In these moments, it is tempting to focus on external obstacles like organizational bureaucracy or employee attitudes. However, recent research reported in Harvard Business Review by Muriel Wilkins suggests that the most significant limiting factors often lie within: our own “hidden blockers”.  Additional detail is provided in her book, Leadership Unblocked.

Hidden blockers are unproductive beliefs so ingrained and habitual that we are often unaware they even exist. Despite their invisibility, they quietly shape every aspect of how we think, feel, and act, ultimately dictating our performance and professional outcomes.

Based on an analysis of many leaders, the research identified seven beliefs that frequently stall careers:

• “I need to be involved”: The drive to touch every detail, which leads to micromanagement and team stagnation. You slow down the decision-making process and become a bottleneck.
• “I need it done now”: A demand for immediate results that creates false urgency and triggers burnout. People rush their execution and become numb to your requests.
• “I know I’m right”: A belief that shuts down collaboration and stifles innovation. You miss good input from others and make sub-optimal decisions.
• “I can’t make a mistake”: A fear of failure that encourages perfectionism and risk avoidance. Your belief that you need to be flawless is unhealthy for you and others.
• “If I can do it, so can you”: Setting unrealistic expectations by assuming others must work exactly like you do. Everyone has different talents.
• “I can’t say no”: The inability to set boundaries, resulting in blurred priorities and overwork. This further exacerbates the “I need it done now” problem.
• “I don’t belong here”: Impostor syndrome that leads to self-sabotage and reduced influence. It also reduces your visibility and ability to communicate.

To overcome these barriers, leaders can apply a three-step framework designed to get them “unstuck”.

1.  Uncover the blocker by recognizing the problem and naming the specific belief creating it.

2.  Unpack the belief by reflecting on where it came from and how it is currently limiting your growth.

3.  Unblock yourself by reframing that belief into something productive and embedding that new perspective into tangible action.

Real organizational transformation cannot occur until there is a fundamental change in the consciousness of leadership. By identifying and reframing your own blockers, you spark a cycle of personal growth that leads to positive collective change and extraordinary achievement for your entire team.

*Ideas for this blog taken from: Wilkins, M.  “The Hidden Beliefs That Hold Leaders Back,”Harvard Business Review, November – December 2025.

The annual performance review was focused on “what do you need to work on?”

These days the “weakness-fixing” era is fading and more people realize that real success is when you can develop your strengths; when you can move from being very good at something to being SuperFantastic.

Unfortunately, some people believe that this means you can ignore your weaknesses.  Not so fast, my friend.  Ignoring your weaknesses can be a huge career derailer.

So what do you do?  Develop your strengths or fix weaknesses?

According to research in the Harvard Business Review, the answer isn’t to pick one approach over the other, but to diagnose what your specific situation requires. Before deciding where to invest your energy, you must work through four diagnostic questions:

1.  What does success require in my role? Identify the baseline capabilities needed to perform effectively, which vary significantly by level and function.

2.  What are my current capabilities? Rigorously map your strengths and weaknesses against those role requirements.

3.  What can be compensated for? Determine which weaknesses can be addressed through team design, delegation, or support systems rather than personal development.

4.  Where is my untapped potential? Look for capabilities you haven’t yet discovered because you were busy leveraging existing strengths.

Once you have diagnosed your needs, focus your development efforts on three critical categories:

• Superpowers: These are exceptional strengths that set you apart. Small investments here often produce significant improvements, so you should double down on them.
• Dangerous Derailers: These are unmanaged weaknesses that damage trust, psychological safety, and relationships. Addressing these must take priority over everything else.
• Untapped Potential: These are new capabilities you may need as your business shifts or you move into a role requiring different skills.

Your focus will also be shaped by your career stage. In early to midcareer, you can often succeed mainly by enhancing strengths. However, as you rise to more senior levels, you must address weaknesses that were previously tolerable. For example, a vice president moving to the C-suite must master enterprise strategy even if execution has always been their primary suit.

Ultimately, the debate between building strengths and fixing flaws is solved by judging what you need most in your current context. By mastering this diagnostic framework, you can move past instinctual development and begin to truly move the needle on your professional growth.

