When a Team Member Becomes a Leader: The Hidden Challenge No One Talks About
One of the most defining moments in any professional journey is the transition from being a team member to becoming a team leader or department manager. It is a proud moment, a recognition of competence, potential, and trust. But there is a hidden challenge that determines whether this promotion becomes a success story or a quiet struggle, and that is the ability to let go of old biases.
Every team member has natural preferences. Some colleagues feel closer, some relationships carry tension, and some dynamics hold the weight of old disagreements. This is normal as we are human.
However, the moment someone steps into leadership, the rules change.
A new leader cannot afford to carry old biases into the role. And equally important, they cannot afford the perception of bias either. Perception alone can damage trust as deeply as actual behavior.
The early days of leadership are especially critical. This is the time when the team is quietly observing, evaluating, and forming a new narrative about the leader. The most important thing a new leader can demonstrate is fairness, real fairness, visible fairness, and consistent fairness.
This means:
- Creating equal distance from everyone, including former close friends.
- Opening new channels with those who felt distant before.
- Showing, through action, that leadership is for the whole team, not a selected few.
Building trust is not a single act; it is a series of small, deliberate choices. Over time, these choices form the foundation of a healthy and united team culture. When a leader steps into their role with openness, emotional maturity, and the courage to rise above past dynamics, the team feels it. And they respond.
This is often the turning point between a leader who struggles and a leader who thrives.
As a leadership and performance coach, I help new and emerging leaders navigate this transition with clarity, confidence, and emotional intelligence, transforming old patterns into new strengths, and shaping the kind of leadership that brings people together rather than pulling them apart.
Ahmed Sameer,
Performance and Leadership Coach