The Leadership S-Curve in Japan — Why Newly Promoted Managers Struggle and How to Fix It | Dale Carnegie Tokyo
Why Do Newly Promoted Leaders in Japan Fail to Thrive?
The S-Curve explains a simple truth: performance always dips before it improves. When an employee is promoted, they initially struggle, then stabilize, and finally plateau as comfort sets in. This natural curve is predictable — yet most Japanese companies ignore it. Instead of supporting new managers through their learning phase, they simply hand over the baton and wish them luck. Unsurprisingly, many stumble and never recover.
Mini-Summary:
Promoting without preparing guarantees failure. The S-Curve shows why support is essential during leadership transitions.
How Do Japanese Companies Create “Generational Decline” in Leadership?
Promotion decisions often rely on past performance, not leadership readiness. The best salesperson becomes the manager, but no one teaches them how to lead. Without training, they copy their old boss — who may have been mediocre. The result? Each generation inherits the same ineffective behaviors, creating a downward spiral of weak leadership.
Mini-Summary:
Untrained promotion breeds imitation, not innovation. Leadership cannot thrive on trial and error.
Why Is There So Little Leadership Training in Japan?
Corporate inertia and cost control kill development. If ten people are promoted together, group training is “cost-efficient.” But if it’s just one person, training is “too expensive.” Executive coaching is reserved for senior directors — not for section heads who need it most. The message? “Congratulations, now figure it out yourself.” That’s not development; that’s negligence.
Mini-Summary:
Ignoring middle management development cripples future leadership capacity.
What Happens When New Leaders Are Left Alone?
Year one: they survive through sheer effort, doing both their old job and their new one.
Year two: targets rise, time shrinks, and leadership takes a back seat.
Year three: burnout hits.
The company blames the individual — not the system — and replaces them with the next victim. The cycle continues, eroding morale and organizational capability.
Mini-Summary:
Without structured development, leaders burn out and businesses stagnate.
How Can Companies Break This Cycle?
Invest in new leader training — early. Public leadership courses, like those offered by Dale Carnegie Tokyo, allow newly promoted managers to learn alongside peers from other industries. They gain frameworks, tools, and confidence to lead teams, not just tasks. Instead of guessing, they execute from knowledge. This builds leverage: they lead through people, not effort.
Mini-Summary:
Training transforms “doers” into “leaders.” Knowledge beats guesswork every time.
What Comes After Competence? The Danger of Comfort.
After three years, many managers plateau. They’ve mastered routine but stopped evolving. Yet business never stands still — and neither can leaders. Without a learning culture, they stagnate. Advanced leadership programs push experienced managers to shift from working in the business to working on the business, focusing on strategy, innovation, and people growth.
Mini-Summary:
The comfort zone kills careers. Lifelong learning sustains leadership.
Why Japan Must Move Beyond “OJT” (On-the-Job Training)
Japan’s obsession with OJT produces skilled managers, not inspiring leaders. They hit targets but fail to motivate, develop, or align teams. Real leadership means communicating vision, inspiring commitment, and unlocking others’ potential — all teachable skills that go far beyond managing the “machine.”
Mini-Summary:
Japan doesn’t lack managers; it lacks trained leaders. That’s fixable — with intentional development.
Key Takeaways
-
The S-Curve shows predictable stages: struggle → mastery → stagnation.
-
Most Japanese firms abandon new leaders when they need help most.
-
Group training is undervalued; individual coaching is seen as “too costly.”
-
Without training, burnout and turnover follow — year after year.
-
Continuous learning prevents stagnation and drives long-term competitiveness.
Don’t let your future leaders fail by neglect.
👉 Request a Free Consultation for our Leadership Development Programs and help your newly promoted managers climb the S-Curve successfully.
Founded in the U.S. in 1912, Dale Carnegie Training has supported individuals and companies worldwide for over a century in leadership, sales, presentation, executive coaching, and DEI. Our Tokyo office, established in 1963, continues to empower both Japanese and multinational organizations to communicate, lead, and perform at the highest level.