Why do top people fail?

Are you in trouble?

"This is not looking good for me right now," says a client of mine. "I was distraught at your feedback, but now I see I had a huge blind spot. I screwed up." The painful reality is that this high-potential executive had just been promoted to a strategic role in a multi-billion-euro global company. And now, he might lose his job. All because of a single mistake — one error, one bad shot. Now, all might be lost.

I can name a dozen scenarios resembling this disaster. For example, a general manager responsible for distributing American industrial products in several African countries refused to be coached last year during his onboarding process. He is about to be fired and does not even know it yet. "Why did we hire him? How did we get to this?" is the day's subject of discussion. Predicting this type of outcome is not complicated; unfortunately, it is a pattern that will keep repeating itself until the CEO matures. The leader must agree that the critical problems start with them, not the fired executives.

Does it look familiar? If you read this, others likely label you "Top Potential." You might occupy a spot beyond that, perhaps even be the top person, the CEO. That's excellent. This article is designed to help you understand how to create a durable and reliable success ecosystem and avoid career-ending events.

First, you must identify why you might not reach your potential. Even if you feel successful enough, you might still feel unsettled or unable to remain.

After over twenty years of coaching key contributors and professionals worldwide, I have discovered that seven core failures contribute to tragedy.

Core Failure #1: Being and acting small

Here, our mind becomes our biggest enemy. Despite being born with incredible potential and gifts, we naturally develop survival instincts and defense mechanisms as we go through life - ones that can hold us back later. When we feel threatened, we often react impulsively, make many poor micro-decisions, and unconsciously harm others or the environment without taking responsibility. We often seek mental security through domination, bragging about money, self-validation, or distracting ourselves endlessly. Many leaders become boring talking monkeys with lessons to give and who criticize far more than encourage. In business, such leaders fail to think critically, collaborate with others effectively, identify and learn from mistakes, and create a supportive, creative environment; instead, they may resort to old-fashioned dominance. While it might seem easier to stay just how you are, it is a perilous strategy.

Core Failure #2: Me-Me-Me — A small self-limited vision

Most leaders prioritize their basic needs like reptiles prioritize food, safety, and mating. Their answers are legitimate when discussing their ambitions, dreams, and ultimate wants. Yet, they are politically correct, focused on short-term or materialistic rewards like 'my promotion,' a safe home,' 'my own business,' and 'I would love to make [X] millions a year.' However, the answers radically change when people free themselves from outside mental pressure and stop worrying about what their partner, boss, parents, church, or culture might say. This lack of a personalized vision, or a vision limited to what others expect or what is considered 'normal,' restricts the possibilities to a self-imposed norm. The blue sky magic is gone. In business, the vision, the core purpose, and the mission are confused with the 3-year financial plan. Employees engage the best way they can and look forward to their well-deserved vacation or retirement. Most people with this low level of awareness act alone, and need help managing their time.

Core Failure #3: May God help me — Zero proactivity

In my book, I created the reverse-engineering process to coach myself and others to eliminate procrastination, focus daily, and never let go of end goals. Individuals with high potential are adept at delivering results, but many only bring their best when faced with obstacles. They typically strive for achievable outcomes rather than setting ambitious creative goals. That's the reactive red curve — adapting as you meet obstacles. Unfortunately, there isn't a clear blueprint for daily progress, let alone achieving overall success.

In the business world, most project failures stem from starting too early with incomplete analysis. Employees and managers often focus solely on their own departmental objectives and tasks, leaving it to the boss to worry about collaboration, maintaining focus, and ensuring alignment with the outcome. This lack of proactivity, or the failure to take the initiative and plan for the future, can lead to missed opportunities, much higher costs, and a lack of overall success. Operating in this mode is exhausting; worse, the top leader becomes acutely aware that growth is virtually impossible.

Core Failure #4: No-show

For years, I sought approval from others for everything that I initiated. I was unconsciously needy. My low self-esteem stopped me from trusting my intuition, skills, and deep knowledge. Then, one day, I was fired by an unconsciously incompetent CEO who sincerely believed his bluff. It was a traumatic rupture, which turned out to be a blessing. He put me out of my misery; I had lost all my motivation. I understood then that I needed to show up consistently for myself, my projects, my clients, my staff, and my family. I learned that I absolutely could influence or even control my destiny. That was the beginning of my proactive green curve - living deliberately every day. The critical question to remember is: What system can help me succeed predictably, and how can I learn to show up consistently?

Core Failure #5: Being super busy is the way to succeed

This is when the high-potential individual expects things to happen and assumes that their work is adequate. Instead of acting as the architect of success, constantly diagnosing why we are not getting the right outcome, they rely on their expectations of other people without spending enough time deeply understanding obstacles. They micro-control, complain, blame, and go from one disappointment to another. We see countless unproductive meetings, endless email storms, and reputation-killing nasty surprises. Their job or business is at risk, but they invariably will see it too late. The core issue is that although they understand that they must orchestrate better, they need to spend more time stepping back. They also avoid tough conversations, justify poor results, overestimate what they can achieve, etc. The boat's captain has become unconsciously incompetent and needs serious coaching to become a creator of better outcomes. Team performance coaching also becomes vital.

Core Failure #6: No purpose, no spirit

A leader may perform their duty well yet often needs more personal drive to inspire people to engage, change, and carry the vision. This lack leads to lower creativity and the realization that key people are holding back. "I am just doing my job" characterizes this type of environment. A trusted coach might challenge this leader: What is your life's purpose? What do you wish to accomplish for others, humanity, and the planet? Why are you here?

When top people cannot clarify their life's purpose, a caring coach must challenge them and offer support until they find it. Unleashing one's true identity and personal brand is crucial to success. It is worth more money than you will ever make. That's an integral part of our work when we decide to work together.

Core Failure #7: The "Why?" is unclear, or it is based on fear

"Why are we doing this, boss?" All this hard work and sacrifice requires a better answer than "You need to meet the financial commitments or suffer the consequences." Employees need someone who gives meaning to challenge, risk, and adapting to ever-changing goals. They need someone who can communicate with passion and faith and answer the why questions. That is the No. 1 job of any leader and their top team.

Where should I start?

In my book What Color Is Your Sky?, I introduce the Sweat and Soul Cycle to help you predictably create a fulfilling future.

I recommend that, first, you learn about the "Illusion of the Ego" and how asking for feedback, debriefing, and conducting project pre-mortems and post-mortems can change your game. You must always have a clear, untainted understanding of your reality - blind spots create derailments that are hard to recover from.

Second, understand that the source of your failure patterns is ingrained in your brain. Your learned behaviors helped you reach this level — those habits have become your enemies. With time, you can learn to diagnose and uncover those patterns. It is magical when you find one and transform it into a better process. This is where success coaching comes in, as it accelerates your transformation.

Finally, you may have reached the point where relying on yourself will keep you pinned beneath a glass ceiling. The team below you needs to improve, and delegating is hard. You cannot do it alone anymore, and going further requires humility. I believe you know this already: A major rupture is on the horizon.

As you and I build trust and collaborate, I invite you to work on yourself. You can start by subscribing to my YouTube channel for short lectures on creating the best version of yourself. It is free.

You are incredibly busy, but you have read this article so far! That's impressive, and my intuition tells me I need to share more to earn your trust.

In the video below, I explain how the Sweat and Soul Cycle can help you avoid these seven core failures. Please give it a try.

If you are ready to leapfrog into excellence, visit HERVE.COM.