The belief that's costing you more than you realize

Reader,

"I should be able to figure this out on my own."

I just spent the past two weeks at the Climbing Collegiate National Championships and the Para Climbing World Cup, and not once did the athletes make a statement like this.

Every elite athlete on those walls, climbers who are genuinely among the best in the world at what they do, had access to coaching.

Before they got on the wall - in between their attempts - and in the debrief after.

I have an elite climber of my own, so I spend a lot of time with athletes. No matter the event, it always strikes me how the most serious, most capable athletes all have coaches.

Not despite their capability... but because of it.

The coach isn't climbing the route for them.

The athlete still has to make every decision in real time, but the coach is seeing things the athlete can't see from where they're standing, calling out the sequence they've been approaching the wrong way, and helping them find the line that's been there the whole time.

I think about this constantly when accomplished founders tell me they should be able to figure it out alone.

I get it. I've been there a time or two myself.

But after doing this work for over two decades with leaders at Boeing, Ethiopian Airlines, the Department of Defense, and countless entrepreneurs, I know that the most capable people in the world have support. That's not a coincidence, nor is it a weakness.

When you're navigating a big change in your business, trying to figure out your next move, or facing a high stakes moment, it's insanely difficult to see the path from where you're standing. The part I think we forget is that while you're trying to figure it out on your own, the clock is running and the problem is compounding.

The right clients aren't finding you.

Revenue slows down.

The decisions that need to be made are being deferred.

The gap between where you are and where you want to be gets a little wider every quarter.

Reader, you're a capable person; that's never been in question, but when you're in the thick of it, I can almost guarantee you're too close to see things clearly.

That's where a strategic thought partner comes in. Someone who can see the line you can't see from where you're standing, calling out the sequence you've been stuck on, and helping you find the path forward that's been there the whole time.

If this is the murky space you're in, I'd love to talk. Here reply or grab a time on my calendar. ​

xo,