What Got You Here Won’t Get You There

In this book, Goldsmith, an industry expert, seeks to explicitly explain why certain previously successful skills or habits may not be a fit anymore for the next career step and hierarchy level. They even have the potential to hinder you in making desired future career progress.

In the first section of this book, Goldsmith explains the trouble associated with success as it is currently perceived and experienced by many individuals in the workplace. Goldsmith explains how the positive affect associated with success i.e. increased self-esteem and confidence in one’s abilities, can often only reach a certain point. Beyond this point, people often become vulnerable to displaying a tendency to espouse certain fallacious beliefs that they are more responsible for the success of projects and that they are more invaluable than is the reality.

These beliefs, according to Goldsmith, tend to lead to certain dangerous behaviours that set a person up for failure, rather than success. He provides a list of the twenty destructive habits that are manifested in the workplace, resulting from the ‘success delusion’, along with clear summaries of each.

A third section of this book is dedicated to providing ways in which people can change for the better. Goldsmith offers a seven step plan for rectifying these destructive habits, both individually and as a whole.

The fourth and final section of this book places a strong emphasis on management and on wider issues within organizations, such as the above-mentioned bad habits, and how they should be addressed on different levels within an organization. Goldsmith highlights the critical importance of the use of candidness and honesty in approaching these issues. The theme of transparency in communication is considered by Goldsmith to be central in solving issues, such as the habits discussed in the book, in any healthy organization. Through communication transparency, the root causes of these issues can be dealt with efficiently.

Tripl3Leader recommends this well-structured, easy-to-read book as a practical inspection for leaders who would like to well-prepare themselves for a next career step. The recommendations, provided by Goldsmith, could be useful in recognizing certain skills and habits that, although have managed to gain you success, are likely not capable of ensuring further career progression and need to be altered appropriately. Allow Tripl3Leader to enable you to enhance your ability to do so more effectively.