The loneliest leaders are often the most successful ones on paper.

The loneliest leaders are often the most successful ones on paper.

Thorsten (name changed) had it all.

That's how he came across at the beginning of our coaching.

Global SVP title. Awesome year-end bonus. Perfect performance reviews.

Ask him who he called when his strategy tanked?

No one.

Here's what Thorsten built in his first five years of leadership:

A team that looked like him.

Thought just like him.

Agreed with him.

Every meeting? Smooth. Every decision? Unanimous. Every hire? Another yes-man in a different suit.

"It felt safe," he told me. "Like we were aligned."

The comfortable truth about comfortable teams:

When everyone agrees, no one's thinking

When meetings are smooth, innovation is dead

When your team mirrors you, you're all blind to the same cliff

Thorsten's confession hit hard: "I realized I've been in an echo chamber for years. Everyone just nods when I speak."

I find it incredibly humbling when people self-reflect at this level.

We spent three months on one mission:

Finding voices that would make him uncomfortable.

People who would challenge his thinking.

And who would call out his blind spots.

The first such voice came from a junior engineer.

She questioned his go-to-market strategy. In front of the whole leadership team. Thorsten's first instinct? Shut it down.

Instead, he listened.

Three months later: The boldest pivot of his career. New products, new directions, finally getting ahead with the AI journey in his department. Just because someone finally had permission to say "This won't work."

I felt very particular as Thorsten's coach. As he was telling me this story, something hit me:

I'd been Thorsten too. In bits and pieces, but I have been there. And I am grateful to have learnt from him.

Who in your circle is paid to tell you you're wrong?

#leadership #change #growth

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