Why Careers Fail?

There are a lot of reasons why leaders fail. Knowing what might cause you to fail — and responding to it — helps you succeed.

That matters because 1 in 4 leaders fail.

What do I mean by fail? It is not necessarily losing your job. In some ways, it might be worse than that: it is not meeting expectations, not living up to your promise, becoming ordinary, being (just) good enough—the kind of performance that is not bad enough to cost you your role, but probably bad enough to cost you further career advancement.

So why do leaders fail?

We often assume that if someone has the right intellect, enough experience, strong motivation, and agility, they should succeed. But even with all of that, you can still fail. And the research is clear: when senior leaders fail, it is usually because of behavior.

Not the obvious things, like being unethical. At this level, for GM roles and other senior positions, failure is more often driven by behaviors that are counterproductive. Behaviors that do not help you may stop you from being successful, and yet you do them anyway.

This is what psychologists call derailing.

And there are three challenges with derailers.

First, we derail under pressure. When the stakes are high. When we are dealing with unknowns. When we are stressed. And stress is not just emotional. It can be physical too: long hours, jet lag, hunger, fatigue. In other words, exactly the conditions many leaders work in every day.

So ask yourself: Do you know how you behave under pressure? Do you know why? Do you have a plan?

Second, you may not know when you are doing it.

This brings us back to self-awareness. Of all the aspects we observe in studying psychology, self-awareness is one of the least frequently seen. The leaders who do have it tend to be personal learners. They see themselves as a work in progress. They are interested in how they are doing. They seek feedback. They reflect. They know their strengths and weaknesses because they ask for feedback and accept it. And they can manage their emotions.

The research is clear on this too: successful leaders know themselves better.

If that does not sound like you, there is a good chance you have career derailers that are working against you. The good news is that self-awareness is a differentiator precisely because it is uncommon. Better still, it is relatively easy to develop — if you choose to.

So again: Do you really know how you behave? And do you have a plan?

Third, even when we recognize we are derailing, we may not be able to stop ourselves.

That is the trap. Ambitious leaders willingly throw themselves into challenges that create stress and pressure. Stress and pressure push them toward automatic coping strategies. Those strategies are usually not rational. They often do not help. Chances are you are not aware of them in the moment, and even if you are, you may not be able to stop. Good idea? Bad idea.

So what do derailers actually look like?

Robert and Joyce Hogan, whose work many leadership programs draw on, identified 11 distinct derailing behaviors. But at the simplest level, they fit into three patterns: flight, fight, and giving in.

Some of us respond to pressure with flight. In business, that can show up as being emotional, reserved and unavailable, passive-aggressive, skeptical, or cautious. These are withdrawal strategies. The impact is that you distance yourself — from people, from the issue, from the moment.

Others derail through fight. They lean in too hard. They dominate, refuse to back down, test limits, ignore rules, become dramatic, overbearing, or extreme. In business, these behaviors can look almost acceptable for a while. But the goal underneath them is often to overwhelm, intimidate, or manipulate others.

And then there is giving in. This is the derailer that hides behind admirable qualities. I will work harder. I will make sure every detail is complete. I will rigidly follow the process. I will not move without agreement. It sounds diligent. Dutiful. Responsible. But taken too far, it becomes conformity, overcontrol, and even a form of sabotage. As the old line goes, effective sabotage often looks like an extreme version of good behavior: obeying rules too rigidly, talking too much in meetings, forming committees to review everything.

That is why one of the best clues to your derailer is this: it is often an overused strength.

Being analytical is useful — until pressure makes you unable to decide without more data. Being collaborative is positive — until it turns into endless checking and consensus-seeking. You absolutely can have too much of a good thing.

So what can leaders do?

First, know what your derailing behaviors are.

Second, know what triggers them. Pressure does not affect everyone in the same way. Some leaders can handle enormous complexity and public scrutiny without blinking — but derail when they have to confront a poor performer. Your triggers are personal. You need to learn them.

Third, have a plan. Avoid triggers where you can. Use self-control where you must, even though humans are not especially good at sustained self-control. Better yet, develop strategies you can practice until they become more habitual. Tell others what your tendencies are — not to excuse them, but to set expectations. Vulnerability, handled well, tends to increase trust. And if you do derail? Apologize. Leaders rarely do. They should.

Derailers are especially dangerous in leaders for three reasons. They hurt your productivity. They shape negative culture, because teams mirror what leaders normalize. And finally, when leaders behave poorly, they lose the respect of the team. 

Which is why this matters so much.

There are many reasons leaders fail. But of the behavioral ones, knowing which is most likely to cause you to fail — and responding to it — will help you succeed.

So ask yourself one more time: Do you know how you derail? And do you have a plan?

Disclaimer: Opinions are our own and not those of affiliated organizations.