In 2024, I finalized my research on modern leadership development, culminating in the creation of the 4-Step Leader Empowerment Playbook. Rooted in leadership literature and informed by insights from experienced leaders, the playbook distills the key factors that drive leadership success today.
The playbook won’t give you all the answers to being an impactful leader, but it will provide a concrete learning map to further your leadership development.
4-Step Leader Empowerment Playbook
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Research findings were condensed for readibility, full study can be found here.
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4-Step Leader Empowerment Playbook
Stepping into a first-time management role is one of the most overlooked yet disruptive transitions in an organization. Too often, high-performing individual contributors are promoted without the preparation, training, or structural support needed to lead effectively. The collision of imposter syndrome, self-doubt, and the realities of managing people can stall careers and weaken teams, creating ripple effects across the business.
This study focuses on what makes that transition successful. By identifying the leadership skills, behaviors, and organizational support systems that matter most, it offers a research-informed, data-driven playbook for developing confident, high-performing managers. Insights from experienced corporate leaders shape a clear, actionable approach to reducing the distress that often accompanies leadership shifts—while strengthening leadership pipelines and business outcomes.
In a time of today’s rapid change, leadership development shouldn’t be an afterthought, but should be considered a competitive advantage. Organizations that invest in manager development build resilient teams and a strong culture. Leaders who are motivated to get better at leading become better decision-makers and align their team’s individual goals to broader organizational goals, creating a healthy, productive, and engaging ecosystem.
Grounded in the Clark and Estes (2008) gap analytical framework, this research applied a modified Delphi mixed methods approach to surface the key factors in leadership knowledge, motivation, and organizational support. The findings provide a clear, 4-step path for equipping leaders with the mindset, skills, and support to thrive.
Step 1: Organization to Activate a Leader Support System
Leader development challenges often begin when a new manager is appointed, usually through promotion of a high performing individual contributor who demonstrates managerial potential. First-time manager transitions are associated with numerous challenges, notably:
Emotional Challenges: Mismatched expectations between leader and follower, self-doubt, fixed mindset beliefs, and negative emotions.
Practical Challenges: Constant work interruptions, insufficient time to learn, and a lack of practical management skills.
Misalignment with Organizational Goals: Unprepared new leaders sometimes make decisions that do not align with the broader goals of the organization, which can negatively affect the organization.
It’s important for both the incoming leader and their boss to keep these challenges top of mind. Awareness and understanding of challenges allows direct supervisors to validate the situation and create a supportive learning environment for the developing leader.
Leader development is most critical during the first year following a new manager's promotion; direct supervisors are particularly important in this initial phase. New managers should learn from direct feedback from their supervisors, which can be encouraged by building a supportive professional relationship and fostering a physically and psychologically safe environment. To enhance learning, enjoyment, and satisfaction, supervisors should provide challenging work, autonomy, and link rewards to desired behaviors.
Coaching and mentorship are also important support mechanisms. Managers can enhance their skills and achieve their objectives through coaching. The direct supervisor can act as a coach or mentor, or encourage the new leader to seek guidance from another coach. Support from both the direct supervisor and the wider organization is needed when functional experts are promoted to people management roles.
The following 5 commitment statements, emblematic of the organizational support actions, were prioritized by leaders who participated in the study. Majority of the leader panel participants came to consensus regarding the importance of these organizational commitments by rating these statements over 75 on a 1-100 scale.
Organizations should create and maintain a culture that values and promotes continuous learning and growth for their leaders.
Organizations should model desired leadership behavior by clearly communicating what is valued and considered ideal in the organization, what should be pursued or avoided, and what are the assumed rules of interactions with others within the workplace environment.
Organizations should support leadership development by offering training programs, mentorship opportunities, access to relevant literature and resources, and coaching sessions.
Organizations should implement policies and procedures that guide employee performance evaluation systems, encourage leadership development, and offer incentives and rewards for leadership development efforts.
Organizations should support collaborative leadership development at all levels of leadership, rather than limiting it to specific ranks.
