Employee Engagement: A Roadmap for Creating Profits, Optimizing Performance, and Increasing Loyalty

Career Transitions

Webster’s New World Dictionary defines “transition” as “a passing from one condition, form, stage, activity, place, etc. to another.”¹ In essence, a transition is a significant shift. The most significant shift in the workplace tends to be when an employee is moving into his or her first leadership role. In fact, studies have confirmed this concern. New leaders can fail up to 50 percent of the time.² That is an astounding number! The reason this particular transition is the most difficult has to do with the fact that everything a person has learned thus far in his or her career can actually cause him or her to fail in the new role. Table 9.1 shows some differences between individual contributors and leaders.

The challenge ...