What Holds Leaders Back?

Belief is what drives people to create, build and do things. If you believe that you’re incapable of doing something then you won’t do it. However, belief can be changed and “sharpened”. Below, Jeff Boss, a leadership team coach, shared three belief systems that ” prevent leaders from showing up what they’re capable of showing up as”:

” I am my work.”
People usually use their job titles to introduce themselves. ” The problem with the “I am my work” belief is that there’s always something else to do, something else to refine or improve, and because you receive the immediate feedback of having improved project XYZ, you want to do more of it. You want to continue working because the immediate feedback piece is good for the ego”. Boss considered this as a “negative identity loop” that forces people to continue working at the same job; just because they want to be “valued”. Boss said that many people “stay active duty despite being completely burned out”, because they believed that this job is their identity. ” It’s a dangerous place to be because it’s where complacency is manifested, and complacency is the precursor to chaos”.

“I need to stay.”
Some leaders tend to stay late at work instead of leaving and facing their real life problems. This belief system is a “burn-out” for leaders and their team as well; “because there’s always one or two people who see the boss staying late, so they do, too. It’s a vicious cycle of negative impact”.

“I want to please.”
Some leaders tend to say “yes” to everything until they drown in far more responsibilities than they anticipated. Boss said, “I’ve seen this in recently promoted executives–they want to demonstrate they’re worthy of their promotion so they take on more responsibilities than they should. Or, they dive down into the weeds so far that they add a whole new definition to the term “micromanagement.” Then what happens? They leave the company a year later because they’re tired and “the grass is always greener,” or, the talent on their team leaves because they’re tired of asking “Mother, may I?” every time they want to get something done”. In short, stop/avoid working overtime or saying “yes” to everything and everyone.