The next 5 statements were also rated highly. However, not all leaders agreed that these organizational commitments are most critical.
Organizational policies should support transparency about salary and total compensation for employees (69% agreed on importance).
To enhance decision-making, organizations should empower leaders to seek external expertise and perspectives, while also providing the necessary resources to support this endeavor (65% agreed on importance).
Organizations should leverage leader performance metrics, like employee engagement scores, to proactively assess and enhance leadership effectiveness as time progresses (60% agreed on importance).
Organizational procedures should mandate setting and measuring leader accountability goals, such as employee engagement scores (58% agreed on importance).
Organizations should distinguish between leaders from different demographic groups and support leader development with a diversity, equity, inclusion, and belonging lens (58% agreed on importance).
The key recommendation from this and prior research is for the organization to demonstrate commitment to supporting new leaders through their transitions. By modeling the desired behavior, providing resources, and scaffolding for new leaders, the organization shows deliberate and explicit support for growing leaders.
Step 2: Leader to Integrate Motivational Principles
People managers should become aware of and embrace self-motivating principles that will allow them to seek out and achieve self-improvement as leaders. The statements presented to expert leaders who participated in the leadership study were rooted in the following three motivational theories.
Self-Efficacy Leader Attitudes
The self-efficacy theory (Bandura, 2000) informs that individuals’ actions, thoughts, and feelings are shaped by their perceptions of their ability to accomplish tasks. When managers hold beliefs of high levels of self-efficacy in becoming performant leaders, they are more likely to succeed in learning and applying leadership skills in practice, persist in the face of difficulties, and recover quickly from setbacks. Conversely, managers with low levels of self-efficacy in their ability may avoid challenging managerial tasks, doubt their abilities, and give up quickly when perceptions of challenges arise.
In short, to grow as a leader, one must intrinsically believe that they are able and willing to learn how to become the leader they aspire to be. Learning and motivation to improve self-efficacy beliefs can be achieved through several strategies (Ambrose et al., 2010; Mayer, 2011). One strategy is to seek opportunities to observe other leaders they value, respect, and admire. Additional strategies include seeking feedback to validate their behaviors, engaging in the goal-directed practice of managerial tasks, and occasionally pursuing more challenging tasks.
As confirmed through reaching high expert consensus levels, this study informs recommendations for new managers to focus on building confidence in three specific attitudes that will enhance their motivation to build self-efficacy in leadership qualities successfully:
Demonstrates an ability to acknowledge their own professional limitations, and willingly seeks assistance when faced with challenges beyond their expertise (88% consensus).
Believes that they have an ability to experience empathy by sensing and understanding what others may be feeling or thinking (86% consensus).
Believes in their ability to quickly adapt, change direction, and remain flexible in approaching new situations (84% consensus).
Exhibits self-confidence in leading a team to reach organizational goals (74% consensus).
Demonstrates self-confidence in performing management job responsibilities (67% consensus).
Attribution Theory
Drawing on Anderman and Anderman's (2009) attribution theory, it is critical for leaders to attribute their success and failure to their own efforts, rather than blaming a lack of inherent ability. This mindset, reinforced through continuous self-reflection and feedback from supervisors, promotes persistence and investment in leadership development. Moreover, the understanding of attribution theory influences how new leaders motivate their own teams, amplifying their effectiveness through practical application of key motivational principles.
During the second survey round, the study confirmed high importance and high consensus amongst expert of a motivational mindset that can reinforce learning ability in an early manager:
Attributes success and failures to their own efforts (does not blame failure on lack of ability) (76% consensus).
