Get Ready for Insights: Conversations that Lead Season II is Here
- Kristina Hüngsberg
- 9. Apr.
- 2 Min. Lesezeit
When I started my interview series Conversations That Lead, my goal was simple: to keep learning.
One of the things you quickly realize when becoming self-employed is that learning suddenly looks very different. In a large organization, there are internal trainings, leadership programs, workshops, and conferences. When you work for yourself, you need to create those opportunities more deliberately.
For me, the answer was simple: conversations.
I started reaching out to people whose leadership journeys I found interesting and asked them if they would be willing to share their perspectives.
The result was Conversations That Lead – Season I, where I spoke with experienced leaders about their views on leadership and organizational culture.
If you're curious about how the series started, you can read more here:
While those conversations focused on experienced leaders, over time I became increasingly curious about the moment before that.
The moment when someone transitions from expert to leader.
Why the transition from expert to leader matters
In many organizations, leadership begins with a promotion.
A strong expert becomes responsible for a team. A project lead starts managing people. A specialist becomes accountable for outcomes beyond their own work.
But the transition itself often receives surprisingly little attention.
New leaders suddenly need to:
delegate instead of doing everything themselves
guide people instead of solving problems alone
balance business goals with human relationships
And at the same time, they are still figuring out what kind of leader they want to be.
What I hope to learn from these conversations
Through these interviews, I wanted to understand how people actually experience this moment of transition.
Across industries, similar questions appear:
How do people redefine their role when they stop being the primary expert?
How do they build confidence in their leadership identity?
What challenges do they face in their first leadership roles?
And what kind of support do organizations actually provide during this transition?
In the coming posts, I’ll share insights from these conversations and explore what new leaders are thinking, struggling with, and learning along the way.
In the next article, I’ll introduce the six professionals who shared their experiences and perspectives in Season II.
