Leadership Traps & Fixes #1:
The Higher You Rise, The Harder It Gets to Handle Criticism

The higher a leader climbs: Founder, CxO, VP, the more allergic they get to criticism.
Titles become armor. Feedback feels like an attack, not a gift.

So what happens?
They surround themselves with yes-men.
People who nod, smile, and keep the leader feeling untouchable.
Safe hires. Not challengers. Not truth-tellers.

Time & again I have seen this play out:
Most managers don’t hire people smarter than themselves.
They hire people who “do enough,” won’t threaten their seat, and can take the fall when things go wrong.
The leader survives another day.
Rinse. Repeat.

The cost?
– Mediocrity.
– Zero accountability.
– A slow death of trust and innovation.

What’s next in this 5-part series on Leadership Traps & Fixes:
Post 2: Leaders who fear hiring smarter people and the fix that builds real power.
Post 3: How Blame Culture Kills Trust and the Reset That Makes Teams Unstoppable.
Post 4: The Rare Leaders Who Flip the Script and What You Can Learn from Them.
Post 5: The long-term playbook for entrepreneurs setting the right circle from Day 1.