So, as promised, here are my personal observations of the other 9 reasons why leaders fail, stumble, and struggle. The one I’ve already discussed is that they don’t know how to instill loyalty. Here are the other 9 contributing factors I’ve observed in my career:

1. They believe what their direct reports are telling them.(You often have to take it with a grain of salt).
2. They believe they are the reason for the organization’s success, but that it’s someone else’s fault when it fails. (It’s either you or not you, wins AND losses).
3. They have poor intelligence.(It’s scary how much the marketplace knows).
4. They ignore human nature. (NOTHING beats human nature).
5. They can’t distinguish when things happen because of the persuasiveness of the argument vs the authority of the position.
6. They don’t have a powerful rabbi. (Someone who has your back no matter what).
7. They don’t have a plan B. (An answer to the question “If not this, then what?”)
8. Their comp and title get out of sync with their contribution and necessity. (Look around you….are you the tall weed?)
9. They don’t realize who their enemies are. (Most people I’ve met think they can do the job their managers are doing…the Frank Underwood-House of Cards situation.)

When I think back of all the people put in senior positions who were unbelievably smart, but still ended badly, it was almost always some combination of the above that were contributing factors. Don’t let it happen to you.