The Mid-Career Pivot: From Expert to Leader Without Losing Yourself

I knew how to lead.

Big teams. P&L responsibility. Strategic decisions. The kind of executive presence you build over years.

Then I moved into procurement.

Suddenly I was the least technical person in every room. Surrounded by experts who’d spent careers mastering what I couldn’t yet name.

But the leadership clock didn’t stop.

Major automotive programs. Executive steering committees. Decisions that wouldn’t wait for me to catch up.

So I had to do something uncomfortable: Lead and learn at the same time. Project authority while privately rebuilding expertise from zero.

That’s the transition nobody talks about.

Not expert to leader. Leader to expert to leader—in a completely new field.

I had to unlearn what made me successful in sales. Rebuild technical credibility in procurement. Then integrate both into something new.

It almost broke me.

Because the confidence that drove my commercial success? It didn’t transfer. And the humility required to become a true procurement expert threatened the very presence I needed to lead.

If you’re facing a similar pivot—stepping into unfamiliar territory while the leadership expectations remain—here’s what I learned.

Why This Transition Is Uniquely Hard

The jump from individual contributor to leader is the hardest career shift most people make.

But there’s another transition that’s just as difficult: being a leader who moves into a completely new domain where you lack expertise.

The credibility paradox:

You’re supposed to lead. But you don’t know the domain yet.

Your team knows more than you do about the technical details. Stakeholders question whether you understand their challenges. You’re making decisions without the deep expertise you’re used to having.

You have positional authority. But you haven’t earned domain authority yet.

The identity crisis for new managers:

If you’re moving from individual contributor to leader, your entire professional identity is built on being “the expert.” The person who knows. The one with the answers.

Suddenly you’re supposed to stop knowing everything and start empowering others to know.

That feels like losing yourself.

The skill obsolescence:

Everything that got you promoted becomes less relevant.

Your deep technical expertise? Less important now. Your ability to execute flawlessly? Someone else’s job now. Your individual productivity? Meaningless now.

You need completely different skills. Skills you probably don’t have yet.

The imposter syndrome:

You were confident as an expert. You knew your domain cold.

As a new leader, you’re making decisions about things you’re not expert in. Managing people when you’ve never managed before. Setting strategy when you’ve only executed.

You feel like a fraud. Because you’re learning in public.

The loneliness:

Your peers became your reports. Or you moved to a different peer group.

Either way, you lost your support system. The people you used to complain to? Can’t do that anymore. The people you used to learn from? Different level now.

You’re alone in a way you’ve never been.

The research:

60% of new managers fail in their first two years. Not because they lack technical skills. Because they can’t make the psychological transition from expert to leader.

They keep doing the work instead of leading the work. They optimize for being right instead of getting results. They treat leadership as a better version of individual contribution instead of a fundamentally different job.

Here’s what worked for me—both when I had to lead in a new domain and when I helped others make the IC-to-leader transition.

Shift 1: From Doing to Enabling

Old identity: “I’m the best at this.”

New identity: “I build people who are better than me at this.”

This shift applies whether you’re moving from IC to leader, or leading in a domain where others have more expertise than you.

When I moved into procurement leadership, my team members knew procurement better than I did. I couldn’t be “the expert.” I had to be the leader who enabled experts.

When you’re a new manager coming from IC, you’re used to being the go-to person. Now you have to become the person who develops go-to people.

Real example:

A team member was preparing for a major supplier negotiation. I saw the strategy. It was wrong. Not completely wrong, but suboptimal. I could fix it in 20 minutes.

Old me—the sales leader who’d run hundreds of negotiations—would have jumped in. “Here’s what you should do instead.”

New me had to sit on my hands. Ask questions instead of giving answers.

“Walk me through your thinking. What alternatives did you consider? What are you most uncertain about?”

She worked through it. Adjusted her approach. Not the exact strategy I would have used in my sales days. But it worked for procurement. She closed the deal.

More importantly, she learned. Next negotiation, her strategy was stronger. The one after that, even better.

If I’d jumped in and fixed it, she’d still be dependent on me. And she wouldn’t have developed procurement-specific skills that were different from my sales background.

Practice: The “Wait 5 Minutes” Rule

When you see a problem and want to jump in and solve it, wait five minutes.

Ask yourself: “Does this need me to solve it? Or do I just want to solve it because I’m good at it?”

If it doesn’t need you, don’t solve it. Ask questions that help them solve it.

Delegation Decision Tree:

Problem or decision arises
↓
Is this a crisis requiring immediate action?
→ Yes → You handle it (but debrief after for learning)
→ No ↓

Have you already taught them how to handle this?
→ No → This is teaching moment, coach them through it
→ Yes ↓

Do they have the authority to decide?
→ No → Give them the authority (if ready)
→ Yes ↓

Step back. Let them handle it.
Be available for questions, not solutions.

