What Got You Here Won't Get You There

Preview

Success can be a trap. That sounds strange at first, especially if you have spent years working hard, rising through the ranks, and proving that you are smart, driven, and capable. But that is the heartbeat of this book. The very habits that helped you get noticed, promoted, rewarded, and admired can become the habits that hold you back when the game changes. What got you here will not get you there. At lower levels, being sharp, decisive, fast, and full of answers can make you look like a star. At higher levels, those same strengths can turn into irritations, blind spots, and real obstacles. The challenge is not that you are failing. The challenge is that you are often succeeding in ways that now hurt you. That is the problem Marshall Goldsmith sets out to solve. He is speaking mostly to successful people, especially executives and leaders, but the lesson reaches far beyond the corner office. Anyone who has ever thought, I am doing well, so why do I keep getting this same complaint, will recognize the pattern. We all have small behaviors that seem harmless to us and maddening to everyone else. We interrupt. We add too much value. We win arguments nobody needed to win. We withhold recognition. We speak when listening would help more. We think our good intentions should count more than our actual impact. And because we are successful, we often get away with these habits for a long time. The book is built on a tough and liberating idea. You do not need to become a new person. You do not need to erase your talent, lose your ambition, or pretend to be humble in some fake way. You need to notice the tiny, recurring interpersonal behaviors that damage your effectiveness. Then you...