When things are rolling along reasonably well, it’s easy to slip into a state of comfort with how you’re leading. Over time, you may start to notice that your approach isn’t working as it once did, and things are, in fact, slowing.
Leadership development is rarely a straight line pointing up. The chances are you will hit a plateau stage, no matter how much effort or dedication you put in.
Research into leadership growth consistently highlights these plateaus as critical moments. They prompt a shift from instinct-driven management towards more deliberate, skillful leadership; one that relies on emotional intelligence, strategic questioning, and purposeful engagement.
Those who navigate this stage successfully often find their influence and leadership impact deepens, and is more sustainable.
So, what steps can you take to move beyond the flattening and unlock your next level of effectiveness?
Here are some simple strategies that can make a profound difference in the way you lead.
Ask Better Questions, And Give Space for Answers
Teams can seem quiet for many reasons. Instead of assuming your team is disengaged, try changing your questions. Move from “Are we good with this?” to something more open, such as, “If you could make any change here, what would it be?” Then, resist the urge to fill the silence.
That pause is where insight begins.
Reconnect With Purpose, Don’t Just Push Motivation
When energy stagnates, it’s tempting to crank up pep talks and incentives. But motivation isn’t the real issue. More often, people are looking to reconnect with the purpose behind their work. They are after a clear sense of what their efforts create, beyond the day-to-day tasks. Reinforce outcomes, not just hours or effort.
Grow Leadership Capacity, Without Creating a Bottleneck
It’s something we’ve said before, and for good reason: if you’re making most of the decisions, AND doing the follow-up yourself, your team isn’t growing. They’re simply revolving around you. And that situation creates a bottleneck.
What’s less often said is this…
Developing others doesn’t mean handing over tasks, it means handing over thinking. Giving people the opportunity to lead on meaningful work, wrestle with complexity, and contribute to outcomes builds something more meaningful than efficiency. It builds capacity. And over time, that’s what transforms teams…and frees leaders.
Understanding the Plateau. Why It’s About Tools, Not Talent
At
Rapport Leadership, we often see a pattern with experienced leaders: the early wins came from drive, smarts, and sheer responsiveness. As time passes, returns diminish. It’s not an indication of leadership failure or lack of ability, but rather a misalignment between where they are and what the role now demands.
The leaders who recognise this early, and develop the right tools to move through it, are the ones who become more influential, more strategic, and far better equipped to lead through whatever comes their way.
Feeling like you’ve hit a leadership plateau?
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Skill Development Doesn’t Stop With The Team
Once you have a team, leadership learning often takes a backseat. Yet this stage often requires the most growth and finessing.
Practical and focused leadership training is a vital key, fine-tuning and expanding on what already works so it runs with less friction and greater effect.
If you find this relatable with where you are right now, maybe it’s time to consider what’s next for your leadership.
We work with leaders across all stages of growth who want more than just quick fixes. If something in this article resonated and you’d like to explore where to focus next, we’re always up for a good conversation.
Get in touch here. We’d love to hear where you’re at.
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Join our next 2-hour training session:
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