Goldman Sachs Group Inc. (NYSE:GS) Vice Chair Rob Kaplan said senior executives often fail after promotion because they lose oversight and stop receiving honest feedback.
Kaplan On Executive Blind Spots And Isolation
Kaplan said during a conversation with Meena Flynn, chair of Global Private Wealth Management, that rising executives lose a critical safeguard as they move up the ranks, as reported by Fortune on Monday.
"When you're junior, you've got senior people watching everything you do," Kaplan said.
"As you get more senior and you get promoted, pretty soon the bosses are no longer watching you. The only people watching you are your subordinates."
That shift, he warned, creates isolation and unchecked blind spots.
"Every one of us, no matter how great we are, have things that everyone can see about us, everybody knows about us except we're not aware of it. That's called a blind spot," Kaplan said.
He added that many high performers "hit a wall" later in their careers because they rely too heavily on the traits that earned them promotions.
Leaders must adapt, solicit dissent and "cultivate your subordinates as your coaches," he said, encouraging regular skip-level meetings to invite candid feedback.
Leadership Lessons From Tech Icons
Earlier, Anthony Scaramucci said Steve Jobs' decision to "shoot the iPod" and integrate it into the iPhone inspired his pivot into Bitcoin (CRYPTO: BTC), arguing companies must disrupt themselves before competitors do.
Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL) later discontinued the iPod while iPhone revenue climbed to $85.27 billion, reflecting the payoff of self-cannibalization.
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said his father taught him that the best way to motivate people was to make ideas feel like their own.
He described effective leaders as builders of self-directed teams who align incentives rather than issue constant orders, stressing that motivation is key to success.
Netscape co-founder Marc Andreessen portrayed Jobs as a demanding but transformative leader who expected "first class work."
He noted that setbacks such as the Lisa computer failure and Jobs' ouster from Apple shaped his growth.
During his years away, Jobs founded NeXT and invested in Pixar, enduring long periods of struggle that strengthened his leadership skills.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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