The stress from being promoted is second only to dealing with divorce, a survey has shown.
Research from the Chartered Institute of Personal Development (CIPD) and talent management firm Development Dimensions International (DDI) revealed that six in 10 managers rated career transitions as extremely challenging.
About one-quarter said dealing with the transition was the toughest challenge they had to overcome, and that they had little or very poor support from their company.
DDI director Simon Mitchell said: “The research demonstrates that leaders need much more than congratulations and a pat on the shoulder if they are to succeed and thrive.
“Simple things like helping newly promoted leaders anticipate what they need to do differently would make a huge difference to the effectiveness of those in transition.”
Almost half of senior-level leaders said that external advisers played the most significant role in successful career transitions.
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Vanessa Robinson, CIPD’s organisation and resourcing adviser, agreed that there were not big enough support networks within companies, and that support from colleagues and the organisation was essential if a leader was to be successful.
