Reflections
What No One Tells You About Promotion
By Fawzia Ali-Kimanthi
In 2015, I made a big transition from finance to the commercial space. I took up a role as a Regional Head for one of the five geographical regions in our organisation. I had been in finance for over 15 years at this point. I was responsible for a large team of over 250 staff and a wide range of partners. I would be responsible for network roll-out and quality, customer experience, sales, managing the M-Pesa network, and managing stakeholders. It was exciting.
A promotion is often celebrated as a finish line. A reward. A signal that you have“ made it.”
But the truth most young leaders discover- sometimes painfully- is this: a promotion is not as easy as they had assumed. It is a transition. And transitions demand intention. When we shift from roles where we were doers to roles where we need to lead, we stumble a little if we do not realise the extent of the transition required.
Many capable, high-potential leaders struggle after being promoted not because they lack skill or ambition, but because they underestimate the internal shift required. They carry the habits, identity, and operating style of their old role into a new one- and wonder why things feel harder instead of easier.
I was in this territory. I loved the detail of planning and execution, and I got into the way of my team. After two months, I realised that my leadership style had to change. I called a friend and said,“ I need a coach. I need a coach.” And that was the beginning of a coaching journey that has shaped my career to this point.
Successful leadership transitions follow a simple but demanding three-step process: Release. Clarify. Resource yourself. Miss one, and the promotion becomes heavier than it should be.
Step 1: Release What No Longer Serves the New Role
Most promotions fail at the first step: letting go.
You were promoted because you were good- perhaps exceptional- at what you did before. You delivered. You were reliable. You knew the details. People trusted your execution. Naturally, you want to hold on to what made you successful.
But leadership growth requires a hard truth: what earned you the promotion may now limit you. It means releasing: the need to be the smartest person in the room; the habit of stepping in to“ save” situations; the comfort of being busy rather than being impactful; the identity of being valued for output alone.
Release is not about doing less. It is about doing differently. Release is not being lazy or lowering your standards or losing control. Releasing is trusting that others will grow. It also means shifting from execution to direction and choosing impact over activity. It does not mean you are not keen on the detail in execution and its rigour. It just means that you are no longer the one doing it.
In your new role, your value shifts from what you do to what you enable. This can feel deeply uncomfortable, especially for young leaders who built their confidence on competence and execution.
A useful question at this stage is: What am I still holding onto that someone else should now own?
Many capable, high-potential leaders struggle after being promoted not because they lack skill or ambition, but because they underestimate the internal shift required. They carry the habits, identity, and operating style of their old role into a new one- and wonder why things feel harder instead of easier.
Leadership begins the moment you stop proving your worth through effort and start proving it through impact.
Step 2: Clarify What the New Role Actually Requires
Once you release the old, you must quickly clarify the new.
Many newly promoted leaders work incredibly hard- and still struggle- because they are unclear about what success now looks like. They assume
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