Why Leaders Fail

"The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice. And because we fail to notice that we fail to notice, there is little that we can do to change… Until we notice how failing to notice, shapes our thoughts 

and deeds." W.R.D. Laing.

What do you and I notice? How do we increase our awareness so that we at least have a chance, and make a choice, to be intentional? A 2006 study of 251 executives in six countries concluded that while intelligence is important for career success, other factors supersede it. Interpersonal competence, self-awareness, and social awareness are better predictors of who will succeed and who won’t.

According to Mark Steyn, “...nations die -- not by war or conquest, but by a thousand trivial concessions until one day you wake up and you don’t need to sign a formal instrument of surrender because you did it piecemeal.”

In which direction are your “thousand trivial concessions” taking you? To whom will you surrender, to the reacting mindset of whatever happens, or the intentional mindset of high performance and freedom? This is where coaching can make a difference.

I received the following email from Craig, who contacted me in reaction to one of my blog posts at ryanwalter.com:

“Hi Ryan - just wanted to say thank you for that timely article. It’s a breadcrumb for me - showing me I am on the right path to re-training my brain! Perfect timing. In my youth and 20s, I used the power of my mind to believe I was a world beater, and looking back, I was...

...Things change over time... life happens. Over the past decade, I have been defrauded by a business partner (which set me back mentally and from a trust perspective), sacked by my manager for my faith and my approach to management, and recently lost my good friend and business partner to cancer.

Over this time, I completely lost track of the garbage I was telling myself. It was all doom and gloom, looking out for the negatives instead of focusing on the positive. I took a good hard look at myself and my thinking and decided to start rewiring my brain. It’s not easy when you let it get so frazzled, but I take time each day to pray, to visualize, and to speak positive affirmations to myself.

This week has been particularly hard, but reading your article was the breadcrumb I needed to keep going and confirm:

It is possible to stay the course and to realize that change can happen. The world is not out to get me... unless I let it.

You might never have realized when writing that article how it would affect people, but I wanted to share this very real and personal example of the positive effect it’s had on me today. Thank you!”

As most of you know, Coaching Metacognition is our specialty. It is what we do in our blogposts, our books (Breakout is our latest), 1-on-1 or 1-to-many. This is what we do for CEOs, companies, corporations, and teams across the world, helping leaders to increase their awareness, think about their thinking, and get their best game on the ice.

Skate our way - let's win together!