Why do some careers stall while others flourish? The careers of 50 - 60% of managers and leaders will derail to some degree during their career largely due to a blindspot. In other words, “At some point, over half of us will get fired or demoted—or our careers will flat-line, and we won’t reach our innate potential.
In his book, The Right and the Wrong Stuff: How Great Careers Are Made and Unmade, Carter Cast shares with us the turning point in his career at PepsiCo. Blissfully unaware of how negative perceptions were shaped around his unconscious behaviour, he was stunned when he was called into his boss’ office, and was told that he was “unpromotable” because he was obstinate,” “resistant,” and “insubordinate.” He was also lucky enough to be told directly. Most of us never truly know why we have derailed.
More often than not, people get fired, demoted, or plateau not because they lack the “right stuff,” but because they are unaware of the “wrong stuff” and its impact. Realising that many people had no idea what was in their blind spot, Carter researched the topic and his research led him to five defining derailment archetypes. These archetypes are present across all organizations, genders, and levels of seniority. I discuss these archetypes in this episode. Let’s save you from derailment.
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