Why It's Difficult for Successful Leaders to Change

Any human, in fact, any animal will tend to repeat behavior that is followed by positive reinforcement. The more successful we become, the more positive reinforcement we get - and the more likely we are to experience the success delusion.

"I behave this way. I am successful. Therefore, I must be successful because I behave this way."

Wrong!

The higher we move up the organizational ladder, the more our employees let us know how wonderful we are! Our behavior is often followed by positive reinforcement, even when this behavior makes absolutely no sense. One night over dinner, I listened as a very wise military leader shared his learnings from years of experience with an eager, newly-minted General, "Recently, have you started to notice that when you tell jokes, everyone erupts into laughter - and that when you say something ‘wise' everyone nods their heads in solemn agreement? The new General replied, "Why, yes, I have." The older General laughed and continued, "Let me help you. You aren't that funny, and you aren't that smart! It's only that star on your shoulder. Don't ever let it go to your head."

We all want to hear what we want to hear. We want to believe those great things that the world is telling us about ourselves. Our belief in ourselves helps us become successful. It can also make it very hard for us to change. As the wise older General noted - we aren't really that funny, and we aren't really that smart. We can all get better - if we are willing to take a hard look at ourselves. By understanding why changing behavior can be so difficult for successful leaders - we can increase the likelihood of making the changes that we need to make - in our quest to become even more successful.

Life is good.

Marshall

My newest book, MOJO, is a New York Times (advice), Wall Street Journal (business), USAToday (money) and Publisher's Weekly (non-fiction) best seller. It is now available online and at major bookstores.

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