*Ideas for this blog taken from: Anderson-Finch, S., Lenniger, K. & Watkins, M.  “Should You Develop Your Leadership Strengths – or Fix Your Weaknesses,” Harvard Business Review online, April 15, 2026.

Lots of our bosses could really benefit from having an executive coach!

We have all probably had bosses like this.  They have a lot of talent and many good qualities – but there are some blind spots!  If they could only get past these then life would be much better for you and the organization.

What do you do?  How do you approach your boss about coaching?  Here are some suggestions from a recent article in Harvard Business Review.

1.  Maybe You Should Not Deliver the Message.  If you feel your position as a direct report makes the conversation too risky, consider if a different messenger—like an HR business partner or a trusted cross-functional peer—might be more effective. You can also lower the stakes by suggesting a time-bound experiment, such as an eight-week trial focused on a specific initiative or transformation.

2.  Identify the Real Barrier.  If they have resisted coaching, diagnose the likely source of their resistance. It usually falls into three categories: ego, where they view needing help as a sign of weakness; misconceptions, where they see coaching as purely remedial for underperformers; or time, where they view it as just another meeting they can’t afford. Tailoring your approach to their specific barrier is crucial for success.

3. Solve a Pain Point, Don’t Fix a Gap.  The quickest way to trigger defensiveness is to point out their personal flaws. Instead, anchor the suggestion in the frustrations they have already voiced—such as executive team misalignment, exhausting workloads, or intense board pressure. Position the coach as a strategic tool to help them navigate these complex business challenges rather than a way to “fix” their personality.

4. Normalize Elite Performance.  Frame coaching as a hallmark of high-performing leaders rather than a remedial fix. Remind them that top athletes and high-profile CEOs from companies like Google and Salesforce have used coaches to manage complexity. Emphasize that a coach provides a confidential, politically neutral space for strategic thinking and pressure-testing decisions.

Ultimately, the decision to engage a coach must belong to the leader. If you notice increasing irritation or find yourself excluded from key meetings after raising the topic, it is time to stop pushing to protect your own professional credibility. The real objective is to create the conditions where they can opt-in to growth on their own terms.

*Ideas for this blog taken from: Lyons, M.  “How to Convince Your Boss They Need a Coach,” Harvard Business Review online, April 10, 2026.

High-performing leaders often fall into a “fixing” cycle.

When something goes wrong, they always come to you.  And sure enough, you are able to fix it – whatever “it” is.  Over time, this creates a toxic dependency. The more you fix, the less others have to. Your reliability effectively masks systemic issues, allowing broken processes and underperformance to persist because you are there to catch the falling glass.

The personal cost of this dynamic is significant. While you are busy firefighting and compensating for the gaps of others, you lose the bandwidth for the high-level strategic work your role actually requires.

By acting as the “fixer,” you are essentially teaching your colleagues that they don’t need to be fully accountable because you will always provide the rescue.  Your greatest strength has become a liability.

To reclaim your impact, your reliability must become strategic rather than reactive. Here are some ideas from a recent article in Harvard Business Review to help you make a fundamental shift in how you see your role:

• Surface the Gaps: Instead of quietly fixing a broken workflow, highlight the friction. Let the system feel the pressure of its own inefficiencies so that long-term solutions can be implemented.
• Clarify Decision Rights: Be explicit about who owns what. If a task isn’t yours, resist the urge to take it on simply because you can do it faster or better than the person responsible.
• Distribute Accountability: Leading effectively means ensuring that accountability lands where it belongs. Your goal isn’t to carry the load alone, but to ensure the team is structured to carry it collectively.

Stepping back from the role of “fixer” isn’t about withdrawing; it’s about leading with better judgment. By letting go of the need to be the constant hero, you create space for your team to grow and for your organization to become more resilient. True leadership isn’t about being the most reliable person in the room – it’s about building a system where reliability is shared.

*Ideas for this blog taken from: Velasquez, L.  “When Being the Most Reliable Leader Becomes a Liability,” Harvard Business Review online, February 27, 2026.

This is the standard that I set for myself – and I remind myself of this every day.

This does not mean that I do a perfect job in every class – far from it.  I always have ideas on how I can do better.  But I go for it and give 100% effort every day.

What would it take for you to bring you’re “A Game” to work every day?

