Do you know the phenomenon: You want to achieve something at all costs and you don’t succeed? It’s like a bewitching spell and you can’t explain why it doesn’t work. Then it could be that your conscious and subconscious mind are not working together optimally.
Some time ago I worked with a successful manager. He worked for an industrial group for years, for a long time also in responsible positions abroad. He enjoyed great trust from the management and the owner family. In his first years, he was the right hand of the CEO, for whom he carried out demanding projects. His career in the company was promising. He was offered various development opportunities. Nevertheless, he decided to leave the company.
Will and discipline are not enough
After all those years in top positions, his goal was to run his own company and bear all the responsibility. He applied for advertised managing director positions. But above all, he made contacts to position himself as a succession solution in the generational change of small and medium-sized companies. He came several times close to signing a contract. But in the end, nothing worked out. It was a mystery to him why all options vanished into thin air at the last few metres.
He came to me for a personal and professional assessment. We analysed his career so far. I was impressed by his professional successes. He had great entrepreneurial talent, which he had demonstrated in various functions.
Pay attention to your beliefs
In my opinion, he had many of the qualities of an entrepreneur. After several years as the CEO’s right-hand man, he had experience in strategy development, business development and building businesses in South America. He had several years of leadership experience, at times across countries. He had top educational qualifications. He also brought entrepreneurial qualities such as strategic thinking, resilience, courage, empathy and a good feel for different cultures. He had an impeccable appearance and what you could call charisma. I could not explain why, even after more than a year of intensive searching, it did not work out with a management position.
Until my client said in a meeting from the gut: “You know Mr Näf, I am the born number 2!” With that it was clear why it hadn’t worked out. No matter how much he had tried by mind and willpower for a position as number 1 – as long as his subconscious was convinced that he was a number 2, it was not possible.
If you once again do not succeed despite great effort, check whether an obstructive dogma is torpedoing your efforts.