Expectancy Value Theory
Eccles’ (2009) expectancy-value theory explains that individuals make decisions based on their beliefs and attitudes toward the outcomes they expect to achieve. This theory suggests that managers consider two primary factors as part of their leadership development process: their expectation of success and the value they attribute to the consequences of their development as leaders. The value factor, sometimes called the attainment value of expectancy-value theory, is a factor in motivation (Eccles, 2009). It refers to the new manager’s evaluation of the importance or worth of a particular outcome or goal. For example, suppose a manager places personal value on conveying organizational objectives to their team members to foster a results-driven environment. In that case, they will be more likely to dedicate time and effort to communicate and elucidate these goals to their team. By understanding Eccles’ (2009) expectancy-value theory and its role in outcomes, the new managers can become active learners who find value in learning and practicing key leadership behaviors.
This study highlights the following crucial motivational factors that impactful leaders are expected to hold:
Shows personal value in establishing a shared direction amongst team members (81% consensus).
Shows personal value in deriving team goals based on broader organizational goals and regularly communicating goals to team members (74% consensus).
Shows personal value in ensuring that each team member adopts team goals as their own and commits to attaining goals (63% consensus).
Step 3: Leader to Pursue Learning the Most Important Leadership Topics
This recommendation focuses on building specific skills and knowledge elements required for impactful leaders.
Krathwohl’s (2002) knowledge dimensions provide a structured framework for categorizing leadership knowledge into four key types: factual, conceptual, procedural, and metacognitive. These dimensions are hierarchical, each building upon the previous, with an emphasis on higher-order reasoning essential for effective leadership. In designing this study, prior research and literature on leadership informed the articulation of concrete skills within each category. Notably, factual knowledge statements were intentionally excluded to prioritize deeper cognitive engagement.
To determine the most critical leadership skills, a panel of expert leaders evaluated and ranked various competencies on a scale of 1 to 100, and identified the following knowledge elements as highly important for successful leadership.
Conceptual Skills
Conceptual skills guide a new leader to make meaningful connections between ideas (Krathwohl, 2002). Conceptual skills are typically developed through practice, exposure to multiple perspectives, seeking out challenging problems, and reflecting on one’s experiences and observations (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2000).
| Conceptual Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Understanding the link between perceptions of a positive team culture and individual performance. | Promote a positive team culture and work environment by cultivating open communication, mutual respect, and collaboration. |
| Understanding the connection between enabling team member autonomy and individual performance. | Promote autonomy by setting clear expectations and providing necessary supporting resources, allowing individuals the freedom to make decisions within their roles. |
| Recognizing that leaders’ actions influence employee motivation and engagement. | Recognize and appreciate individual achievements, provide growth opportunities, and encourage a sense of purpose to motivate and engage employees. |
| Understanding the distinctions and overlaps between management and leadership. | Recognize their role as an organizational change agent whose role is to drive organizational performance beyond solely managing tasks and workload of their team. |
Procedural Skills
Procedural skills are required for the practical application of steps for accomplishing managerial tasks, or knowing how to follow process and procedures. These types of skills are effectively learned through hands-on practice, guided instruction, feedback, and repetition in a structured learning environment (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2000).
| Procedural Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Crisis management | If a crisis occurs, be prepared to identify the situation, establish clear communication channels, coordinate resources, make informed decisions, prioritize actions, and guide the team toward resolution. |
| Decision making | Make informed decisions by gathering relevant information, analyzing options, consulting with key stakeholders, and considering long-term implications. |
| Trust building | Demonstrate consistent actions and behaviors to enhance trustworthiness and integrity as a leader. |
| Problem identification and solving | Actively listen, observe, and engage to identify problems, analyze root causes, develop creative solutions, and collaborate to implement effective problem-solving strategies. |
| Task delegation and employee empowerment | Delegate work and empower teams by clearly defining tasks, assigning them to team members, providing necessary resources and support, establishing clear expectations, and periodically reviewing progress. |
| Clear communication with team members and stakeholders | Exhibit effective communication skills by communicating clearly, actively listening, and encouraging two-way feedback to ensure mutual understanding with team members and stakeholders. |
| Process of cultivating diversity, equity, and inclusion on the team | Actively promote and embrace diverse perspectives, create inclusive policies and procedures, provide equal opportunities for growth and development, and foster a culture of respect and belonging for all team members. |
| Change management | Successfully manages change by communicating the need for change, involving key stakeholders in the planning process, providing support and resources, addressing resistance, and continuously monitoring progress. |
| Employee performance evaluation process | Regularly engage in conversations with direct reports about their performance and use formal mechanisms to evaluate individual performance. |
Metacognitive Skills
Practicing metacognitive skills equips the leader to self-reflect and evaluate their thought process. Managers can utilize metacognitive knowledge to monitor and regulate their learning, establish goals, and assess their progress autonomously (Krathwohl, 2002). Metacognitive skills are acquired through reflection, self-awareness, setting goals, monitoring progress, and employing strategies to regulate one’s thinking processes (Bolander et al., 2019; Hay, 2014).
