Too many leaders plan for best-case scenarios and then act surprised when reality underdelivers. That’s fantasy, not leadership.
An effective leader’s plan includes more than ambition and timelines. It demands critical, uncomfortable questions.
- What could go wrong?
- What harm—intentional or not—could we cause?
- What systemic biases could we reinforce?
These questions mark responsible foresight. Leaders who consistently ignore them fall prey to overconfidence and Leadership Drift. They do not know their blind spots, or worse, they do not care.
Good decisions do not get hoped into existence. They must do more good than harm, elevate others, and challenge inequity. That does not happen by accident.
Asking what could go wrong does not signal doubt. It signals maturity. It demonstrates respect for complexity, acknowledges your own fallibility, and shows a commitment to ethical clarity. Leaders who skip this step risk failure and violate the trust of their team, their stakeholders, and the systems they influence.
You are not leading if you do not account for potential harm. You are not strategic if you ignore risk. And you are not effective if you overlook the moral implications of your actions.
The discipline to assess pitfalls is a fundamental leadership responsibility. Leaders who lack this clarity make sloppy, self-serving decisions and then brazenly call them bold. The rest of us pay for their oversight.
Leadership Standard Check
The next time you plan a project, policy, or major decision, pause and ask:
- “What could go wrong here?”
- “Who could we harm—directly or indirectly?”
- “Are we unintentionally reinforcing outdated or biased systems?”
If you do not have honest, specific answers to those questions, you are not ready to lead that initiative. Step back, re-evaluate, and try again, with integrity.
Are you ready to strengthen your clarity, reduce blind spots, and make more responsible decisions? Schedule a Leadership Guidance Review™. You will get a data-informed snapshot of where your leadership stands today, and the practical guidance to course-correct quickly and effectively.