The mental shift:

Your job isn’t being the best anymore. It’s building people who surpass you.

That requires ego death. Your expert ego has to die so your leader identity can emerge.

Painful. Necessary.

Shift 2: From Individual Impact to Team Impact

Old metric: Your output.

New metric: Team’s output.

I used to measure my success by what I personally delivered. Projects completed. Deals closed. Problems solved.

As a leader, my individual contribution became nearly irrelevant. What mattered was what my team delivered.

Real example:

We closed a major supplier consolidation. €8M in savings. Huge strategic win.

My team did 90% of the work. I did 10%—mostly removing obstacles and providing air cover.

Old me would have felt underutilized. “I barely contributed.”

New me understood: my contribution was enabling their contribution. That was the job.

In the presentation to executives, I made sure my team presented. They got the credit. They got the visibility.

My success was measured by their success.

Practice: Attribution Shift in Communication

Change how you talk about results:

Wrong: “I delivered €8M in savings.”

Right: “The team delivered €8M in savings. Here’s how they did it.”

Wrong: “I solved the supplier crisis.”

Right: “Sarah led the resolution of the supplier crisis. Here’s what she did.”

This isn’t false modesty. It’s accurate attribution. And it builds your team’s credibility while establishing your identity as a leader who builds capable people.

Impact Measurement at Scale:

Individual Contributor Metrics	Leader Metrics
Projects you completed	Projects team completed
Your productivity	Team’s productivity
Your skill development	Team’s capability growth
Your visibility with leadership	Team’s visibility with leadership
Problems you solved	Problems team can now solve without you
Your promotion timeline	Team members’ promotion success

The shift: from measuring what you do to measuring what happens because you’re there.

Shift 3: From Technical Excellence to Judgment

Old skill: Deep expertise in narrow domain.

New skill: Sufficient knowledge across domains + good judgment.

This one hurt.

I built my career on deep expertise. I knew procurement better than almost anyone. That depth was my competitive advantage.

As a leader, I needed breadth more than depth. I needed to make good decisions about engineering, finance, supply chain, product—domains where I wasn’t expert.

Real example:

Product wanted to sole-source a critical component. Engineering said it was technically necessary. Finance said it was risky. Supply chain said it could create problems.

I wasn’t expert in any of those domains. But I had to decide.

I couldn’t out-engineer the engineers or out-finance the finance team. But I could synthesize their perspectives and make a judgment call based on risk tolerance, strategic priorities, and organizational capabilities.

We dual-sourced initially with a roadmap to sole-source once we’d validated supplier capability. Not perfect for any function. But balanced the risks everyone cared about.

That’s judgment. Not expertise.

Practice: Building Broad Business Acumen

You can’t maintain deep expertise in everything. But you can build sufficient knowledge.

The 80/20 Knowledge Acquisition:

For domains outside your expertise:

• Learn the 20% that explains 80% of decisions
• Understand the key trade-offs and constraints
• Know what questions to ask
• Know when to defer to experts

Don’t try to become expert in everything. Become conversant enough to ask good questions and make sound judgments.

Monthly learning plan:

Pick one domain per quarter where you need better knowledge.

• Read 2-3 foundational articles/books
• Have 3 coffee chats with experts in that domain
• Observe 2-3 decisions being made in that area
• Ask: “What are the key trade-offs? What do experts optimize for? What signals indicate good vs. bad decisions?”

After three months, you won’t be expert. But you’ll have sufficient knowledge to participate in decisions.

Shift 4: From Individual Contributor to People Developer

Old focus: Your career development.

New focus: Team’s career development.

I used to spend maybe 5% of my time thinking about developing others. 95% on my own work and growth.

As a leader, that flipped. 40% of my time goes to developing people. 60% on everything else.

Real example:

I spend one hour per week per direct report on development. Not status updates. Not task management. Development.

“What are you learning? What’s challenging you? What do you want to get better at? What opportunities would help you grow?”

That’s 8 hours a week for an 8-person team. Plus time for coaching moments, feedback, career planning.

Old me would have seen that as “not real work.” New me knows it’s the most important work.

Practice: Structured 1-on-1s

Weekly 1-on-1s with each direct report. 30-45 minutes.

The structure:

First 15 minutes: Them talking about what’s on their mind. You listening.

Next 15 minutes: You providing coaching, feedback, or strategic context they need.

Last 15 minutes: Development focus. What they’re learning. What they need to grow.

