.
Not because they're not smart. Not because they're not capable.
Because they don't adapt to what the new level requires.
We're promoting people without preparing them. Then we're surprised when they struggle.
The Peter Principle Is Real
You've probably heard of the Peter Principle: people get promoted to their level of incompetence.
The usual interpretation is that organizations promote people until they reach a role they can't handle, and then they stay there, incompetent and stuck.
But here's what's actually happening:
People get promoted based on their excellence at their current level. But the skills that made them excellent at that level are not the skills needed at the next level.
So they fail — not because they're incompetent, but because they're applying the wrong competencies.
The individual contributor who was brilliant at execution gets promoted to manager. Now their job is to enable execution through others. But they keep doing the work themselves because that's what they're good at.
The manager who was great at team leadership gets promoted to director. Now their job is to design systems and influence stakeholders. But they're still managing individual performance instead of building organizational capability.
It's misalignment.
And the only way to avoid it is to consciously figure out what the new level requires — and learn it.
The Problem Most Newly Promoted Leaders Face
I had a client come to me recently right after being promoted to Director.
He was excited. Relieved. Ready to prove he deserved it.
Then reality hit.
His boss expected him to operate differently. His peers treated him differently. The problems on his desk were more ambiguous, more political, more high-stakes.
And nobody gave him a manual.
When we sat down for our first coaching session, he said: "I spent a year thinking about how to get this promotion. I never thought about what to do once I got it."
That's the pattern I see constantly.
People obsess over getting promoted. They strategize, they position, they execute. But they don't think about the post-promotion phase.
So when they land in the new role, they have no plan. No clarity on what success looks like.
No idea what's actually expected at this level.
We spent our session mapping it out together.
What does this level require?
What needs to change?
What's the strategy for the first 90 days?
Turns out, he had no idea what good looked like at Director level. And he was operating like a Senior Manager with a fancier title.
As Marshall Goldsmith famously said, "What got you here won't get you there."
The transition from individual contributor to manager is different from manager to senior manager. Which is different from senior manager to director. Which is different from director to VP.
Each level requires a fundamental shift in how you operate.
What Changes When You Get Promoted (And Why Most People Miss It)
Let's be clear about what actually changes when you move up:
1. Your Job Is No Longer About Your Output
When you're an individual contributor, your value is what you produce. When you're a manager, your value is what your team produces. When you're a director or above, your value is the system you design that enables teams to produce.
This is hard for high performers to internalize. You got promoted because you were great at execution. Now your job is to enable execution through others.
If you're still in the weeds doing the work yourself, you're not doing your new job. You're doing your old job with a fancier title.
2. Ambiguity Increases Exponentially
The higher you go, the less defined the problems become.
As an IC, someone hands you a clear problem and you solve it.
As a manager, you're given a fuzzy goal and you figure out how to get there.
As a director or VP, you're expected to identify the problems no one else sees and decide which ones matter.
3. Politics Become Part of the Job
You can avoid politics as an IC. You can even avoid it as a first-line manager.
But as you move into director-level roles and above, organizational politics are no longer optional. They're part of how work gets done.
Understanding stakeholder agendas, building coalitions, navigating competing priorities — these aren't distractions from your "real work." They are your real work.
If you think politics are beneath you, you won't last long at senior levels.
4. Your Relationships Reset
That peer who used to be your ally - now you're their boss.
That skip-level you rarely talked to - now they report to you.
That executive you never interacted with - now you're in their meetings.
Every relationship in your professional ecosystem shifts when you get promoted. And most people underestimate how disorienting that can be.
What to Do in Your First 90 Days After a Promotion
So you got promoted. Now what?
Here's what actually works, based on what I've seen with clients who successfully navigate this transition — and what I learned the hard way managing teams at Google.
1. Get Crystal Clear on Expectations at the New Level
This is the most important thing you can do. And most people skip it.
Don't assume you know what success looks like in your new role. Ask.
Schedule time with your manager and ask:
What does great performance look like at this level?
What are the biggest differences between this role and my previous one?
What are the common failure modes you've seen in this role?
What should I start doing, stop doing, and continue doing?
How will you evaluate my performance in the first year?
Write down the answers. Refer back to them every month.
2. Ask Your Manager What They Can Delegate to You
Here's a hack most people miss:
Your promotion changed your manager's calculus too.
Now that you're at a higher level, there are things on your manager's plate that they can delegate to you.
