🤔 Dear Lewis, my predecessor made promises I can’t keep. How do I lead without losing trust?
In today’s edition, a newly promoted VP is burdened by his predecessor’s promises—spanning budget commitments to employee promotions—and faces the task of balancing the past, present, and future.
Another day, another story from the coaching trenches. This one’s about Mark (not his real name), a newly minted VP of Engineering at SkyDrone Systems (not his real company), a company that’s trying to revolutionize drone delivery. Mark’s stepping into a role that should feel like a victory lap after years of hard work, but instead, it feels like he’s been handed a flaming baton in the middle of a marathon.
The problem? Promises. Not the ones Mark made, but the ones his predecessor, Greg, left behind like landmines scattered across a battlefield. And now, Mark’s got employees and partners knocking on his door, holding him accountable for commitments he didn’t make, didn’t know about, and frankly, can’t immediately honor.
The Promises That Haunt
Let me set the scene for you. Mark’s first week on the job, he’s barely figured out where the good coffee is, and already the demands are piling up.
First, there’s Julia, one of his top-performing managers. Julia’s been gunning for a promotion to Director, and Greg told her it was practically a done deal. “Six months,” Greg had said. “Just keep hitting your numbers.” Well, Julia’s hit her numbers, and now she’s in Mark’s office asking when the promotion is happening.
Then there’s AeroLink, one of SkyDrone’s key partners. Greg had promised them $500,000 in co-marketing funds to help promote their joint drone initiative. AeroLink’s CEO is now calling Mark, asking when the money’s coming through. Problem is, that $500,000 isn’t in Mark’s budget. It’s not even in the company’s budget.
And as if that weren’t enough, Mark’s boss, the CTO, has a completely different set of priorities. “Forget about Greg’s mess,” she tells him. “We need to focus on the product roadmap. If we don’t hit our Q3 milestones, none of this other stuff will matter.”
Mark feels like he’s being pulled in three different directions. He’s trapped between the promises of the past, the demands of the present, and the expectations of the future. And the worst part? He’s starting to feel like no matter what he does, someone’s going to end up disappointed.
The Trap of Scarcity Thinking
When Mark came to me, he was already spiraling into scarcity mode. You know the mindset: there’s not enough time, not enough money, not enough goodwill to go around. He was trying to triage the situation, firefighting each problem as it came up. But the more he tried to fix things, the more overwhelmed he felt.
“I can’t promote Julia,” he told me. “It’ll set a precedent I can’t sustain. But if I don’t, she might leave, and we can’t afford to lose her.”
“I can’t pay AeroLink the $500,000,” he said. “But if I don’t, they might pull out of the partnership, and that would be a disaster.”
“I can’t ignore the CTO’s priorities,” he said. “But if I focus on the roadmap, I’m going to lose credibility with my team and our partners.”
Mark was caught in a classic zero-sum game, where every win felt like it had to come at someone else’s expense. And that’s when I knew we needed to flip the script.
The Abundance Mindset: A Twist in the Tale
Here’s what I told Mark: “Right now, you’re playing defense. You’re trying to manage everyone’s expectations based on what you don’t have. What if, instead, you focused on what you do have?”
Mark looked at me like I’d just suggested he solve the problem with interpretive dance. “What do you mean?” he asked.
“Think of it like this,” I said. “You’re not just a VP. You’re a conductor. Your job isn’t to play every instrument yourself; it’s to orchestrate the resources, relationships, and opportunities you have to create something bigger than the sum of its parts.”
Step 1: Reframe the Promises
The first thing we did was reframe Greg’s promises. Instead of seeing them as liabilities, we turned them into opportunities to build trust.
For Julia, we crafted a new narrative. “I can’t promise you the exact timeline Greg gave you,” Mark told her in their next one-on-one. “But here’s what I can promise: I’ll work with you to create a clear path to promotion. Let’s map out the specific milestones you need to hit, and I’ll be your biggest advocate when the time comes.”
Julia didn’t just accept this—she thrived on it. By turning the vague promise of promotion into a concrete plan, Mark gave her something even more valuable: clarity and ownership over her future.
For AeroLink, we took a similar approach. Mark called their CEO and said, “I know Greg promised $500,000, and I can see why that’s important to you. While I can’t commit to that exact number right now, I’d like to explore other ways we can support your marketing efforts. Maybe we can co-host an event or share some of our resources to amplify your message.”
The result? AeroLink didn’t just stay in the partnership—they came back with ideas for a joint webinar series that ended up being more impactful (and less expensive) than the original plan.
Step 2: Prioritize with Purpose
Next, we tackled the CTO’s priorities. Mark was worried that focusing on the roadmap would mean neglecting the promises Greg had made. But I challenged him to think about how the roadmap could support those promises.
For example, one of the Q3 milestones was a new feature that AeroLink had been asking for. By framing this feature as a win for the partnership, Mark was able to align his CTO’s goals with AeroLink’s needs. Suddenly, the roadmap wasn’t a distraction—it was a way to deliver on multiple fronts.
Step 3: Expand the Pie
Finally, we worked on shifting Mark’s mindset from scarcity to abundance. Instead of seeing his resources as fixed, we looked for ways to expand the pie.
One idea was to create a mentorship program, pairing high-potential employees like Julia with senior leaders across the company. This not only gave Julia additional development opportunities, but it also created a pipeline of future leaders—a win for everyone.
Another idea was to leverage AeroLink’s expertise. Mark invited their marketing team to collaborate with SkyDrone’s product team on a joint case study. The result? A high-impact piece of content that benefited both companies without requiring additional budget.
The “Oh Wow” Moment
Here’s where it all came together. Six months later, Julia had hit her milestones and was promoted to Director. AeroLink had doubled down on their partnership, citing Mark’s leadership as a key reason. And the CTO? She was thrilled with the progress on the roadmap.
But the real “oh wow” moment came during an all-hands meeting, when one of Julia’s peers stood up and said, “I just want to say thank you to Mark. It’s clear that he’s not just leading us—he’s investing in us.”
Mark had gone from feeling trapped by Greg’s promises to being celebrated for his leadership. And it all started with a simple shift: from scarcity to abundance.
The Framework
If you’re facing a similar situation, here’s the framework we used to guide Mark:
Reframe the Promises
Turn liabilities into opportunities by creating clarity and collaboration.Prioritize with Purpose
Align competing demands by finding the common thread that ties them together.Expand the Pie
Look for creative ways to generate value beyond the obvious resources.
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