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This paper aims to analyze the leadership role of first‐line managers in self‐managed production units, particularly the existence, relevance and closability of competence gaps.

Self‐assessments on competence and other variables shed light on the first‐line managers' situation; a quasi‐experiment investigates the effects of a leadership development programme. The sample consisted of 38 lower‐level managers in a typical manufacturing plant in Germany that had recently introduced a teamwork structure.

Results indicate that the production unit managers report difficulties with their new leadership‐related tasks. Higher levels of leadership competence are found to be associated with better perceived acceptance as a manager by superiors, but not by subordinates, better interaction with both subordinates and superiors, and with higher job satisfaction. Finally, a quasi‐experiment shows that a combination of workshops and individual coaching has measurable positive effects on reported leadership competencies and partly improves identification with the managerial role.

The causality of the relationships requires further research, ideally with larger samples, as does the partner‐oriented leadership style that tends to be practiced by the first‐line managers.

The findings imply that it is advisable to improve front‐line managers' leadership competencies and identity, and that leadership development can contribute to closing the competence gaps.

This paper closes a research gap regarding a key position in modern work organizations by using a new format of self‐assessments for a more valid measurement of competencies.