No Organization Is Immune From These Pervasive Limiting Beliefs

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It never fails.

In every organization I work with, common limiting beliefs rise up. Sure, larger organizations might have beliefs around legacy and smaller companies might have ones related to resources, but every single organization has limiting beliefs.

Heck, even the conquer-the-world leaders, entrepreneurs, and founders I recently presented to at a Tony Robbins conference have limiting beliefs.

We ALL have them. What’s important is that you’re aware of them so you can take pragmatic actions to start shifting them –– whether it’s personally, within your team, or at the organizational level.?

Why you need to be mindful of your limiting beliefs

I don’t have to remind you that limiting beliefs hold you back.?

But what you might not know is why it’s so important to be conscious of them: If you’re aware of your limiting beliefs, you can more clearly see the truth and what’s really happening. That’s when all the fear goes away and the possibilities become limitless.?

To get there, though, you have to identify your beliefs and decide that you are no longer going to ascribe to these beliefs or behave that way.?

And you replace that old belief with a new, inspiring belief that’s the exact opposite. Let’s say the limiting belief is that you don’t have permission to fail. Instead, you might say, “We learn when things don’t go the way we expected. .”

The key is that your entire team has to agree that the belief is holding you back and that you’re going to act differently. That’s how you move forward. If you give those old beliefs any breathing room, even just the tiniest bit of nurturing, they’ll continue to fester.?

No one wants that, right? So what limiting beliefs should you be on the lookout for?

The most common limiting beliefs

I often ask leaders, “What beliefs are holding you and your organization back?”

I’ve done this exercise hundreds of times, and the same answers come up over and over again. So I’ve distilled the limiting beliefs into just a handful of categories. If you recognize yourself here, take comfort in knowing you’re not alone!

“I’m afraid that…”

The limiting belief that comes up in every single session I’ve done is fear. And there are so many different things people are afraid of –– setting the wrong priorities, being judged, letting others down, being misunderstood, failure, rejection, loss of reputation.?

The thing about fear (besides how pervasive it is!) is that you have to get to the root of it.

Take fear of failure , for example. Are you really afraid the company will fail –– or that you’re going to fail despite your best efforts and face the consequences? If you want to change your belief, you have to understand the underlying fear and the behaviors driving it. Then you can identify the actions that will shift that belief.?

2. “That’s the way things are done.”

One limiting belief that comes up for larger, more complex organizations is the idea of being stuck: “We’ve always done it this way. It’s worked in the past.” Previous attempts to do things differently didn’t work so let’s just stick with what’s tried and true.?

They also believe that mediocrity is acceptable. As long as you keep your nose down, you’ll get promoted. If you don’t make waves or any major mistakes, you’ll move up the ranks progressively. Don’t be too good, don’t be too bad, just do the job!

These organizations have lots of restrictions, red tape, excessive levels of permission, huge amounts of bureaucracy and hierarchy, and legacy behaviors. The problem is always someone else’s –– it’s not in their paygrade to address .?

They’re doing fine. They don’t have to change. (How’s that working out for you? ??)

3. “My team isn’t capable.”

People can’t change, right? They don’t want to change!

Well, that’s what some leaders think. Actually, they don’t give people enough credit or the opportunity to change. They don’t give them the motivation, encouragement, and safety to change –– and fail.?

Leaders say, “I can’t tell my team what’s really going on.” They falsely believe people can’t handle the truth and that they’re not capable of rising to the challenge. But really they just haven’t been tested this way before, and giving them the benefit of the doubt can inspire them.?

4. “We just don’t have enough…”

Leaders constantly tell me that resources are a challenge. They don’t have enough time, people, money, or suppliers to be innovative. They have to focus on short-term profits, not long-term gains.

They’re stretched too thin. They have change fatigue. They’re too small to compete against the big companies.?

Guess what? You always have enough resources to do the job you want to do. You can always find the resources to do something important to you. The question is, what do you want to do – and what will you not do??

5. “I have to control everything!”

Do you have to be the one who makes all the decisions? You probably have a limiting belief around control . You don’t trust people, and you certainly don’t delegate. If you don’t do everything, nothing works out. And if you’re going to be held accountable, you need to maintain control.

Unfortunately, that need to have control removes accountability from the organization. No one’s taking responsibility –– for anything. And if step up and try, they are told to sit back down and let the boss take care of things.?

But if no one’s taking ownership , big, disruptive changes just won’t happen.

6. “I don’t have what it takes.”

I hear from so many leaders that they’re destined to fail. They don’t feel like an expert. And they’re definitely too old (or too young!) to do this.?

They lack confidence in themselves.

But your best days aren’t behind you! You have something to offer. And you don’t have to be infallible to be a good leader. In fact, good leaders are vulnerable !

Unfortunately, we’re defined by our beliefs. But if you’re clear about your limiting beliefs –– and those of your organization and your team –– you can start systematically and intentionally shifting them. Yes, it takes time, commitment, and accountability. But it can be done –– and the change can happen quicker than you think.

Speaking of change, I’ve had to shuffle a few things, so next week’s topic will be a bit of a surprise! ?? I hope you’ll join me on Tuesday, October 25 at 9 a.m. PT for another conversation about leading disruptive change. See you then!

Your Turn

It’s time to get vulnerable! I’d love to hear one of your limiting beliefs. What do you tell yourself? And, if you’re comfortable sharing, what limiting beliefs does your organization have? How have you started to overcome them??

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