What Got You Promoted Won’t Keep You There: 7 Mistakes New VPs Make

If you’re a newly promoted Director or VP at a $100M–$700M company, here’s a hard truth:

What got you here won’t keep you here.

Your technical expertise, problem-solving ability, or sales success might have earned you the title—but they won’t sustain you in the new role. In fact, they might be the very things holding you back.

I’ve seen this story unfold again and again—both in military and corporate settings. High performers get promoted, and within weeks, they’re struggling to lead, align, and deliver at scale. If you’re in that seat, read closely.

Here are the 7 biggest mistakes new VPs make—and how to avoid them.

1. Trying to Solve Every Problem Yourself

You’re used to being the one who fixes things. But leadership isn’t about being the smartest person in the room. It’s about framing the problem, protecting your team, and enabling others to win.

One VP I worked with ran straight at a CFO's concern without context—pulled in several directors, created confusion, and wasted hours. The issue? It wasn't even a real problem. Leaders must pause, listen, and diagnose before they act.

2. Assuming Your Team Knows What Success Looks Like

Just because you have the title doesn’t mean your team understands your standards. You have to define success, model your values, and reinforce them constantly—especially across regions or time zones.

I use a three-part core value system with my teams:
Support. Diligence. Professionalism.
These aren’t buzzwords—they’re filters for every decision. When your team knows what “great” looks like, they’ll act without micromanagement.

3. Focusing Only on Managing Up

Yes, your CEO and board expect results. But your success rises or falls based on your team. Be mission-first, but team-aligned. There is no mission without the team. Leadership is not just about numbers—it’s about mobilizing the people who deliver them.

4. Thinking Good Decisions Automatically Lead to Good Outcomes

Making a decision is easy. Seeing it through is leadership.
Ask yourself:

• Did I communicate the “why”?

• Did I give my team what they need to execute?

• Am I tracking follow-through and accountability?

Execution isn’t glamorous—but it’s the difference between spinning and scaling.

5. Trying to Lead Like You Did in Your Last Role

You can’t grunt your way through a new team. What worked before won’t necessarily work now. Leadership at this level demands you slow down, observe, and adapt your playbook to the mission and the people in front of you.

Don’t hit the “That Was Easy” button. Get into the weeds. Learn what’s broken. Then go fix it with your team.

6. Rushing to Prove Yourself

Don’t confuse movement with momentum.

Busy doesn’t equal effective. You don’t need to impress anyone by working 10 p.m. Saturdays. What matters is clarity, decisiveness, and precision. Like we say in the military:
Slow is smooth. Smooth is fast.

7. Treating Department Problems Like Process Problems

Many leaders assume their issues are operational or resource-based. But more often? It’s a people alignment issue.

If you treat every issue like a process doc waiting to be written, you’ll miss the root cause. Spend time with your people. Understand them. Empower them. The systems don’t run themselves—your people do.

The Deeper Issue: Insecurity in the Seat

Most of these mistakes stem from insecurity—what some call imposter syndrome. New VPs don’t feel “settled” in the weight of their role.

Let me remind you:
You’ve been given the seat. You are already the VP.
You don’t need to prove it. You need to grow into it. And that starts with the holy pause—the moment where you slow down, assess, listen, and then lead.

Ready to Step Fully Into Leadership?

If you’re feeling the tension of this transition—or you want to make sure you don’t fall into these traps—I built something for you.

👉 The Leadership Reset is a 4-week engagement where we get clarity on your leadership style, fix operational drag, and re-align your team for performance.

Click here to apply or learn more →

You don’t have to guess your way forward. Let’s make sure your next level doesn’t become your downfall.

AI Read 9 Years of My Journals—Here's the 12-Month Plan It Gave Me

Based on everything you’ve written since 2016, here’s what a 12-month structured plan could look like to align your calling, income, brand, health, and family leadership—without burning out or bouncing around.

⚖️ PHILOSOPHY

Theme: “Faithful with little → Ruler over much.”
You already have the clarity, the platform, and the experience. This plan is about ruthless focus on what matters and disciplined iteration—treating your mission like a calling and a business, not a side project.

🧭 1. IDENTITY & MESSAGE (Weeks 1–2)

Goal: Cement your personal brand as Christian Leadership for Men in Business.

Deliverables:

• A 1-liner that defines your brand (e.g. “I help Christian entrepreneurs grow from $1M to $12M through operational and spiritual leadership.”)

• 3 content pillars:

  1. Spiritual leadership (e.g., calling, Biblical truth)

  2. Operational excellence (e.g., systems, delegation, $10K problems)

  3. Masculine strength (e.g., health, marriage, discipline)

🎥 2. CONTENT SYSTEM (Weeks 3–6)

Goal: Use daily publishing to drive authority and lead generation, not just dopamine.