Individual Development Plan Template:

Team Member	Current Strengths	Development Goals	Learning Activities	Support Needed	Progress
Sarah	Technical analysis, data modeling	Executive communication, strategic thinking	Present at exec meetings, lead strategy project, external coaching	Exec meeting access, strategy mentoring	On track
Michael	Relationship building, negotiation	Process design, cross-functional leadership	Lead process improvement, co-lead with operations	Process frameworks, ops partnership	Progressing
Anna	Problem-solving, resilience	Stakeholder management, influence	Shadow key meetings, lead cross-functional initiative	Political navigation coaching	Accelerating

The 70-20-10 Development Model:

• 70% learning through challenging assignments
• 20% learning through coaching and relationships
• 10% learning through formal training

Your job: create the challenging assignments, provide the coaching, enable the formal training.

Shift 5: From Peer to Authority (With Empathy)

Old relationship: Equal colleague.

New relationship: Leader with positional power.

This was awkward.

I got promoted. Some of my peers became my direct reports. Others stayed peers but in different functions.

The relationships changed. Had to change.

Real example:

My friend became my direct report. We used to complain about leadership together. Now I was leadership.

The happy hour venting sessions? Couldn’t do that anymore. The complete transparency? Had to be more careful.

I couldn’t be both friend and manager. I had to be manager first.

Practice: Role Clarity Conversations

When relationships change, address it directly. Don’t pretend nothing changed.

“Our relationship is changing. I want to acknowledge that. Here’s how I’m thinking about it…”

The conversation framework:

“I value our relationship. That hasn’t changed. What has changed is that I now have formal responsibility for your performance and development. That means:

• I’ll be direct with feedback, even when it’s uncomfortable
• I’ll make decisions that prioritize team outcomes over individual preferences
• I can’t be the person you vent to about leadership anymore—that’s me now
• I’ll work hard to earn your trust in this new dynamic

What concerns do you have about this? How can we make this transition work?”

Boundary setting:

What stays the same:

• Mutual respect
• Commitment to team success
• Open communication

What changes:

• Decision authority (you have it now)
• Information sharing (some things you can’t share)
• Social relationship (professional first, friendly second)

The empathy component:

You remember being in their position. Use that.

Don’t pretend you’ve always been a leader. Don’t distance yourself from their experience. Stay connected to what it feels like to be on the other side.

But don’t abdicate authority either. Empathy doesn’t mean avoiding tough decisions or difficult conversations.

You can be both empathetic and authoritative. That’s the balance.

Shift 6: From Execution to Strategy

Old horizon: This quarter’s deliverables.

New horizon: Next year’s capabilities.

I used to optimize for getting things done this month. Tasks completed. Projects delivered. Immediate results.

As a leader, I had to think longer-term. Not just what we deliver this quarter, but what capabilities we need next year. What talent we need to develop. What processes need to change. What risks we need to mitigate now to avoid crises later.

Real example:

The team was underwater. Too much work. Not enough people. The immediate solution: work harder. Longer hours. I could jump in and help.

The strategic solution: hire two more people, redesign workflows, automate repetitive tasks. That would take three months to implement. But it would solve the problem permanently instead of temporarily.

Old me would have jumped in and helped execute. Immediate relief.

New me invested time in the strategic solution. Three months of pain for permanent improvement.

Practice: Time Allocation Audit

Track your time for two weeks. Categorize every activity:

Urgent + Important: Crisis management, critical decisions (should be <20%)

Important + Not Urgent: Strategy, people development, process improvement (should be 50%+)

Urgent + Not Important: Interruptions, others’ priorities (should be <20%)

Neither Urgent Nor Important: Eliminate these

If you’re spending more than 30% on urgent activities, you’re not leading strategically. You’re firefighting.

Strategic Calendar Blocking:

Block time for strategic work before filling calendar with reactive meetings.

Monday mornings: Strategy and planning (2 hours)

Tuesday/Thursday: 1-on-1s and people development (4 hours total)

Wednesday afternoon: Deep work on critical initiatives (3 hours)

Friday morning: Reflection and learning (1 hour)

Everything else fits around this. Not the other way around.

Time Allocation Comparison:

Activity	As Expert	As Leader	Change Needed
Individual execution	60%	20%	-40%
People development	5%	40%	+35%
Strategy and planning	10%	25%	+15%
Stakeholder management	15%	10%	-5%
Administration	10%	5%	-5%

The biggest shift: from doing work to enabling and planning work.

The First 90 Days: Your Action Plan

Don’t try to change everything on day one. You’ll fail and lose credibility.

Here’s what actually works.

Week 1-4: Listen and Learn

What to do:

• Schedule 1-on-1s with every team member (60 minutes each)
• Schedule meetings with key stakeholders
• Observe how work currently flows
• Read previous performance reviews, project retrospectives
• Understand team history and dynamics

What NOT to do:

• Make changes
• Announce new direction
• Reorganize
• Criticize previous leadership

Questions to ask:

To team members:

• “What’s working well that we should keep doing?”
• “What’s not working that needs to change?”
• “What do you need from me as your leader?”
• “What should I know about this team that isn’t obvious?”

