Navigating Leadership Transitions: Strategies for Success

When you're promoted into management, the shift can feel like you're suddenly in charge, but with very little guidance. In this episode, Andy chats with executive coach and author James Turk about his insightful book The Giving Game: A Manager’s Playbook for the First Year of Leadership. James brings decades of experience helping leaders navigate that tricky transition from individual contributor to team leader.

They explore why being a subject-matter expert doesn’t automatically make you an effective leader, and why the first 45 days in a new role are so critical. James shares practical advice for building a strong team climate, coaching instead of controlling, and why clarity is one of the greatest gifts you can offer as a manager. Plus, they discuss what new managers often miss about feedback and delegation (and how to avoid those traps).

Whether you’re newly promoted or preparing to step into a leadership role, this conversation is filled with actionable insights. If you’re looking for real-world advice on how to lead when you’re suddenly in charge, this episode is for you!

• “The number one reason employees don’t do what they’re supposed to do is that they don’t know what it is.”
• “Leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about creating the conditions for others to succeed.”
• “Climate is how it feels to work for you, and as a leader, that’s something you have the power to shape every day.”
• “Coaching isn’t fixing the past. It’s investing in someone’s future performance.”
• “Most people, when they’re promoted, don’t have the skills, and they’re afraid to admit it.”
• “If I want people to do the work, they need to know what’s expected of them.”

• 00:00 Introduction
• 01:57 Start of Interview
• 02:06 What early experiences shaped how you think about leadership?
• 05:30 Why call it 'The Giving Game'?
• 08:39 What would you coach me to do differently in my first 45 days as a new manager?
• 11:01 Why focus on climate instead of culture?
• 15:57 How do we shift teams from renter mode to ownership?
• 20:18 Why do so many managers think we're being clear?
• 21:42 How can leaders delegate in a way that builds ownership?
• 22:47 When did you make a delegation mistake because of lack of clarity?
• 25:25 What's an example of feedback that changed your career?
• 27:59 What do you think about the 'feedback sandwich' technique?
• 29:44 How can these ideas help parents at home?
• 32:10 End of Interview
• 32:31 Andy Comments After the Interview
• 36:15 Outtakes

You can learn more about James Turk and his work at TheTurkGroup.com/TheGivingGameBook.

For more learning on this topic, check out:

• Episode 466 with Sabina Nawaz. Sabina was the executive coach for Bill Gates and other Microsoft leaders and wrote a book that would be an excellent follow-up to this one.
• Episode 455 with Janet Polach. It’s a great follow-on to what we talked with James here today.
• Episode 391 with Adam Bryant about his book The Leap to Leader.

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Just go to 5BestResources.PeopleAndProjectsPodcast.com to grab your copy. I’d love to help you get your PMP this year!

Thank you for joining me for this episode of The People and Projects Podcast!

Talent Triangle: Power Skills

Topics: Leadership, First-Time Managers, Team Climate, Feedback, Coaching, Clarity, Delegation, Emotional Intelligence, Ownership, Communication, People Management, Personal Development, Project Management, Career Development

The following music was used for this episode:

Music: Imagefilm 034 by Sascha Ende License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license

Music: Fashion Corporate by Frank Schroeter License (CC BY 4.0): https://filmmusic.io/standard-license