I remember joining an executive group early in my career, excited to learn from people 10-15 years older than me. After the first meeting, my main takeaway was: "These people haven't figured it out either. Now what?"
It was simultaneously disappointing and liberating. Disappointing because I'd been waiting for someone to hand me the leadership playbook. Liberating because I realized leadership isn't about having all the answers—it's about building skills to navigate what you don't know.
Let's start with the obvious gap. Someone gets promoted because they wanted to manage people, and the next day they're expected to know how to do it. The lucky ones get enrolled in a structured program. The rest figure it out by trial and error, usually defaulting to what feels comfortable: stepping in and doing the work instead of developing their team to do it.
This isn't just inefficient—it's expensive. You're paying a manager's salary to do individual contributor work while the actual development of people gets pushed aside.
The companies that do this well have a clear moment of transition. You become a manager on Tuesday, you're in the manager development program on Wednesday. It's not optional, and it's not a one-time event. It's a 6-12 month journey with other new managers, covering everything from setting expectations to having difficult conversations.
But here's what's interesting: we assume that once someone's been managing for a while, they're done learning. They've been a director for five years? They must have leadership figured out.
The reality is different. Senior leaders often feel stuck. They're too busy to step back and assess where they need to grow. They're reading leadership books but don't have anyone to help them figure out what applies to their situation.
One business partner put it perfectly: "I've been here for so long, and I want to be developed, but I'm not certain what that path should look like for me."
Here's a useful way to think about it: management is day-to-day execution of things that need to get done. Leadership is coaching, asking questions, and uncovering what people need to be successful.
Good leaders oscillate between both modes. Sometimes you're managing a project timeline or product development process. Sometimes you're in leadership mode, helping someone think through a challenge or develop a new skill.
The problem comes when managers get stuck in only one mode—usually management—because it feels safer and more concrete than the messier work of developing people.
Take John Maxwell's five levels of leadership. Level one is positional—people follow you because they have to. Level five is when people follow you because of who you are and what you represent.
Most leadership development treats this like a linear progression, but that's not how it works in practice. You might be a level four leader with your direct reports but drop to level two when working cross-functionally with peers.
The leaders who grow fastest are the ones who can honestly assess: "Where am I on these different dimensions? What would moving up a level actually look like in my day-to-day work?"
Self-awareness isn't just nice to have. It's the foundation for everything else.
Here's what we've learned works: companies need to intentionally carve out time for leadership development at every level. Not just new managers, not just high-potentials, but everyone who leads people.
And leaders need to get comfortable with vulnerability. The best leaders we work with can say things like: "I want you to know I'm not great at setting context. I can talk too high-level and not give you the backstory you need. If I do that, please ask me for the missing information."
That's leadership; being mature enough to acknowledge your gaps and ask for help addressing them.
Your company's success depends on people who can lead through uncertainty, develop others, and navigate complexity. That's not something you figure out once and you're done. It's an ongoing practice.
The question is: Are you investing in that practice, or assuming your leaders have it covered?
This is the second part in a four part series on Leadership Development by Oxygen. We'll be releasing the next part each Wednesday, so stay tuned!
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