Coaching cases · Anonymized actual case · Self-awareness & roles
A place to begin
A growing startup explored leadership roles with both the founder and newly promoted team leads, alongside decision authority and development conversations.
B2B AI agent startup · founder and new team leads · rapid hiring and organizational growth
The starting situation
Talented specialists delivered strong individual results, and the founder promoted capable contributors into team-lead roles. As the business grew, duplicate work, unclear responsibility and collaboration difficulties emerged. Agreement about who would decide, coordinate and support other people’s development had not kept pace with hiring.
What coaching explored
Coaching explored the assumption that a strong individual contributor would naturally know how to lead a team. What had changed with the role, and what did colleagues experience when the same delivery habits continued?
The founder also remained involved in execution and important decisions, leaving less room for strategic work. Concerns about speed and quality were heard alongside a question about which contribution belonged with the founder and which belonged with team leads.
Practices the leader tried
The work clarified roles, responsibilities, decision authority and criteria that team leads could use. It also considered the timing and boundaries of founder involvement and the distinction between strategic and delivery responsibilities.
The published case includes coaching for newly promoted leads as well as the founder. Their conversations explored the transition from contributor to leader, purposeful 1on1s, feedback and opportunities for colleagues to grow. Cross-team collaboration and information sharing were considered alongside individual development.
Changes reflected on in the account
The account describes less role conflict and duplicate work, with more decisions made by team leads using shared criteria. The founder reflected on the conditions that allowed existing people to contribute, rather than assuming additional hiring would resolve every difficulty. Learning leadership became something that could receive support instead of remaining an unspoken expectation.
A question for HR
HR can discuss the responsibilities and use of time that change after promotion. Recognition for previous performance can sit alongside support to learn a different role. What resources, relationships and opportunities allow the person to grow into that responsibility?
Questions about this topic
What challenge did this leader bring?
A growing startup explored leadership roles with both the founder and newly promoted team leads, alongside decision authority and development conversations.
What practices did the leader explore?
The work clarified roles, responsibilities, decision authority and criteria that team leads could use. It also considered the timing and boundaries of founder involvement and the distinction between strategic and delivery responsibilities.