Weekly rhythm:

• 1 Longform Video (YT / Podcast)

  • Interview, teaching, or breakdown

• 5+ Shorts (IG, YT Shorts, TikTok if desired)

• 2-3 Clips pulled from longform

• 1 Written blog/email based on the longform topic

Back-End Systems:

• Hire/retain editor (even $100/mo to start)

• Use repurposing tools (e.g. Opus, Repurpose.io)

• Google Sheet or Notion dashboard to track clips, titles, results

💰 3. OFFER & MONETIZATION (Weeks 6–10)

Goal: Make your first $2K–$10K/month from the brand within 90 days

Offer Stack:

• Free Lead Magnet: "12 Leadership Mistakes That Stall $1M–$6M Businesses" (PDF + landing page)

• Core Offer (one of these):

  1. $497 course: From Operator to Leader: 30-Day Framework

  2. $2,500 group cohort: 6-week Leadership Systems Accelerator

  3. $10K–$25K advisory: 1-on-1 Growth + Leadership Coaching

Start with one and iterate. Use sales calls, DMs, or email to close.

⛪ 4. COMMUNITY & MENTORSHIP (Months 3–6)

Goal: Surround yourself with aligned men who fuel, not dilute, your mission

Key Moves:

• Join or build a Christian men’s mastermind

• Attend 1–2 in-person events with content creators or Christian founders

• Start a local meetup for Christian entrepreneurs (low lift, high impact—even 3 guys showing up monthly gives traction)

🧠 5. SCHOOL & THEOLOGY INTEGRATION (Ongoing)

Goal: Merge Biblical depth with your business acumen

• Finish your SEU program with a content mindset: every course is 3 content ideas

• Continue studying under Heiser, BibleProject, etc., but turn notes into teachings

• Start a sub-series: “What This Verse Teaches Us About Leadership”

🧍‍♂️6. BODY & DISCIPLINE (Non-Negotiable, Start Week 1)

Goal: Be the man your message requires

• Stick to your 1,800–2,000 cal/day until target weight

• 5x/week movement: 3 lift days + 2 run or ruck days

• Weekly check-in photo and log

• Train toward one “trophy” feat (e.g., 10 strict pull-ups, Murph, sub-24:00 5K)

👨‍👩‍👧‍👦 7. FAMILY LEADERSHIP (Ongoing)

Goal: Live what you teach at home

• Weekly rhythm: family dinner + prayer, 1-on-1 time with each kid

• Monthly check-in with wife: review finances, calendars, intimacy, dreams

• Quarterly family content trip: pick a location, film, bond, create

🔄 MONTHLY REVIEW

Goal: Adjust the plan—don’t quit the mission

At end of each month, answer:

• What worked?

• What didn’t?

• What will I do differently next month?

🗓️ 12-Month Progression at a Glance:

Quarter Focus Success Metric Q1 Brand, content, first offer $1–2K MRR, 1K followers Q2 Product-market fit, community $5–10K MRR, lead magnet working Q3 Team + scale $10–20K MRR, group/cohort running Q4 Reinforce systems, deeper mission >$100K revenue, deep testimonials.

Why I Focus on High-Capacity Christian Men—and Not Everyone Else

Journal Excerpt from 7-23-2025:

Why do I focus on high-capacity Christian men—and not everyone else? That question’s been rattling around in my head for months.

I sat in a Men’s Group this morning, listening to a solid talk—good stories, a well-structured message, a guy who genuinely cares about making stronger men.

But as I took down some notes, I couldn’t shake a thought: most of us settle for the shallow end of Scripture and call it growth. We quote verses like “iron sharpens iron” without ever asking, what does that actually look like in a man’s life?

That’s when it hit me—these men need help, and my work isn’t for everyone.

When I looked around that room, I saw a couple hundred men’s lives being improved. I looked around that room and realized that’s what I’m after. 

I guess I’ve always known that’s what I’m after, but when I started talking about “Strength, Love, and Authenticity” in 2015, which evolved into today’s “Strength, Courage, and Authenticity,” I meant it. And I still mean it.

Ten years later, I can honestly say that those core values are what drive my missions, and what have fueled my success in business and life.

I’ve been talking about leadership, essentially, since it mattered to me.

The brand over the years has shifted from various brand names to a “personal brand,”. Today I’m still talking about the same things, I’m just making it more obviously “Chad Tabary,” as the brand. From that, any various offers can take different names, like Forward Facing Business, Forward Facing Church, or Lead Present.

ALSO, the clarity of narrowing my demographic helped me settle on one offer. That was the most useful part of the ChatGPT exercise yesterday. I already knew I needed just one offer, but processing 9 years of journal data through ChatGPT helped me align on: 

“I help high-capacity Christian men regain clarity, strength, and conviction without burning their business to the ground.”

That’s accurate. The only significant change in that mission over the last year has been to clarify that I’m helping “Christian” men. 

But why “Christian Men”? Doesn’t God help anyone and everyone? Isn’t the calling of a Christian Man to go out and make disciples and onboard more Christian Men?

Honestly, the qualifier shouldn’t be over analyzed.

My business clients run businesses that are between $1M - $6M and they want to grow between $10M - $12.

Does that mean I won’t help a business making $250K - $500K that wants to grow to $5M? No. This is the same problem modern readers have when they get caught up in the book of Leviticus.

Focusing my marketing on “Christian Men” helps clarify where I’m coming from and what kind of “guide” I am.

Generally speaking, I’m helping high-performance men, I’ve always known that, and I’m doing it from core principles first, and within the discipline-framework of Christianity.

To support that mission, I’m focusing on long-form content, running PPC ads, and probably won’t see a strong return to short-form until I hire someone to sift through the long and break this into shorts.

This gives me five more months in the year (almost two quarters) to double down on that pivot and to build the foundational pieces of that brand and business.

I love you.