More Impact, More Easily

6System six: Letting it go

‘What got you here won't get you there.’ This is such a true statement that Marshall Goldsmith, one of the greatest leadership coaches in the world, named his bestseller after it. Inherently, this statement involves some letting go. So your challenge at this stage is not about what you do. It is about what you stop doing.

Unless you let go of four specific practices (the ones that got you here) you will never become a B‐Suite Leader with C‐suite impact. You'll be stuck at level and frustrated with it. But the good news is you can learn to let go of all four practices with just one technique — and I show you how in this chapter. Let's start with a shift in your mindset.

THE MINDSET SHIFT

As with all my Systems of Impact, middle management development depends more on a change in mindset than a change in skillset. This system in particular is mostly mindset, which sounds easy, but let me warn you it isn't. Learning new skills is easy. Letting go of or changing old beliefs is really, really hard.

Before I outline what I'm going to challenge you to let go of, let's first explore why it's going to be difficult. The four beliefs I'm going to ask you to let go of are probably the four things that you are most proud of. They're the things that have always made you a superstar and a high performer. Your first reaction will likely be, ‘No way will I give that up’. You might then progress to, ‘Maybe I'll think about it’. And if you actually try it out, your ...