Here are some of the things I do:

• Prepare.  Every day brings a new challenge.  Make sure you have put the time into being ready for each of your key goals for the day.
• Focus.  It is easy to get distracted during the day.  Work to keep your focus on your key goals for the day.
• Prioritize.  Bringing your “A Game” does not mean that do everything perfectly.  You need to pick the top goals for the day to focus on.
• Rest.  We cannot be our best without getting proper rest – whatever that means for you.
• Health.  Taking care of our health is great for the long term, but also for today.  Make sure you have the energy you need to bring your “A Game.”
• Continuous Improvement. All of us can get better each day.  Continually evaluate improvements for the future.
• Make Your Own List. These are the things that I need to bring my “A Game” – what about you?

Are you bringing your “A Game” every day or are you sleepwalking through life; same ‘ol, same ‘ol?  Are you phoning it in?

We can never get a day back.  I suggest making the effort to bring your “A Game” every day.  Not only will you be more successful – the whole experience will be much more fulfilling.

You may be telling yourself that this is just a short-term issue and that things will work out.

But maybe not.

According to research from Deloitte, nearly 70% of senior executives are seriously considering leaving their positions for the sake of their well-being. In this high-pressure environment, the traditional advice of “building resilience” often falls short. When chronic adversity is the norm, exhausted professionals don’t need stronger armor—they need to make a change.

The change that many executives are taking on is a complete redesign of their jobs.

Why is this necessary?  Top jobs often become unsustainable because of the incremental addition of “one more responsibility” and the desire by many top leaders to “flatten” the organization by adding more and more direct reports to a position.  The people who get “flattened” are the ones who end up with too many direct reports than they can handle – while also doing their own job.

If you want to redesign your job, here are some steps to follow, based on a recent article in Harvard Business Review.

1. Re-examine the Role’s Core Requirements

Modern leadership roles often cling to outdated norms of constant availability and “heroic individualism”. Step back and ask: What is the most important responsibility in this role?  List out the top three requirements of the job.

2. Conduct an Internal Inventory

Once you clarify what the role truly needs, you must understand what you require to thrive. Be honest about what energizes you and what drains you consistently. Identify your “superpower space”—the work where you provide your highest value and best use. Focus your redesigned job on the core requirements where you provide the most value.

3. Implement Your Redesign

The final step is translating these insights into a specific action plan. This will require intentional shifts in a few key areas. Maybe you need to manage differently.  Maybe you need to renegotiate  the expectations that your boss has for you.

At the end of the day, this is a prioritization exercise: prioritization of your most important work and prioritization of your life.  Keep in mind, you are not only making this job more sustainable for yourself, but also for the next person who takes on this position.

*Ideas for this blog taken from: Eikenberg, S. & Martignetti, T.  “What To Do When Your Senior Role Feels Totally Unsustainable,” Harvard Business Review online, January 21, 2026.

In fact, many are so driven to succeed that they cannot fathom the idea of having a single failure.

In his book, Originals, Adam Grant says:

“When achievement motivation goes sky-high, it can crowd out originality: The more you value achievement, the more you come to dread failure.”

It’s not that you should love failure.  No one “loves” to fail.

The question becomes, do you follow your passion and set a high goal – knowing that the chances of failing are significant?  Or do you sell out what you want in your heart, to be “successful” at accomplishing a much smaller goal?

The difficulty is that many people focus on goal attainment versus actual results.  If you want continuing improvement in results – over time – then set big goals, try innovative ideas, and be true to your passion.  You will absolutely fail many times.  But over time, your results will be better and you know will know in your heart that you followed your passion.

Nelson Mandela once said: “Your playing small does not serve the world.”

Play Big!  And if you fall short, get up the next day and play big again.  That will serve the world and your passion.

Here is a way that you can reboot your work-related Resolutions and move your career forward.

The following three-step exercise was taken from an article in Harvard Business Review.  The Press Pause, Play It Back, and Fast-Forward framework provides a way to turn your past experiences into future progress.

1. Press Pause.  Slowing down is often what helps us eventually speed up; zooming out provides the perspective necessary to propel us forward. By identifying successes, you can stretch your strengths; by spotting mistakes, you learn rather than repeat them.  Action: Quiet Questions. Find a quiet environment where you won’t be interrupted. Set a five-minute timer for each of the following questions to think deeply and avoid recency bias:

• When have I learned the most this year?
• What do I feel most proud of?
• Who has helped me at my best?
• How have my strengths helped me succeed?
• What is the one thing I wish I had done differently?

