Becoming a Leader — Identity Under Threat at Lumière Diagnostics

A four-round, advanced leadership-identity simulation set inside Lumière Diagnostics SAS, a Paris-based medical-diagnostics company (EUR 310M revenue, 17% EBITDA, 1,150 staff). Three weeks ago Dr. Camille Roche was promoted from the R&D bench to Director of the new 240-person Solutions division, skipping two management layers. Presenting the 2026 roadmap to the executive committee, she is interrupted by the CEO: 'This reads like an R&D wish-list, not a business plan. I expected a leader, not a scientist with slides.' Within 48 hours two of six team leads request transfers (destabilising ~50 of 240 staff), a pulse survey puts team confidence at 38% against a company norm of 71%, and the committee demands a revised, credible roadmap in 10 working days — with three further bench-to-leadership promotions on hold pending the outcome. Playing Roche's inner circle, you (1) separate the task problem (an R&D-heavy roadmap) from the identity problem (a provisional leader unsure she belongs) and choose a first response — defend, deflect, withdraw, or own; (2) design a holding environment by investing scarce trust and time in one or two of four developmental relationships — Trusted Peer, Former Manager / Sponsor, Direct Report, Executive Coach — neither leaning on everyone nor going it alone; (3) take a stance on the authentic–authoritative spectrum and script the conversation with the two departing leads, avoiding both the armour of false certainty and the collapse of unanchored doubt; and (4) articulate a leadership purpose that is specific, honest and sustainable enough to survive the next setback, reframe the roadmap, and pitch a 90-day confidence-recovery plan to the CEO. Grounded in Petriglieri's work on identity work, provisional selves and holding environments, the math rewards reading the right problem, selective developmental relationships and a held authentic stance — and punishes the five classic errors: fixing the slides not the self, armouring up, over-disclosing, diffuse leaning, and a slogan purpose. Final KPIs track Team Confidence (toward the 71% norm), Identity Integration, Credibility and Sustainability.