Maybe you've seen this happen. Maybe it's happened to you.
A rising star flames out and can't seem to make a comeback. He or she doesn't understand what's gone wrong and feels helpless to course correct. It happens to a lot of highly intelligent, talented people. It happens to leaders who show potential. It happens when people have a "blind spot" and continue to stumble over the same issues.
As an executive coach who's worked in over 350 companies, here are the five ways I most commonly see leaders get in their own way. Every one of these career roadblocks is fixable, but only if a leader is open to recognizing and working on them.
1. Leaders who aren't agile enough to adapt when change occurs.
Change is inevitable. Resistance is futile. Being nimble in the face of change is an absolute necessity for any leader. In your career, you'll need adapt quickly every time you get a new boss, a new job, a new strategic initiative, a new opportunity, a new technology or a new team member. If you avoid change and frequently find yourself trying to defend the status quo, you may be getting in your own way.
Leaders who soar are comfortable with change and continuously seek ways to incrementally make positive changes. They are able to keep an open mind during a transitional period and support what may seem ambiguous or unproven at times. They help others, too, to navigate change and develop agility and openness to innovate.
2. Leaders who are not other-oriented and focus too much on their own interests.
This usually happens for one of two reasons.
Some leaders get hyper-focused on their own careers, putting their ambition to excel ahead of all else. These are the leaders who others say will step on others as they ascend the career ladder.
Some leaders focus on their own interests in the moment. They put their immediate needs and gratification ahead of others' needs and ahead of the team's long-term interests. The choices they make signal that they are "looking out for #1" even to the detriment of the team.
Highly effective leaders look out for the team and for individuals. They get their own needs met, too, but never at the expense of others. They know they can only become stronger by strengthening others. They exhibit empathy and interest for what others are experiencing, and they get out of their own way by thinking of ways to support other people.
3. Leaders who are not humble enough to appreciate what others have to offer.
A leader's lack of humility is usually evident when he or she thinks the only right answer is their own or when the leader is not open to other's feedback. Leaders who lack humility are often masking a lack of confidence, over-compensating in ways that make others feel marginalized. They get in their own way by ignoring or defending themselves against others' input, ideas and constructive criticism.
Confident leaders listen to others and seriously consider what they have to say. They want diverse points of view and openly acknowledge that they don't have all the answers. They value others' opinions and seek them out frequently. When criticized, these leaders quickly move past the initial sting and weigh the feedback objectively because they sincerely want to improve.
4. Leaders who are unwilling to extend trust to others.
Leaders get in their own way when they are not trusting. They telegraph a general mistrust of others. They withhold information, refuse to delegate and micromanage. By doing so, they strip others of their autonomy and dignity. They disempower capable people who often leave in pursuit of a more supportive and satisfying environment.
Leaders who are able to trust delegate, develop and ennoble members of the team. They get more done by spreading the workload around. They maximize others' output and enjoy high levels of employee engagement and retention.
5. Leaders who are not able to handle pressure and exhibit self-control in stressful situations.
Some leaders are always simmering and often erupt with little warning. They can't handle the workplace pressures and become disproportionately emotional (angry, hostile, fearful, upset, personally offended) in ways that make others want to avoid them. They may even use their emotionality as a bullying tactic, manipulating those who are uncomfortable with outbursts and will almost anything to avoid this leader's emotional expressions.
To get out of their own way, leaders need to maintain their composure. They need to understand how their words and actions and emotions impact others. They need to use emotional expressiveness appropriately and selectively. Strong leaders understand that others look to them to be the calming force, the steady and predictable touch point.
If you see yourself or your colleagues making one of these mistakes, try not to judge this as a character flaw. It's not. These are behaviors, and behaviors can be changed. Awareness and desire precede change. Change requires unlearning the old ways and replacing them with new ways. A good coach can help an individual who is ready and willing to change. There's no better investment than the one you make in becoming a more effective leader.
