The Leader Who Got You Here May Hold You Back

What made you successful so far still matters. But as your responsibilities grow, the demands of leadership change — and the capabilities you need have to change with them.

In this episode of Scaling New Heights, Nick Sellers explores why leadership progression is not simply about becoming better at what you already do well. It often means broadening your competence, becoming comfortable with being inexperienced again, and letting go of parts of your leadership identity that previously brought you success.

Nick reflects on Marshall Goldsmith’s well-known phrase, “What got you here won’t get you there,” and considers what that means in practice for leaders whose roles are becoming broader, less certain and more complex.

He explores why senior leaders can retreat towards familiar work when under pressure, why discomfort does not necessarily mean you are incapable, and how leadership increasingly involves working without a ready-made playbook.

The episode closes with three questions to help you consider what the next stage of your own leadership might require.

In this episode:

00:00 Welcome to Scaling New Heights

00:22 What Got You Here

01:50 When the Job Changes

03:10 Discomfort Means Growth

04:41 The Familiarity Trap

05:42 Letting Go of Identity