Marshall Goldsmith wrote a brilliant book with this title, and it sums up a harsh truth about success. The very things that got you to where you are today – the beliefs, habits, and ways of working that helped you grow – might now be the things keeping you stuck.
You see it all the time. A business owner who’s built a company from nothing, swearing by the principles that got them here. A senior leader who’s risen through the ranks, convinced they know exactly how things should be done. And fair enough – those beliefs worked. They weren’t just theories; they were proven, battle-tested truths. But here’s the problem: business changes, industries shift, teams grow, and the challenges ahead are different from the ones you’ve already conquered.
That’s where things get tricky. Some of those ‘truths’ are now outdated. Worse, they’re actively holding you back. The same instincts that helped you succeed in one phase of your career are the very things limiting your next level of growth.
A big part of what I do as a coach is listen, observe, and spot these limiting beliefs in action. They show up in how people lead, how they manage teams, how they approach growth, and the things they say on a regular basis. And they’re not always obvious. They feel like common sense. Like the way things should be. They sound very plausible!
Take one I hear all the time: “I’d never ask someone to do something I couldn’t do myself.” Sounds noble, right? Like leadership 101. But here’s the problem – if you only hire people who can’t outperform you, you’ll never have a team stronger than you. That’s a one-way ticket to burnout and stagnation. The best leaders surround themselves with people who are better than them in key areas.
Or another classic: “You can’t trust employees – you have to monitor them carefully and step in when needed.” Also known as: micromanagement hell. It’s an exhausting, unsustainable approach that keeps a business owner locked in firefighting mode, unable to step back and scale. The reality? Most employees are perfectly capable – if you let them be. If they’re not – was it because you hired poorly or because after working for you for a while they’re not very good any more? Harsh?
Breaking out of these patterns isn’t easy. You can’t just ‘decide’ to think differently. That’s not how beliefs work. But you can question them. You can start to notice where they’re helping and where they’re hurting. You can challenge the idea that just because something got you here, it’s still the best way forward.
The choice is simple: keep doing what you’ve always done and stay where you are. Or start questioning what you believe and make room for what’s next.
