The Identity Cage
Your sense of self was fused with your expertise — and the transition to leadership is asking that identity to break so a new one can emerge.
You got the promotion you worked for. And now something is wrong — not in a way you can name. You walk into meetings where everyone looks to you to lead, and the thing that got you here — the expertise, the precision, being the smartest person in the room — is no longer what the room needs.
The advice says delegate, think strategically, develop your people. You've tried. But the trying feels like wearing someone else's suit. The delegation feels like handing away the only thing that makes you valuable.
This isn't an authenticity crisis. It's an identity restructuring. Your sense of self was fused with your expertise — "I am what I know" — and the transition to leadership is asking that identity to break so a new one can emerge. Not a better strategy. Not more skills. A discovery that who you are was never your skill set in the first place.