Marshall Goldsmith

Helping people to have a better life

Successful people can easily fall into what Marshall Goldsmith calls the superstition trap. As humans, we naturally repeat behaviours that are followed by positive reinforcement. The more success we experience, the stronger that reinforcement becomes. Over time, this can lead to a false conclusion: “I behave this way, I am successful, therefore my success must be because of this behaviour.”

As a coach, I challenge that assumption as success is rarely the result of a single behaviour. More often, it comes from doing many things well, while also succeeding despite habits or decisions that are, at times, unhelpful or even counterproductive.

“The quality of a leader is reflected in the standards they set for themselves.”
— Ray Kroc

Coaching isn’t magic

Alan Mulally, the legendary former CEO of Ford and Boeing Commercial Airplanes, is often held up as one of the most effective leaders of our time. His approach was grounded in humility, discipline, transparency, and an unwavering commitment to developing people. Marshall Goldsmith, the world-renowned executive coach, once shared a simple but profound lesson he learned from Mulally:

“If you work with great, dedicated, committed leaders who want to keep getting better, your coaching process will ALWAYS work. If you work with leaders who have no real interest in improving, your coaching process will NEVER work.”
— Marshall Goldsmith

This observation cuts through all the noise about methods, credentials, and frameworks. I think at its core, growth requires a genuine desire to change, and no amount of expertise or clever process can make someone evolve if they don’t want to.