💼 You Were the Best at the Job — Then They Made You the Boss

You were the best case manager. The strongest coach on the team. You knew the work and delivered results. So they promoted you.

Now you’re managing the people doing the work…
But no one ever taught you how to lead and support them.”

This is one of the most common (and costly) missteps I see in both workforce development and government agencies.

Promotion is often treated like a reward. But leadership isn’t a reward — it’s a responsibility.

We move people from “doing” to “managing,” assuming they’ll figure it out. But the skill sets are not the same.

And the stakes are too high to leave it to chance.

What’s Actually Happening?

New managers are thrown into roles without real preparation.

They’re expected to manage performance, navigate conflict, provide feedback, hold space, and drive results — often with no framework, no support, and no healing language.

So what do they do?

They lead how they were led.
They survive instead of support.
They manage from trauma, not from clarity.

And eventually, the team breaks. Or burns out. Or walks away.

This Isn’t About Bad Managers. It’s About Bad Systems.

According to Gallup, 58% of employees leave because of their manager.

But most of those managers were never built to succeed.

Leadership is a craft. It can be taught.
And when it’s trauma-informed and human-centered, everything changes.

As we head into the new year, let’s ask better questions:

• What do new managers in your organization actually need to succeed?
• Are you promoting people without preparing them?
• How are you supporting those who are supporting others?

Let’s stop appointing people to lead without giving them the tools to do it well.
Let’s build them instead.

🚨 Mastering Management Returns in January 2026

We’re bringing back The Mastering Management Series in the new year — a trauma-informed, lab-based experience for real managers who want to lead with purpose and skill.

📥 Join the interest list here: https://bit.ly/masteringmanagement2026

Workforce Wednesday | By Alia Sutton-Bey