To stakeholders:

• “What do you need from this team?”
• “What’s been working in our partnership?”
• “What could work better?”
• “How can I make your job easier?”

The goal:

Understand before you act. Listen before you speak. Learn before you lead.

Week 5-8: Quick Wins and Relationship Building

What to do:

• Identify 2-3 small improvements with high impact
• Implement changes the team already wanted
• Remove one obstacle that’s been frustrating people
• Establish regular team rhythms (meetings, communication)
• Start individual development conversations

Quick wins to look for:

• Process friction everyone complains about
• Tools or resources team needs but didn’t have
• Decisions that have been delayed
• Recognition that should have been given
• Clarity that’s been missing

Example quick wins:

• Simplified approval process that was bureaucratic
• Got team access to tool they’d requested for months
• Made decision on project that had been stuck
• Publicly recognized team member who’d been underappreciated
• Clarified roles and responsibilities that were ambiguous

The goal:

Build credibility through small wins. Demonstrate you listen. Show you can make things happen.

Week 9-12: Establish Your Leadership Approach

What to do:

• Share your leadership philosophy with the team
• Establish team operating principles
• Set clear expectations and goals
• Begin larger strategic initiatives
• Create feedback loops

The leadership philosophy conversation:

“Here’s how I think about leadership and how I’ll show up:

What you can expect from me:

• I’ll be direct with feedback
• I’ll prioritize your development
• I’ll remove obstacles and provide air cover
• I’ll make decisions when needed
• I’ll admit when I don’t know something

What I expect from you:

• Ownership of your work
• Honest communication, especially about problems
• Commitment to team success
• Continuous learning and growth
• Support for each other

How we’ll work together:

• Weekly 1-on-1s
• Transparent team communication
• Regular feedback, both directions
• Celebration of wins, learning from failures”

Team Operating Principles:

Example:

1. We solve problems, not blame people
2. We debate decisions openly, commit fully once decided
3. We make our work visible and help each other
4. We give and receive feedback with respect
5. We celebrate progress and learn from setbacks

Let the team contribute to these. They need to feel ownership.

The goal:

Establish how you’ll lead. Get alignment on how the team will work. Create foundation for long-term success.

Preserving What Made You Great

Here’s what nobody tells you about becoming a leader:

You don’t have to become someone else.

The things that made you a great expert? They still matter. Just differently.

Your technical background:

Don’t abandon it. Leverage it strategically.

I still use my procurement expertise. Just not to do procurement. To teach it. To spot when analysis is wrong. To ask questions that help others think better.

Your analytical thinking:

Still valuable. Just applied differently.

I don’t analyze every problem anymore. But I teach others how to analyze. I spot gaps in thinking. I push for rigor where it matters.

Your drive for excellence:

Still essential. Just redirected.

I don’t perfect my own work anymore. I help others perfect theirs. I set high standards for the team, not just myself.

Authentic leadership vs. copying others:

The worst advice: “Act like a leader.”

That creates fake versions of other leaders. Inauthentic. Ineffective.

Better advice: “Lead like yourself.”

Figure out what kind of leader you want to be based on who you actually are. Not who you think leaders should be.

Introverted? Lead with deep 1-on-1s and thoughtful communication.

Direct? Lead with clarity and candor.

Collaborative? Lead by building consensus and empowering teams.

There’s no one right way to lead. There’s your way. Find it.

Real example:

I’m an inspirational leader. Just not the kind you’d expect.

No rehearsed charisma. No performed empathy. No motivational speeches borrowed from TED talks.

I inspire through clarity. Through asking the question that unlocks the room. Through solving what others said couldn’t be solved.

People don’t follow me because I make them feel good. They follow because I make complex problems simple—and then we win.

That works for me. Because it’s authentic to who I am.

Find what works for you.

The transition from expert to leader is hard.

You’re learning a new job while unlearning an old identity. That’s painful.

But here’s what makes it worth it:

As an expert, your impact is limited by your personal capacity. However good you are, you can only do so much.

As a leader, your impact is multiplied by every person you develop. You can achieve things no individual contributor ever could.

That analyst I developed who now runs procurement for a major manufacturer? She’s developing leaders who are developing leaders.

That’s three generations of impact from one person’s transition to leadership.

Your expertise helped dozens. Your leadership could help thousands.

The transition is hard. The impact makes it worth it.

Start with Shift 1. Stop doing. Start enabling.

The rest follows from there.

You won’t lose yourself. You’ll become a bigger version of yourself.

That’s the promise. Now do the work.