Why Smart Leaders Fail in New Roles (It's Not Their Skills)

Lead With More Podcast Episode 46 Lead with Character; Build a Culture People Choose Why do capable leaders struggle, or fail, after stepping into a bigger role? It's rarely their skills. In this episode, Tom DeBell sits down with Steve Moss, four-time Chief Marketing Officer and founder of Executive Springboard, a global network of more than 100 executive mentors in 14 countries. Steve shares what he learned from lasting only 18 months in his final CMO role, and why it took him two years of reflection to understand what went wrong. Tom and Steve unpack why imposter syndrome is really a signal to get into learning mode, why new leaders need to stop selling themselves, and how a listening tour only builds trust if you close the loop. Steve walks through five factors behind success in senior roles: coachability, emotional intelligence, cultural agility, political savvy, and change management. They also explore the other end of the career arc: what happens to your identity when the title is gone. Connect with Steve Moss: https://www.execspringboard.com/ mailto:smoss@execspringboard.com Timestamps: 00:00 Opening Preview 00:23 Who Are You When The Pressure Is On? 01:39 Imposter Syndrome in a New Leadership Role 04:01 Learning the Culture and Web of Influence 06:25 The Listening Tour: Stop Selling Yourself 07:57 4-Time CMO: Lasting Only 18 Months 10:05 The Leadership Mask and the Fog of Pressure 11:21 Why the 18-Month Mark Makes or Breaks Leaders 12:57 Why Leaders Fail: Leadership, Not Skills 14:01 5 Factors for Success in a Senior Role 19:35 Coachability: Dropping the CEO Rhetoric 22:34 Closing the Loop After a Listening Tour 24:41 Comfort Zones and Leadership Growth 27:44 Executive Springboard: Mentors for Career Transitions 31:21 Losing Power: Identity After the Title 33:25 Steve's Story: Feeling Like a Zombie at 36 36:32 Why Great Coaching Transcends Industry 40:14 Connect with Steve Moss 40:56 Closing Thought: Authenticity in Leadership ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Tom DeBell is the founder and president of Modern Leadership Solutions, a Certified Maxwell Coach/Speaker/Trainer, a Full Focus Certified Pro, and a Certified Facilitator in the Six Types of Working Genius. Learn more about Tom and Modern Leadership Solutions here: https://http://www.modernleadershipsolutions.... ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ Podcast guests are managed through PodMatch. If you’re a podcast guest or host (or both!), I would encourage you to check it out: https://www.podmatch.com/member/tomde... (affiliate link). #PodMatch ⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻MUSIC & MEDIA⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻⎻ With permission from: Music by HitsLab (   / @hitslabmusic  ) from Pixabay (https://pixabay.com/)