New Leaders: Promoted, Prepared or Pretending?

In this Change on Purpose episode, Ingrid and Rebecca discuss why new leaders today feel overwhelmed, underprepared, and stretched thin as leadership demands expand beyond the old model of managing teams, budgets, and reviews to include transformation initiatives, hybrid work, AI adoption, multigenerational teams, and employee engagement. They cite research that managers are more likely to be burned out than their employees and note Gallup’s finding that only about one in three managers strongly agrees they feel equipped for their role, describing managers as McKinsey’s “sandwich layer” between executives and employees. They explore confidence gaps created by AI and the importance of a learning culture where leaders model learning publicly and create safe-to-fail environments. They also address leading across four or five generations by focusing on individuals’ values and communication preferences. The episode emphasizes that roles changed faster than leadership development and offers mind shifts: measure success by how you lead others, get comfortable not knowing and learning, and focus on influencing by creating conditions for team success. 00:00 New Leader Reality Check 01:31 Why It Feels Overwhelming 01:36 Burnout and Imposter Feelings 02:42 The Sandwich Layer Squeeze 03:52 Leadership Without All Answers 04:19 AI and the Confidence Gap 05:37 Leading Across Generations 07:28 The Role Changed Faster 08:17 Coaching Through Uncertainty 10:42 Three Mindset Shifts 12:19 Final Takeaways and Next Steps Visit our website to submit your ideas for future episodes: https://changeonpurpose.org #leadership #change #transformation #professionaldevelopment #growthmindset #team #careergrowth #resilience #teamwork #workplaceculture