765: How to See What’s Holding You Back, with Marty Dubin

Marty Dubin: Blindspotting

Martin Dubin is a clinical psychologist, serial entrepreneur, business coach, and adviser to C-suite executives and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs. He has founded several companies, including a multimillion-dollar health-care company where he also served as CEO. He is the author of Blindspotting: How to See What’s Holding You Back as a Leader (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

Whenever I ask leaders, “What’s getting in the way of you moving forward?” the most common answer I hear is, “Myself.” In this episode, Marty and I explore what’s likely holding you back and how you can take the first steps to get traction.

Key Points

• Many leaders don’t recognize the need for change and succumb to an identity blindspot.
• You don’t have to change your identity, but there’s a mismatch between role and identity, that’s a major problem.
• Shifting your identity is not changing who you are. Identities help us to sort through people and situations so we know who we are in relation to them.
• An identity that many have worked before can get in the way today. Common ones are: imposter, independent thinker, rule follower, unworthy, entitled, rebel, and peacemaker.
• Look back through your calendar over the past three months and determine how well your activities match up with the identity your role demands.
• Embody the new identity you are aiming to shift to, even if you’re not yet feeling it.

Resources Mentioned

• Blindspotting: How to See What’s Holding You Back as a Leader by Marty Dubin (Amazon, Bookshop)*

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

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• Six Questions Every Leader Should Ask Themselves, with Margaret Andrews (episode 750)
• How to See What Others Miss, with Kirstin Ferguson (episode 758)
• Show Up Better, Faster, with Claude Silver (episode 762)

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