When smart people get stuck in their job, it is rarely a skills problem. Most of the time, it is a mindset pattern sitting underneath the surface. Photo: vestd.com.
Paul Lyons explains why some smart, highly qualified employees, apparently destined for a top job in their organisation, never quite realise their potential.
I’m sure you meet a lot of smart people. I know I do in my line of work. The kind that are sharp and experienced — looking good on paper.
Yet almost every week, someone says this to me: “They are so smart. I just do not understand why they are stuck where they are.”
You may well have someone like this in your organisation. They have a strong CV; they can talk a good game, so you put them on a high-potential list and give them a big role.
Then things slow down, or go in circles, or quietly stall.
It is rarely a skills problem. Most of the time, it is a mindset pattern sitting underneath the surface.
Here are a few versions I see all the time.
There’s the “I only do what I know I will succeed at” person, so they stay where they are strong and dodge the bigger, scarier work that would move them forward in their career.
Or there’s the “If I fail, they will finally see I am not as capable as they think” employee, so they over-prepare, over-control and delay decisions until the opportunity has passed.
One attitude that happens all too often: “I have to be the smartest one in the room”, so they resist feedback and coaching because it feels risky to admit what they don’t know.
Underneath all of that is a simple equation in the nervous system. Stretch means risk; risk means threat; threat means avoid, defend, delay.
However, the hard truth is that in the world we work in now, not stretching is the bigger risk. Things move too fast and people who only play where they feel safe eventually get left behind.
The turning point is when someone can see their stuck pattern clearly and talk about it without shame.
This is where coaching and a decent assessment are useful. You can look at how they think and react under pressure instead of guessing.
For me, smart but stuck is not a character flaw; it is a pattern — and patterns can be worked with and changed.
Here are three questions to ask yourself:
What do I tend to avoid even though I know it would grow me?
What do I tell myself when I think about doing that thing?
If I took a small step anyway, what is the worst that would really happen?
Paul Lyons is an experienced business leader, adviser and coach enjoying a diverse career across Australia and Asia. He can be contacted at [email protected]. This article first appeared on the Mental Toughness blogsite.
