The Success Paradox
The very behaviors, mindsets, and skills that propelled your success to this point may be precisely what’s holding you back from reaching the next level. This paradox, brilliantly captured in Marshall Goldsmith’s book “What Got You Here Won’t Get You There,” is one of the most challenging aspects of leadership growth.
“People will do something—including changing their behavior—only if it can be demonstrated that doing so is in their own best interests as defined by their own values.”
The challenge is that these inflection points are rarely obvious. The strategies and approaches that earned you success have been reinforced through years of positive feedback and results. They’ve become deeply ingrained in your identity as a leader. Recognizing when these strengths have transformed into limitations requires uncommon self-awareness and humility.
Leadership Inflection Points Timeline
Each inflection point requires not just adding new skills, but often unlearning deeply ingrained habits and shifting fundamental mindsets about what constitutes effective leadership.
Behavior Traps That Once Worked
The Technical Expert Trap
Rising through the ranks by being the go-to problem solver.
Why It Worked Before:
- Demonstrated clear value through personal expertise
- Built credibility with stakeholders
- Solved immediate problems effectively
- Earned recognition and advancement
Why It Limits You Now:
- Creates bottlenecks when everything needs your input
- Prevents team members from developing their capabilities
- Keeps you in the tactical weeds rather than strategic thinking
- Limits your capacity to scale your impact
The Evolution Required:
Shift from being the expert with all the answers to being the coach who asks powerful questions. Focus on developing expertise in others rather than showcasing your own.
The Hero Trap
Building a reputation as the person who saves the day.
Why It Worked Before:
- Demonstrated commitment and work ethic
- Created visible wins and dramatic turnarounds
- Built a personal brand as reliable and indispensable
- Received recognition and appreciation
Why It Limits You Now:
- Creates dependency on your intervention
- Rewards firefighting rather than fire prevention
- Leads to burnout and unsustainable workloads
- Undermines systematic solutions to recurring problems
The Evolution Required:
Shift from being the hero who saves the day to the architect who builds systems that prevent crises. Measure success not by problems solved but by problems prevented.
The Perfectionist Trap
Setting extremely high standards that drove quality and excellence.
Why It Worked Before:
- Ensured high-quality deliverables
- Built a reputation for excellence
- Caught errors before they impacted outcomes
- Demonstrated attention to detail
Why It Limits You Now:
- Creates bottlenecks when everything needs your review
- Slows decision-making and execution
- Discourages risk-taking and innovation
- Leads to micromanagement that disempowers teams
The Evolution Required:
Shift from ensuring perfection in everything to defining what truly needs excellence versus what can be good enough. Focus on creating clarity about standards rather than controlling execution.
The Self-Reliance Trap
Taking pride in handling everything independently without asking for help.
Why It Worked Before:
- Demonstrated initiative and resourcefulness
- Avoided burdening others with your challenges
- Built reputation as someone who gets things done
- Created control over outcomes
Why It Limits You Now:
- Restricts access to diverse perspectives and ideas
- Creates unsustainable workload as responsibilities grow
- Limits opportunities for collaboration and relationship building
- Models behavior that discourages team interdependence
The Evolution Required:
Shift from valuing independence to cultivating interdependence. Recognize that asking for help and leveraging collective intelligence is a leadership strength, not a weakness.
Self-Audit: “Which Old Wins Are Now Risks?”
Personal Inflection Point Assessment
Reflect on your leadership journey and identify where your current strengths may be reaching their limits:
| Past Strength | How It Helped You Succeed | Warning Signs It’s Now Limiting | Evolution Needed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Technical expertise | Built credibility and solved critical problems | Team depends on you for answers; you’re the bottleneck | From problem-solver to capability-builder |
| Hands-on involvement | Ensured quality and maintained control | Can’t scale; team feels micromanaged | From controller to enabler |
| Working longer/harder | Demonstrated commitment and delivered results | Burnout; modeling unhealthy behavior | From effort to leverage |
| Having all the answers | Built confidence and provided direction | Team stops bringing ideas; innovation stalls | From answerer to questioner |
“What should I retire to rise? Which behaviors or mindsets that served me well in the past are now holding me back from reaching the next level of leadership effectiveness?”
Your reflection here…
The Unlearning Process
Navigating leadership inflection points isn’t just about learning new skills—it’s about the more challenging process of unlearning deeply ingrained habits and mindsets. This requires a structured approach to breaking old patterns and establishing new ones.
1. Awareness
The first step is recognizing the pattern and understanding its impact. This often requires feedback from others who can see your blind spots. Look for recurring situations where your usual approach isn’t producing the results you want.
Practice:
Ask trusted colleagues: “What’s one behavior that served me well in the past but might be limiting me now?“
2. Acceptance
Acknowledge that this behavior or mindset was valuable and helped you succeed—and that it’s now time to evolve. This step is crucial because it honors your past success while creating space for growth.
Practice:
Journal about how this behavior served you well and why it’s now time to evolve beyond it.
3. Alternative
Identify a new approach or behavior that will be more effective at your current level. This isn’t about completely abandoning your strengths, but about applying them differently or complementing them with new capabilities.
Practice:
Find a role model who demonstrates the evolved behavior and observe their approach in similar situations.
4. Action
Practice the new behavior consistently, especially in situations where you’d naturally default to your old pattern. Expect discomfort—it’s a sign you’re growing beyond your established habits.
Practice:
Identify three specific situations in the coming week where you’ll practice the new approach, and note them in your calendar.
5. Accountability
Create structures that help maintain the change. This might include regular check-ins with a coach or mentor, tracking your progress, or setting up environmental cues that remind you of your commitment.
Practice:
Share your development focus with a trusted colleague and ask them to provide specific feedback on your progress.
6. Assessment
Regularly evaluate your progress, celebrate wins, and refine your approach. Notice how the new behavior is impacting your effectiveness and relationships, and be willing to adjust as needed.
Practice:
Schedule a monthly reflection to assess your progress and identify both successes and opportunities for continued growth.
Your Next Step: Ask What You Need to Unlearn
The Unlearning Challenge
Reach out to someone who has successfully navigated the leadership level you’re aspiring to reach. Ask them this powerful question:
“What did you have to unlearn to be successful at this level?”
This question cuts through general advice and gets to the heart of the specific mindset shifts and behavior changes that matter most at your next inflection point.
Remember: The greatest leaders aren’t those who cling to the behaviors that brought them initial success, but those who continually evolve their approach as they grow. What got you here won’t get you there—but what you learn (and unlearn) along the way will.