| Metacognitive Skill | Outcome |
|---|---|
| Learning from failure | Learns from failure by fostering a culture of psychological safety, encouraging open and honest discussions about mistakes, analyzing root causes, identifying lessons learned, and implementing changes to prevent similar failures in the future. |
| Reflecting on past situations | Practices self-reflection by regularly examining thoughts, biases, and actions; seeking feedback from others; remaining open to different perspectives; and adjusting their approach accordingly to promote continuous learning and personal growth. |
| Critical thinking | Analyzes options by gathering relevant data, evaluating potential outcomes, considering the pros and cons of each option, consulting with relevant stakeholders, and using critical thinking to make informed decisions. |
| Growth mindset | Promotes a growth mindset, believes abilities and intelligence can be developed through dedication, effort, and continuous learning, allowing personal and professional growth. |
Step 4: Organization to Assess Leader Development
To foster effective leadership development, organizations must go beyond training—they need a structured way to assess impact. Implementing an efficacy evaluation framework ensures that leadership development translates into business results. One proven approach is the revised Kirkpatrick Model (2016), a four-level system designed to measure learning effectiveness, behavior change, and organizational outcomes.
1. Start with the End Goal: Measuring Organizational Impact (Level 4)
The ultimate measure of leadership development is whether it drives meaningful business outcomes. Are new leaders improving employee performance, innovation, engagement, retention, and productivity? Are leadership initiatives impacting customer satisfaction or profitability? By tracking key performance indicators (KPIs) tied to leadership effectiveness, organizations can justify investment in leadership development and refine strategies for greater impact.
2. Assess Real-World Behavior Change (Level 3)
Learning is only valuable if it translates into action. To evaluate whether new managers are applying their skills, organizations should collect feedback about the leader from direct reports, peers, and supervisors. Are managers demonstrating better decision-making, communication, and team leadership? If behavior change isn’t visible, organizations must reinforce learning through coaching and accountability.
3. Measure Learning and Confidence (Level 2)
Before behavior changes, learning must happen. Organizations should use pre- and post-training assessments to gauge knowledge acquisition, leadership skills, and confidence in applying new concepts. Commitment is just as important—leaders who believe in their ability to use new skills (self-efficacy!) are more likely to succeed.
4. Capture Immediate Reactions to Training (Level 1)
The simplest but least predictive measure is how participants feel about training. Surveys and one-on-one feedback sessions can highlight whether content is relevant and engaging, but a positive reaction alone doesn’t guarantee long-term success.
Making Data Work: Timing and Continuous Improvement
Effective evaluation isn’t a one-time event—it’s an ongoing process. Immediate feedback (Level 1) should be collected throughout training, while learning assessments (Level 2) should follow shortly after program completion. Behavior changes (Level 3) take time, requiring measurement over weeks or months. Finally, organizational impact (Level 4) should be assessed over a longer horizon to track true ROI.
By embedding an evaluation framework like the Kirkpatrick Model, organizations can ensure leadership development is more than just a checkbox—it becomes a strategic driver of long-term success.
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Note that the 4-Step Leader Empowerment Playbook has been derived from a research study by Julie Eydman, Ed.D. The full study, published at the USC Library includes an extensive prior literature review, research methodology, findings, recommendations, quantitative and qualitative data tables, and references.