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Leader’s Bookshelf Getty Images

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There
by Marshall Goldsmith and Mark Reiter

Success, says executive coach Marshall Goldsmith, though, people cling to the past as a way to blame
makes many people believe they must be doing eveything others for things that have gone wrong in their lives,
right. Therefore, they sabotage their continued effective- using the past as a weapon to control others or pun-
ness and career advancement by failing to recognize and ish them for not doing exactly what the leader wants.
correct the mistakes they make in interpersonal relation-
· • Never being able to say you’re sorry. It’s not true
ships. “All other things being equal, your people skills
that “love means never having to say you’re sorry.”
(or lack of them) become more pronounced the higher
Apologizing is love in action. Refusing to apologize
up you go,” he writes in What Got You Here Won’t Get
probably causes more ill will—whether it be in a
You There. Goldsmith and his collaborator, Mark Reiter,
romance, a family, or a work relationship—than any
identify 20 behavioral habits that damage organizational
other interpersonal flaw. “People who can’t apologize
relationships and hold leaders back.
at work may as well be wearing a T-shirt that says: ‘I
don’t care about you,’” Gladwell writes.
NOBODY’S PERFECT
Every leader has some habits or negative behaviors that
CHANGE IS POSSIBLE
can limit his or her effectiveness. Following are a few of
Gladwell has spent his career helping leaders find and fix
the behavioral flaws Goldsmith and Reiter describe. Do
their behavioral blind spots. His prescription for success can
you recognize any of these in your own behaviors?
benefit any leader who genuinely wants to improve his or
• Winning at all costs and in all situations. We all her interpersonal relationships. The first step is to gather
know them—those people who feel like they have to feedback that helps you identify the specific behaviors you
win every argument and always be right. They want need to change. Next, focus on fixing the problem by apolo-
to win the big points, the small points, and everything gizing for your behavioral flaws, advertising your efforts to
in between. If they go along with another’s idea that change, listening to the input of others, showing gratitude
doesn’t work out, they adopt an “I told you so” atti- for others’ contributions to your change process, and fol-
tude. In the workplace, a leader’s need to be right and lowing up on your progress. When you acknowledge your
to point out that he or she is right damages relation- dependence on others, Gladwell points out, they typically
ships and destroys teamwork. not only agree to help you be better person, they also try to
become better people themselves.
• Clinging to the past. There’s nothing wrong with
looking at and understanding the past as a way to
What Got You Here Won’t Get You There, by Marshall Goldsmith and
come to terms with it or learn from it. Too often, Mark Reiter, is published by Hyperion Books.

with positive self-concepts are more effective in all situations. Leaders who have
a negative self-concept, who are insecure and have low self-esteem, often create
environments that limit other people’s growth and development. They may
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also sabotage their own careers. The Leader’s Bookshelf further discusses how
certain attitudes and behavior patterns can limit a leader’s effectiveness and career
development.
The way in which the leader relates to followers also depends signifi cantly on
his or her attitudes about others. A leader’s style is based largely on attitudes
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about human nature in general—ideas and feelings about what motivates people,
whether people are basically honest and trustworthy, and about the extent to which
people can grow and change. One theory developed to explain differences in style
was developed by Douglas McGregor, based on his experiences as a manager and
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consultant and his training as a psychologist. McGregor identifi ed two sets of
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