The Hidden Cost of Promotions No One Talks About

Last month, a client told me about Sarah—their star data analyst who just got promoted to team lead. Sarah was brilliant at her job. She mentored junior analysts, brought creative solutions to problems, and everyone respected her work.

Three months into her new role, Sarah was working 60-hour weeks, two team members had started job hunting, and my client was spending half their time putting out fires.

"I don't understand," they said. "Sarah has everything it takes to be a great manager. Why is this so hard?"

Well, here's what I've learned: we confuse being good at the work with being ready to lead people. And that confusion costs us—in ways we don't even realize.

The Statistics That Made Me Stop and Think

I came across research from the ADP Research Institute that put numbers to what I'd been observing: 29 percent of workers leave their employer within one month of receiving their first promotion. That's nearly two-thirds higher than the turnover rate for people who weren't promoted.

Think about that. You promote your best performer, and suddenly their likelihood of leaving jumps by 61 percent.

According to Ben Hanowell, who directed the research: "These data suggest that landing a promotion gives a person a leg up in their search for work outside their current employer. But they're also consistent with another workplace phenomenon: People who are given more responsibility without adequate preparation, compensation or resources could be more likely to quit."

That second part is what keeps me up at night. We're not just losing people because they're more marketable. We're losing them because we're setting them up to struggle.

What Actually Happens After the Promotion

When I work with newly promoted managers, I see a pattern. The dynamics with their former peers shift overnight, but nobody taught them how to navigate that. They're drowning in new responsibilities without frameworks for delegation or decision-making. They're questioning whether they're "cut out for this" while trying to project confidence.

And the organizational leaders who promoted them? They're either hovering or completely hands-off, because nobody redefined what the relationship should look like now.

The good news from the research: after six months, the risk of leaving decreases significantly. But here's what concerns me—a Gartner study found that 60 percent of new managers fail within their first 24 months when they don't get proper support.

Those first six months matter. A lot.

Why the Usual Approaches Don't Work

I know what you're thinking—"We sent them to leadership training." Or maybe you assigned them a mentor, or gave them a management book to read.

Here's what I've observed: generic leadership training teaches theory, but it doesn't help Sarah figure out how to have a difficult conversation with her former peer who's now underperforming. A mentor can share their experience, but they don't know Sarah's specific team dynamics or what keeps her up at night.

And the "figure it out as you go" approach? That's how we lose good people.

What I've Learned About Supporting Leaders Through Transitions

Through my coaching work, I've seen something interesting happen. When we create space for newly promoted leaders to explore their own challenges—not tell them what to do, but help them discover what works for THEM—real transformation happens.

One of my clients came to me stuck between two career decisions. We spent weeks talking through options, weighing pros and cons. Then one day, they had a breakthrough: "Wait. The question isn't which change I should make. It's whether I should make a change at all right now."

Looking at their family situation and core values, they realized they needed a completely different path. From there they created a one-, three-, and five-year plan that honored where they actually were—not where they thought they "should" be.

It wasn't "no change." It was "not-yet change, with intention and clarity."

That insight didn't come from my telling them what to do. It came from creating space for them to access their own wisdom.

What I Think Organizations Need

I've been thinking a lot about what newly promoted managers actually need during those critical first six months. Not another training module. Not a one-size-fits-all approach.

They need someone to help them:

·         See their challenges from new perspectives instead of staying stuck in old patterns

·         Understand themselves—their strengths, their values, how they naturally approach problems

·         Navigate the relationship shifts that come with the new role

·         Make decisions that feel authentic to who they are

Because here's what I've come to believe: your newly promoted manager doesn't need someone to tell them how to lead. They need someone to help them discover how THEY lead—in a way that's authentic to them and effective for their team.

An Invitation

If you're watching talented people struggle after promotions—or if that 29 percent statistic made you think about someone on your team—I'd love to talk.

I work with organizations to support leaders during these pivotal transitions. Not with cookie-cutter programs, but through individualized coaching that honors each person's unique context and challenges.

The client sets the agenda. They know themselves and their teams best. My role is to help them access that wisdom and turn it into action.

Schedule a complimentary discovery session and let's explore whether coaching might help your newly promoted leaders navigate that critical first six months—and beyond.

Because your best performers deserve more than a new title and hope. They deserve support that actually helps them thrive.

Ruth Bergman | Listen & Lead Coaching
 Supporting authentic leadership development through professional coaching