I recently wrote a piece for the Forbes Business Council about something I see constantly in my work with high performers: the exact qualities that make you great at building things can quietly become the ones holding you back.
Read the full article on → Forbes
You know the pattern
The deck you rebuild at midnight. The hire you can’t stop second-guessing. The one meeting only you can run. Ask why, and you’ll tell me it’s because you catch things other people miss. And often, you’re right.
Why it made sense then
In year one, a single bad meeting really could have ended the company. Staying up until midnight wasn’t overwork. It was accurate. That instinct was calibrated under real pressure, and there is a company here, in part, because of it. The conditions changed. The alarm system didn’t. I’m not diagnosing anyone here. It’s a pattern, and it’s one of the most human ones I know.
The cost nobody is tracking
Senior people stop bringing you problems, because problems brought to you get taken back. Your best hires leave right when they were about to become worth what you’re paying them. And every departure looks like proof you were right not to let go.
Three small ways to retune it
- Date your rules. For each thing you won’t let anyone else own, write down what a mistake there cost the year you adopted the rule, then what it would cost today.
- Separate “I’d do it differently” from “this is a real risk.” Name the consequence you’re preventing and put a number on it.
- Price it. For one month, track the hours going into the thing you can’t release against the real catches with real consequences.
You’re not broken
The drive, the standards, the ability to push through are real, and they built something. The trick isn’t to lose them. It’s knowing when to shift gears. If this sounds like you, that’s so common, and it’s very workable.
Read the full article on → Forbes
Dr. Cammy Froude is a PhD-level licensed trauma therapist, dual-certified in EMDR and the Gottman Method, and a member of the Forbes Business Council. This post is for general educational purposes and isn’t a substitute for therapy.
