After a promotion, many leaders keep doing a version of their old job for far longer than they meant to. It can look like being busy. More often it is about where they feel most sure of themselves. Holding on is a question of identity more than time, which is why advice to delegate tends to bounce off. The real work of stepping up is letting the job you were best at belong to someone else.

When pressure rises, leaders often rely more heavily on the strengths that have served them before. But calm can become distance, decisiveness can become impulsiveness and structure can turn into control. Recognising these patterns gives leaders more choice about how they respond when the situation needs something different.