Director to VP: What Actually Changes, and the Mistakes New VPs Make

By Andreas Pettersson, Founder, Leaders ADAPT

You got the VP title in January. The big deliverable is due at the end of March. It's now the second week of March, and you're about to walk into your boss's office and say it: "hey, I'm not sure I'm going to make it."

I've heard that sentence from the CEO's side of the desk. It rarely comes from a weak leader. It comes from a strong director who hasn't noticed the job changed.

That's the real story of the director to VP move. The promotion rewards how you ran your team, but the new role judges you on something else, starting in your first quarter.

Below is what actually changes, the six mistakes new VPs make in those three months, and what to do instead. The first mistake produced that sentence in March.

What changes when you go from director to VP?

A VP promotion is a change of job, not a bigger version of the director job: the unit of work moves from tasks and teams to outcomes and other leaders.

On paper, director to vice president is one rung. The work underneath shifts in six places at once.

Almost none of the right-hand column is about working harder.

Here's the problem. The left column is what got you promoted, so under pressure you'll reach for it. The six mistakes below are what that reach looks like from above.

What mistakes do new VPs make in the first quarter?

These come from two places: what I saw from the CEO seat while scaling Arcules to 150+ people, and what I see now coaching leaders through the step up.

1. "I will solve it": thinking in a silo

New VPs, in my words, "lack the sense of urgency" and "think in a siloed way." A problem lands that needs another department. Instead of calling that department's head, they take it on themselves and "just keep working really hard and just keep grinding."

The mindset is four words: "I will solve it."

Underneath it are three fears: failing, being vulnerable, and opening up to peers who might judge you. I understand all three.

But I'll be blunt about the behavior. It's "basically being selfish because they're protecting themselves instead of protecting the company and their team."

If you've ever stayed late fixing something another team broke rather than calling the person who runs it, you already know this one.

2. Escalating two to three weeks before the deadline

Here's the pattern I see. On a three-month deliverable, the flag comes 2 to 3 weeks before the deadline. And usually it doesn't come on its own. It comes because the manager above finally checks in.

Do the math. A flag in week ten gives your boss two or three weeks to help. A flag in week four gives them eight.

Same problem, same boss, different options. Late escalation is help you've made impossible to give.

3. Asking upward for sign-off on decisions you own

As a director you recommended and someone above you approved. So as a new VP you keep sending decisions up for a blessing.

Each one tells your boss the same thing: this person isn't ready to own the function yet. My line on it is short: "to ask for permission is to seek denial."

Inform, don't ask. "Here's what I'm doing and why. Tell me by Thursday if you see something I'm missing." That keeps your boss in the loop without handing the decision back.

4. The hero trap

One of your managers is struggling, so you jump in. You fix the deck, rescue the customer, cover the miss. It feels like loyalty.

It's a trap. At VP level, stepping in hides who is struggling from you and your boss, and your managers never learn the job. You end up doing two levels of work and getting credit for neither.

If someone isn't performing, the kind move is to say so and set a date. If the date passes and nothing changes, firing properly becomes part of the job at this level too.

5. Hiding behind domain expertise

When the new role feels uncertain, you retreat to what you know best. Former engineers review code. Former product managers use the product as a "comforter." I was a product manager once, so I know this one from the inside.

The problem is that your peers on the leadership team don't need your expertise. They need your judgment across the business. And "executive presence doesn't come from domain expertise."

You'll get challenged in meetings outside your lane. That's normal. What I tell leaders in that spot: "Don't let that moment define your ability to become VP... don't think it's a failure just because you get challenged."

6. Taking responsibility without authority

It came up again on a discovery call with a newly promoted VP. The title arrived with a full set of responsibilities. The authority to hire, cut budget, or change a process hadn't come with it.

That gap is normal for a VP. Constrained authority is part of managing up. What isn't fine is accepting the gap without naming it. Authority tends to arrive in small slices, not in one handover, and you get the slices faster when you show you understand the whole business, not just your function.

Your first quarter as a new VP: what to do instead

A plan you can set up in under an hour, starting Monday. If you want a longer runway, the 90-day leadership development plan turns the same list into a full quarter.

1. Map your peers in week one. List every function you depend on and every function that depends on you. Meet each head in the first two weeks, before you need anything from them.
2. Agree an escalation rule with your boss. Decide together what you'll flag and how early. Then flag the week you first doubt a date, not the week it slips.
3. Choose one measure for the quarter. One number your function will move by the end of the first quarter. Five numbers is a status report, not a priority.
4. Name the missing authority. Write down the one decision you're accountable for but can't yet make, and ask for it directly.
5. Ask yourself two questions every Friday. "What's the one next hire I need, and what's the one conversation I'm shying away from?"
6. Hand real work to your direct reports. Give each manager one outcome that is theirs, and stop covering when it wobbles.

