Leader challenges are the emotional, psychological, and structural struggles first-time managers face when transitioning from individual contributor to people leader, including identity shifts, imposter syndrome, accountability anxiety, and responsibility without authority.

The 7 most common challenges new leaders face, in our experience are:

• Identity shift from doer to leader
• Approval anxiety and boundary confusion
• Imposter syndrome
• Micromanagement and overfunctioning
• Accountability avoidance
• Emotional labour overload
• Responsibility without authority
  

Moving from individual contributor to leader is a change in identity, not just a job change. It’s a "role exit" and "role entry" that requires a total psychological reset. 

Think of it like switching from being a soloist to conducting an orchestra: what once brought praise (getting tasks done, being the expert, solving problems themselves) no longer defines success. Instead, their value lies in creating the conditions for others to thrive. 

This shift is often destabilising, and many new leaders report feeling like they're wearing two coats at once, still doing the old job while trying to lead on top. They are busy, but not effective; respected, but not necessarily leading. 

The shift from personal productivity to team productivity is one of the most jarring passages a leader faces, with research showing that 40% of new managers fail within their first 18 months because they never successfully make this psychological transition from "doer" to "leader." Experts concur that the technical prowess that got you promoted suddenly becomes a liability if you cannot "let go" of being the smartest person in the room.

When you are an individual contributor, you are responsible for the job. When you are a leader, you are no longer responsible for the job; you are responsible for the people who are responsible for the job. The best way to drive performance in an organization is to create an environment in which information can flow freely, mistakes can be highlighted, and help can be offered and received.

Simon Sinek, Author of 'The Infinite Game' and 'Leaders Eat Last'

First-time leaders often find themselves stuck in an approval tug-of-war between two powerful drives: the desire to be liked and the need to lead. 

They may have been promoted from within their team, turning peers into direct reports, and now face the challenge of setting standards, giving feedback, and saying "no" all while preserving relationships. It's like trying to steer a ship while keeping everyone on board comfortable, but leadership is less about comfort and more about clarity.

Avoiding discomfort leads to delayed feedback, blurred boundaries, and mounting anxiety. New leaders are often asked to speak with authority while still learning the ropes, creating fertile ground for "imposterism".

 

A study found that 70% of successful people encounter imposter feelings, and 84% of entrepreneurs report feeling like a fraud after a promotion. As noted in The Frontline Journal, "Leadership often requires exposure before mastery. You are asked to decide before you feel ready."

Even the most competent new leaders I've worked with have described their own moments of deep self-doubt. Self-doubt can appear before hard conversations, after giving feedback, when performance dips. 

John, a coach client of mine, described it this way: "The fear of screwing up is so real. I’ve gone from working in a research department to leadership and it feels like I'm fumbling in the dark." 

Some view imposter syndrome as a sign of inadequacy, but it's not. It's a natural response to stretch, though without support, it can spiral, causing leaders to start overpreparing, micromanaging, or avoiding big decisions altogether. 

Self-doubt is not a sign of inadequacy; it is often a correlate of high engagement. A survey of 1,200 managers found that 68% felt "unqualified" in their first year, and interestingly, those who experienced this "mild imposter syndrome" often ranked higher in team engagement five years later because they were more likely to use curiosity and preparation as coping mechanisms. 

HBR defines imposter syndrome as "doubting your abilities and feeling like a fraud," noting that it disproportionately affects high achievers. Without support, this spiral leads to perfectionism and indecisiveness, as leaders overprepare to avoid being "exposed."



Imposter syndrome is a paradox: others believe in you, you don't believe in yourself, yet you believe yourself instead of them. If you doubt yourself, shouldn't you also doubt your low opinion of yourself? I believe that imposter syndrome is a sign of hidden potential. It feels like other people are overestimating you, but it's more likely that you're underestimating yourself. They've recognized a capacity for growth that you can't see yet.

Adam Grant, Organizational Psychologist and author of 'Hidden Potential'

Many high performers ascend to leadership roles precisely because they were reliable problem-solvers, yet this same instinct often creates the "Martyr Mindset." 

When a team struggles, these leaders instinctively jump in to fix issues themselves, mistakenly believing they are shielding their team through personal sacrifice. In reality, they unwittingly become the organisation's bottleneck. 

While the leader sees their actions as helpful, the team often perceives a manager who refuses to let go and lacks the trust to allow others to grow. To break this cycle of "insecure overachieving", Harvard Business Review suggests that leaders should learn to "write the job before they do the job", establishing clear success metrics that focus on leadership outcomes rather than tactical execution. Without this shift, over-functioning inevitably masks a lack of trust, leading to micromanagement, which is one of the primary drivers of employee disengagement and burnout.

If your new managers are struggling with imposter syndrome or micromanagement, explore how our Leadership Operating System supports first-time managers with practical tools and leadership coaching.

Accountability takes on a daunting new dimension when a leader is no longer "one of the team", often becoming the most avoided tool in a new manager’s toolkit. 

Many first-time leaders hesitate to challenge poor performance out of a deep-seated fear that conflict will damage personal relationships, leading to a cycle of soul-sapping exhaustion where they constantly correct a junior employee's work rather than confronting the root issue. 

This avoidance is a systemic issue; research from the Centre for Creative Leadership identifies "Giving Effective Feedback" and "Dealing with Difficult Employees" as the primary challenges for frontline leaders, largely because 60% of them never received formal training on how to hold coaching conversations. 

When accountability is avoided, it creates a vacuum of resentment and lowers overall team standards, yet when done poorly, it can feel like blame.

As experts note, the transition to managing others is a "polarising" task that requires a sophisticated balance of task-driven results and relationship-driven empathy to ensure that feedback is seen as a catalyst for growth rather than a personal attack.

Leadership is an emotional journey that carries a heavy, often invisible load. Sarah, a new manager, described this experience to me as putting on a "damp coat" left behind by someone else: uncomfortable, heavy, and not truly yours to begin with. 

As first-time leaders absorb team tensions, unspoken frustrations, and shifting moods, they are increasingly expected to act as the primary "shock absorbers" for organisational change and employee well-being. 

This expansion of the role into heavy emotional labour is backed by Gartner, which reports that 75% of managers feel overwhelmed by the need to manage both their own emotions and those of their team simultaneously. 

The psychological toll is significant: a 2024 Deloitte study found that 53% of managers are already burned out, with nearly half of Millennial and Gen Z leaders reporting constant stress. While leaders are traditionally taught to remain composed, maintaining that composure without a proper outlet creates an internal pressure that eventually explodes.

This is compounded by the fact that 73% of managers feel they lack the specific tools required to navigate complex digital transformations, like AI, while trying to sustain team morale in an increasingly demanding environment.

• Harvard Business Review: “The Trap of the Individual Contributor,” 2024
• Gallup: “State of the Global Workplace: 2025 Report.” 
• Gartner: “The Evolution of the Manager Role,” 2024. 
• Centre for Creative Leadership (CCL): “The Frontline Leader Challenge.” 
• Deloitte: “Global Human Capital Trends 2025.”