Have you seen technically brilliant PMs struggle as leaders?

Leadership

SANJEET TERI

Community Champion

Consultant| Timely Nexus Project LLP Greater NOIDA, Uttar Pradesh, India

It happens more often than we admit because the very strengths that make a Project Manager successful, like deep technical expertise, attention to detail, and tight control over delivery, can become limitations at the leadership level, where success depends more on influence, trust, delegation, and navigating ambiguity;

Curious to learn about your experience :

1.What’s the toughest shift from PM to leader;and

2.Have you seen this challenge in action?

Posted: Mar 21, 2026 5:17 AM

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Sergio Luis Conte Helping to create solutions for everyone| Worldwide based Organizations Buenos Aires, Argentina

The first thing I disagree is: "the very strengths that make a Project Manager successful, like deep technical expertise". That´s not needed to be a Project Manager. The second one is "tight control over delivery". But sometimes they are a matter of culture or some project domains or a lack of update to what project management demands in the last 40 years at least. All this things: "influence, trust, delegation, and navigating ambiguity" are thing that will make a person a successful project manager indeed.

Posted: Mar 21, 2026 10:39 AM (Updated by author: Mar 21, 2026 10:40 AM)

Aung Sint

Community Champion

Lead Consultant| Laminar Projects

I would say the toughest shift is less about capability and more about mindset — moving from controlling delivery to enabling outcomes through others.

Technically strong PMs are often very effective at driving execution, but leadership requires operating with less control and more ambiguity, where success depends on alignment, trust, and influencing across stakeholders.

Posted: Mar 22, 2026 10:18 AM

Bruce Buryo

Community Champion

Yes - I’ve seen technically strong PMs struggle when moving into leadership. The hardest shift is usually moving from control to influence. As PMs we are used to tracking details, driving tasks, and solving problems ourselves, but leadership depends more on trust, delegation, and stakeholder alignment.

From my experience, the real challenge is letting go of execution and becoming comfortable with ambiguity, while focusing more on people, direction, and outcomes instead of tasks. I’ve especially seen this where very detail-oriented PMs find it difficult to step back from operations and think more strategically.

Posted: Mar 23, 2026 12:45 AM

Imran Afzal Cary, NC, United States

I think part of the confusion here is how we’re defining “leader.”

Strong PMs are already leaders — they align stakeholders, influence without authority, and navigate ambiguity every day.

The real shift isn’t from “PM to leader,” but from execution-level leadership to system-level leadership.

Where I’ve seen people struggle is less about capability and more about where that capability is applied:

• from managing delivery → to shaping direction
• from controlling variables → to working through constraints you don’t control
• from optimizing a project → to balancing trade-offs across a portfolio or organization

The challenge isn’t becoming a leader — it’s expanding what you’re leading.

Posted: Mar 23, 2026 2:18 AM

Lissette Indhira Pimentel Sosa

Community Champion

Program Manager| HARPER SRL Santo Domingo / Distrito Nacional, Dominican Republic

Yes, I’ve seen it quite a few times. Strong technical PMs can struggle when they move from controlling execution to leading through influence.

The toughest shift is letting go of control and trusting the team while focusing more on alignment, decisions, and stakeholder dynamics. I’ve seen great PMs slow teams down because they stayed too close to the detail instead of stepping into a broader leadership role.

Posted: Mar 23, 2026 7:54 PM

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Have you seen technically brilliant PMs struggle as leaders?

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