2. Play It Back.  Reflection is most effective when it includes others. Peers often spot insights we miss, and sharing thoughts aloud creates a level of clarity that is otherwise difficult to achieve.  Action: Peer Playback Prompts. Choose a trusted colleague to be your playback partner. Schedule time to answer these prompts together, listening to and learning from each other’s experiences:

• What three words describe your last year?
• What have you found to be most fulfilling and most frustrating?
• When were you at your best this year?
• What “confidence gremlins” (limiting beliefs) got in your way?

3. Fast-Forward.  The final priority is turning awareness into specific action. Instead of creating unrealistic, demotivating to-do lists, be pragmatic about what is possible.  Action: Focus Finder. Complete these definitive “I will” statements and save them somewhere you will see them frequently:

• One learning goal I will make progress on:
• One habit I will commit to:
• One person I will have a curious career conversation with:
• One way I will support someone else:
• One mistake I won’t make again:

New Year Resolutions are often overwhelming.  This simple process, resulting in just a few important next steps, can reboot your Resolutions and provide some insights to move your career forward.  What a nice new year gift you can give to your career!

*Ideas for this blog taken from: Tupper, H. & Ellis, S., “How to Create Your Own ‘Year in Review’,” Harvard Business Review online, December 14, 2023.

But it’s not Happy for everyone.

Many of us are very fortunate to take part in a lot of extra celebratory activities during the holidays.  There are parties and gifts and family gatherings.  Very fun!

But it’s not Fun for everyone.

There are many different reasons why people may be “blue” at the holidays.

• The loss of a loved one in recent years is always more pronounced around the holidays
• If someone is lonely, they are often even more lonely at this time of year
• Financial stress is amplified during these gift giving times
• Festive TV specials and commercials can make people feel even more left out than usual

It is easy for the fortunate ones among us to get very busy at this time of the year and overlook friends and co-workers who are having a tough time.

*Slow down and pay extra special attention to everyone you regularly interact with.

*Turn up the volume on your empathy awareness – if you see something, say something: “Hey, how’s it going?  Want to get together for a coffee?”

*Treat everyone with an extra portion of care.  It is very easy for people to disguise what they are going through.

Of course, the shorter days and colder weather in most of the US does not help.  Some churches even have special “Longest Night” services on Winter Solstice to provide hopeful, caring spaces for people.

It is great to celebrate the holidays.  But let’s do our best to bring everyone along with us.

Following are some ideas on how we can create strategic harmony and integration with these various life goals, based on new research reported in Harvard Business Review.

One of the first things we need to do to create Goal Harmony is to change our mindset from “either/or” thinking to an “and/both” approach.  Research shows that this mindset is a habit that can be developed over time – so give it a try and keep working at it.

Creating Goal Harmony begins by listing all of our major life goals and the essential activities associated with them.  Then we want to look for connections between them.  For example:

• Taking care of your health – working out, eating right, getting your rest – will make you more productive at work and feel better about yourself.
• Invite work colleagues to go with you to your favorite sporting event. You will enjoy the game and deepen relationships with colleagues.
• Take your kids with you to community volunteer activities. You all “do good,” they learn the importance of contributing to community and you build your relationship with them. They “might” even stay off their phones for a while.
• You can also create Goal Harmony for sub-goals within the same broad goal, such as health. The less alcohol you drink and earlier you go to bed, the better sleep you get, and the better chance you have of getting up in time to work out the next morning.

Creating Goal Harmony can provide us with more fulfillment from the achievement of our various goals.  No longer do we need to feel “guilty” about sacrificing one goal for another.  Harmony among our goals also increases the chances that we will really stick to a goal commitment.

Not paying attention to an area of our life that is important to us is like losing a part of ourselves.  We don’t need to do that.  We can create strategic harmony that integrates our life goals and truly gives us a full, thriving life.

*Ideas for this blog taken from: Wang, J. & Fischbach, A.   “How to Create Harmony Between Your Personal and Professional Goals,” Harvard Business Review online, September 19, 2025.