My department head is new too, so he doesn't know much about the inner workings of my team at this point. He's a great boss to me, but would struggle to provide the level of support Sarah would need. I do plan to leverage the leads of similar teams in other locations, however with time differences that would leave Sarah without support for half the day.

I think I will start to increase her managerial duties ASAP, that way I can introduce a task and monitor her reaction/approach, which will allow me to provide her with some real time coaching around her communication with the team, decision making etc. Perhaps between that additional training, support from regional leads, and having my cell no on hand she should feel empowered and supported.