Will they follow?

An overlooked, business-critical challenge
for leaders in new roles

“The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority.”
– Ken Blanchard

You have 200 of your most senior leaders in a room. Some are newly promoted. Some have inherited new teams. Others are stepping into roles where their decisions ripple across the business.

With limited time and enormous stakes, what do you prioritize?

Jennifer Porter, SVP and Head of the Global Executive Coaching Center of Excellence at our sister company BTS, notes that nearly half of BTS’s active coaching engagements this year involve a role transition. And a 2026 systematic review spanning 136 studies points to an overlooked challenge: social validation.

The people around a new leader haven’t necessarily granted them legitimacy yet. Without it, buy-in is harder, decisions slow, and momentum stalls.

When the stakes are high, capability is only part of the equation. Leaders also need to create the conditions that allow that capability to translate into impact.

For L&D, that changes the development equation. At this level, it’s not enough to prepare leaders for what they need to do. We need to help them build the relationships that enable them to do it.

That’s where coaching earns its value by helping leaders navigate critical relationships, understand their impact on others, and earn the authority their leadership depends on.

One question for this week: How much time-to-impact are your senior leaders losing while they earn the legitimacy to lead?

One great thing for 08.18.26 – Advantage Coaching | Coach’s Corner(opens in new tab) – Explore how coaching can help leaders navigate transitions and accelerate their impact.