Have you ever watched someone with all the talent in the world unknowingly derail their team, their influence, or their career?
I have. And here’s the kicker: they weren’t sabotaged by their weaknesses.
They were sabotaged by their strengths.
This week on Daily Creative, I spoke with executive coach and author Marty Dubin, whose new book Blindspotting explores how the very qualities that make us successful—decisiveness, confidence, collaboration—can turn toxic when left unchecked. It’s not that we need to abandon what makes us effective. But we do need to ask:
When do my greatest strengths start doing silent damage?
Here are three key things I took away from the conversation:
“Too” is the enemy of growth
Your best traits become blind spots the moment you lean on them too heavily.
Too decisive becomes impulsive.
Too collaborative becomes conflict-avoidant.
Too organized becomes controlling.
These subtle shifts happen gradually and almost invisibly—until you’re suddenly stuck in a pattern that no longer fits your role.
Where might “too” be getting in the way of your growth?
Identity is a stealth saboteur
One of Marty’s most compelling ideas is that leadership blind spots often hide in outdated self-images. You get promoted, your role evolves—but your internal wiring doesn’t. You keep showing up like the brilliant individual contributor when what your team needs is a strategic leader. If your identity doesn’t evolve with your responsibilities, you’ll become the bottleneck you used to hate working for.
Are you still living with a “stealth” sense of self from a long-gone role?
You need someone to tell you before it’s too late
The cost of an unexamined strength is often paid by the people around you.
As leaders, we tend to seek feedback only after something breaks. But by then, the damage is already done. General George Casey once told me, “You need people in your life who will speak truth to you before you realize you need them.” That quote still echoes in my head—and probably will for the rest of my career.
Have you given permission to someone to speak hard truth to you?
👉 Listen to the full conversation with Marty here.
And as you go into your week, I’ll leave you with this challenge:
What strength of yours might be drifting into dangerous territory? And who have you empowered to tell you the truth before you need to hear it?