Projects. Relationships. Decisions. Visibility opportunities.
Ask them directly:
What can you delegate to me now that I'm at this level?
What work would raise my profile with senior leadership?
What relationships should I start building?
What forums or meetings should I be in?
This does two things:
First, it gives you access to higher-leverage work that actually matches your new level.
Second, it signals to your manager that you're thinking strategically about how to operate at this level — not just waiting to be told what to do.
3. Map Your New Stakeholder Ecosystem
Your stakeholder map just changed. Figure out who matters now.
Who are your new peers?
Who do you need to build relationships with?
Who has influence over your success?
Who are the people you'll need to work with cross-functionally?
Then do listening tours. One-on-ones with each key stakeholder. Ask:
What do you need from me in this role?
What worked well with the previous person in this role? What didn't?
How can we work together effectively?
Don't skip this step. Your success depends on relationships, not just technical skills.
4. Resist the Urge to "Prove Yourself" Immediately
I see this constantly. Someone gets promoted and immediately tries to make a big splash.
They want to show they deserve the role.
So they reorganize the team. Or launch a new initiative. Or change the strategy.
All before they understand the context.
Here's what actually works: Observe first. Ask questions. Learn the landscape. Build relationships.
As Michael Watkins writes in The First 90 Days, the most successful leaders in new roles spend their first 30-60 days learning before they start changing things. The leaders who rush to "prove themselves" are the ones who fail.
You have time. Use it wisely.
5. Delegate What You Used to Do (Even If You're Better at It)
This is the hardest transition for most newly promoted leaders.
You got promoted because you were excellent at X. Now your job is to enable other people to do X while you focus on Y.
But it's painful. Because you're probably still better at X than your team is. And it's faster if you just do it yourself.
Do it anyway.
Your job is no longer to be the best at execution. Your job is to build a team that can execute without you.
If you're still doing the work you did in your previous role, you're not operating at your new level. You're just an overpaid version of your old self.
6. Identify What You Need to Learn (And Get Help)
Be honest about your gaps.
What skills do you need at this level that you don't have yet? Strategic thinking? Influencing without authority? Managing up? Navigating complexity?
Figure it out early. Then get help.
Hire a coach. Find a mentor who's operated at this level. Read. Take a course. But don't pretend you have it all figured out.
The leaders who succeed after a promotion are the ones who admit what they don't know and actively work to close the gap.
My client and I spent the first three months working on stakeholder management, strategic communication, and letting go of tactical work. It was uncomfortable. But six months in, he's thriving.
Because he didn't assume he already knew how to do the job. We figured it out together.
7. Build Your System, Not Just Your To-Do List
At senior levels, your job is to design systems that work without you.
This means:
Building processes that scale
Creating clarity so your team can make decisions without you
Establishing rituals that keep the team aligned
Setting standards for what good looks like
If your team can't function when you're on vacation, you haven't done your job.
Research from McKinsey shows that leaders who focus on building systems and capabilities (rather than just completing tasks) are significantly more likely to succeed at senior levels.
The Uncomfortable Truth About Promotions
Getting promoted doesn't make you better at your job. It makes you a beginner again.
You're starting over. Learning a new game. Playing by different rules.
And if you keep playing by the old rules, you'll fail. Even if those old rules are what got you promoted in the first place.
The leaders who succeed after a promotion are the ones who:
Accept that they're beginners again
Get clear on what's expected at the new level
Ask their manager what they can delegate and what will raise their profile
Build relationships before they make changes
Delegate their old work, even when it's uncomfortable
Actively learn the skills they're missing
Design systems, not just complete tasks
A promotion is not a finish line. It's a starting line.
And the race you're running now is different from the one you just finished.
So before you take your foot off the gas, ask yourself:
Do I actually know what success looks like at this level?
If the answer is anything other than a clear yes, start there.
Hi! I'm Merve. 👋
If you've recently been promoted:
I work with newly promoted leaders to help them successfully transition into their new roles. We work on clarifying expectations, building stakeholder relationships, letting go of old work, and developing the skills needed at the next level.
If you're an HR leader or organizational leader looking to support newly promoted leaders:
I design and deliver leadership transition programs that reduce the 60% failure rate for new leaders. We equip your newly promoted managers and directors with the skills, frameworks, and support they need to succeed at the next level.
If you're navigating a promotion or want to build capability for your newly promoted leaders, let's talk.
Here are five ways you can connect with me:
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