When you disagree with a peer, use the rule I use with leadership teams: "said, heard, understood, accepted or rejected, but always committed." You get your say, then you back the decision in public.

How do you prepare for a VP role before you get it?

Start doing the VP job at director level, in small, visible ways.

• Take on one problem that crosses departments and solve it with peers, not around them.
• Escalate early on your current work, and let your boss see you do it.
• Develop the person who would replace you. Nobody promotes a director who can't be spared.
• Get an honest read on your gaps. The free 5 Minute Leader leadership assessment is a fast start before you talk to anyone.

Already overlooked once? Start with what to do after being passed over for promotion, then come back here.

After the promotion: why the first 90 days decide it

The title starts the test. By the end of your first quarter, your boss, your peers, and your direct reports have a view of you, and changing it later takes far longer than setting it now.

That window is what executive transition coaching is built for, whether the move is director to vice president or higher. The same habits decide the next step too: the VP to C-level transition adds a board, and the silo, the late flag, and the sign-off reflex get more expensive at every level. If that step is already in view, the VP to C-suite mindset playbook covers the shifts that come after this one.

Frequently asked questions about the director to VP move

What changes when you go from director to VP?

A director usually runs a team and is measured on execution inside one function. A VP runs a function through other managers and is measured on outcomes that depend on other departments. The role adds cross-functional work with peers, earlier escalation of risks, and ownership of decisions that a director would normally recommend upward for sign-off. Domain expertise matters less; judgment across the business matters more.

What mistakes do new VPs make?

Common first-quarter mistakes include solving cross-department problems alone instead of involving peers, escalating risks late, asking upward for sign-off on decisions the role owns, covering for struggling team members, retreating into domain expertise, and accepting responsibility without the authority to act. In Andreas Pettersson's observation, late escalation often surfaces 2 to 3 weeks before a three-month deadline.

How long does it take to go from director to VP?

There is no standard timeline. The move depends on company size, growth rate, and whether a VP seat opens at all. Fast-growing companies create VP roles more often, while flat organizations may require a move to another company. Readiness is judged on whether a director already operates across functions, escalates early, and has developed a successor, not on years served in the role.

How do you prepare for a VP role?

Preparation means doing parts of the VP job before the promotion. That includes leading at least one problem that spans several departments, building working relationships with peers outside your function, escalating risks early, developing a successor, and getting an objective read on leadership gaps through an assessment or feedback from senior stakeholders. Visible cross-functional results carry more weight than stronger results inside one team.

What is the difference between a director and a vice president?

In most companies a director manages a team or department within a function, while a vice president leads an entire function or business area and often reports to the C-suite. Directors typically manage individual contributors or first-line managers. Vice presidents manage other managers, set priorities across teams, and share accountability with peers for company-level outcomes. Exact titles vary by company size and industry.

What should a new VP do in the first 90 days?

A new VP should meet the heads of every dependent function early, agree on an escalation rule with their manager, choose one measure for the quarter, identify which decisions they own and where authority is missing, and hand real outcomes to their direct reports. The first 90 days are when peers, direct reports, and the executive team form their view of the new leader.

The director to VP test is your first quarter

If you're a director aiming up, or a new VP a few weeks in, one of the six is probably already happening. That's normal. Letting it run to week ten isn't.

Every week you wait to flag a risk shrinks the help your boss can give you. Every rescue you make teaches your managers to wait for you.

So do this before Friday. Name the one risk in your function your boss hasn't heard about yet, and tell them. Not in a status report. In a sentence, out loud, with what you plan to do about it. That single habit, repeated weekly, is most of the difference between a director with a VP title and a VP.

Get an outside read on your first quarter as VP

I have sat above VPs, hired them, and had to replace a few. That is the read I bring: what your CEO is thinking about you in week three, and what they will decide by week twelve. Part of the value is avoiding the leadership coaching missteps that waste the first months of an engagement.

My 1:1 coaching for new VPs starts with leadership assessments plus feedback from your stakeholders, then direct access between sessions for the calls that can't wait.

If you want that for your own step up, book a discovery call.

Andreas Pettersson built and sold an AI company before ChatGPT existed. He was one of Canon's youngest CEOs. Today he helps non-technical CEOs lead in the AI era.