How Coaching Can Help
You Get Promoted
The Expert Trap
Many leaders are promoted because they are excellent problem solvers.
But at higher levels of leadership, success depends on something different: the ability to develop people and teams who can think, innovate, and solve problems independently.
Many leaders struggle at this stage because they fall into what I call
The Expert Trap: continuing to lead primarily through their own expertise instead of developing the intelligence of the people they manage.
When this happens, predictable problems emerge. The leader becomes a bottleneck in decision-making and problem solving. Managers and team members feel micromanaged and become less engaged, less creative,
and less willing to take initiative.
At the same time, leaders become overwhelmed — pulled into constant problem solving while struggling to find time for the strategic thinking and leadership their role actually requires.
They also get frustrated as they get passed over for promotions, watch less-qualified people get the jobs they want, and aren't being invited to contribute to the high-visibility projects that could help them advance in their careers.
Rise Above
To succeed at the next level, leaders must make the changes supported by the A.L.L. R.I.S.E. Leadership framework.
Instead of being the person with the answers, they become the leader who develops teams who can think, lead, and solve problems independently.
Great Leaders Don’t Multiply Their own Effort.
They Multiply the Intelligence of Their Teams.
4 Shifts to Success
COACHING THAT ELEVATES LEADERS
-
Release your need to be the one with all the answers who can solve all the problems. This is the Expert Trap that is holding you back from making a bigger impact.
-
Ignite your team's intelligence, and creativity. This is the key to any leader's growth journey.
-
Share your ownership of problems and decision making with your team members so that they become more engaged and effective and you can become more strategic.
-
Elevate the most promising people to increase the impact of your team, and elevate yourself as a leader of leaders in the process.
"Pratt coached me during a formative period in my career and helped me through 3 promotions in 2 years. His coaching was about building the kind of leadership capability that sustains results over time. I credit him with sharpening my ability to build, lead, and evolve high-performing teams."
Tracy Berkley
CEO