July 1, 2025
ArticlesFast Company Guest Article: When Strength Becomes a Liability
In this article for Fast Company, I explore a leadership dilemma that often goes unnoticed: how a strength—like confidence or decisiveness—can shift into something destructive without us realizing it.
It’s not your weakness that holds you back—it’s the strength you’ve stopped questioning.
I share the story of Maria, a startup CEO whose quick thinking and clarity were assets—until they became sources of tension, arrogance, and team attrition. What began as decisiveness tipped into dismissiveness. And like many high performers, she couldn’t see it happening in real time.
The article offers a framework for identifying the emotional and behavioral “tells” that your superstrength is tipping too far—and how small, deliberate changes can keep you in balance without losing what makes you effective.
