What Got You Here Isn’t Getting You There: Why You Need to Rethink Your Leadership
Uncertainty is a constant companion for leaders today. The pace of change is relentless, bringing with it rising stress, competing demands, and a nagging sense of unease. The old playbooks and strategies that once fueled your success no longer seem to work. You’re doing your best to make sense of it all, but you feel stretched, reactive, and unsure of how to meet the moment.
The reality is this: what got you here isn’t getting you there. The strategies that carried you in the past, while effective then, are now driving a new kind of exhaustion.
The Root of the Problem
We all developed adaptive strategies early in life that helped us succeed. We learned to achieve, to please, to take control, to stay safe. These strategies fueled our success and became leadership superpowers: the drive to deliver, the capacity to push through, the instinct to step up and take charge. They shaped the leaders we are today.
But under the pressure of today’s complexity, these once-useful strategies are often overused, turning them into liabilities.
Your drive to achieve becomes chronic overwork, leading to burnout for both you and your team.
Your eye for detail turns into micromanagement, stifling creativity and initiative.
Your desire for harmony leads to conflict avoidance, allowing critical issues to fester.
These patterns don't just limit effectiveness; they can actively create dysfunctional team dynamics, erode trust, undermine decision-making, and fuel stress and exhaustion.
The Power of Self-Awareness
In uncertain times, self-awareness is the antidote. It’s what allows you to notice these patterns in real-time, recognize when they're running the show, and create the space to choose differently. Without it, you risk repeating the same cycles and getting nowhere.
Leading in complexity requires a powerful combination of awareness, attention, and intention:
Awareness helps you notice triggers, emotions, and assumptions as they arise.
Attention keeps you present to the people and dynamics around you, rather than being swept up in reactivity.
Intention guides you to respond with clarity and purpose instead of defaulting to autopilot.
Together, these build the capacity to meet today’s challenges with grounded presence and the insights to move forward with purpose.
A Pathway to Growth
Developing this kind of awareness requires intentional practice. It’s about creating a pause between stimulus and reaction, so you can see the deeper patterns shaping your leadership and respond with purpose instead of habit.
There are many tools to support this journey, but here are some starting points:
Practice “Above the Line” Leadership
The Conscious Leadership Group offers a simple but powerful practice: notice whether you’re operating “below the line” (in fear, defensiveness, or reactivity) or “above the line” (in openness, curiosity, and conscious choice). It’s worth noting that we can be above or below the line moment to moment. Simply pausing to ask, “Where am I right now?” can shift your perspective and create the possibility of choice.
Slow Down to Observe
Build in micro-pauses throughout your day, before meetings, after a tough email, or when you notice tension in your body. Take 30 seconds to observe your thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations. Over time, this practice trains you to recognize the patterns that usually run in the background, and those that take a toll on your body.
Embrace Your Triggers
Triggers can be treasures if we pay attention to them. They reveal the deeper stories, fears, or unmet needs driving your reactivity. Instead of pushing them away, meet them with kindness and curiosity. Ask yourself:
What is really happening inside me right now?
What fear, belief, or need is being touched?
What story am I telling myself in this moment?
This shift from being in the trigger to observing it, creates space for new choices. With practice, triggers become invitations: opportunities to expand awareness and heal old patterns.
Explore Your Leadership Style Through the Enneagram
The Enneagram is a practical, transformational system that describes nine leadership styles and the motivations driving how we think, feel, and act. It can help you make sense of your leadership strengths and blindspots, and shows you the patterns that shape how you lead, both at your best and under stress. With its insights, you can:
Recognize how your core characteristics drive your leadership in both healthy and unhealthy ways.
See where your strengths may now be creating limitations.
Notice the patterns that drain your energy or keep you stuck in reactivity.
Understand your default stress response and practice intentional, constructive alternatives.
A New Way Forward
This shift from unconscious reaction to conscious response opens up new possibilities. Instead of repeating old cycles, you can learn and stretch into new patterns, and meet the challenges of today with renewed energy, clarity and impact.
Ready to Take the Next Step?
What got you here isn’t going to get you there. This work isn’t just about understanding your patterns but transforming your leadership to navigate what’s needed. If you’re ready to strengthen your presence and navigate complexity with greater clarity and impact, here’s how we can work together:
Deepen Your Self-Awareness: Uncover your core motivations and leadership style through the lens of the Enneagram. Gain the clarity needed to grow beyond old patterns and step into new possibilities.
Strengthen Your Team: Bring the Enneagram to your team to build trust, enhance communication, and unlock greater collaboration.
Partner with Me: Work one-on-one in personalized coaching to expand your leadership presence, break free from reactive cycles, and lead with renewed clarity, confidence, and purpose.