What Got You Here Won't Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith Summary

What Got You Here Won’t Get You There by Marshall Goldsmith explores how successful professionals often hinder their growth by clinging to behaviors that fueled past achievements. The book identifies 21 habits—like over-competitiveness, excessive criticism, and not listening—that hold leaders back, offering actionable strategies to replace these with collaborative, ego-free behaviors for long-term success.

This book is ideal for executives, managers, and high achievers who’ve hit plateaus despite past success. It’s particularly valuable for leaders seeking to improve interpersonal skills, eliminate self-sabotaging habits, and foster team-centric environments. Goldsmith’s focus on behavioral change over technical skills makes it relevant across industries.

Yes, the book provides practical, behavior-focused advice backed by decades of coaching Fortune 500 leaders. Its clear structure, real-world examples, and self-assessment tools make it a actionable guide for anyone aiming to evolve beyond their current success.

Goldsmith’s 21 detrimental habits include:

• Winning excessively in trivial situations
• Adding unsolicited opinions (“over-valuing”)
• Negating others with “no,” “but,” or “however”
• Withholding recognition
• Making excuses

These behaviors erode trust and stifle collaboration, requiring conscious effort to unlearn.

Notable quotes include:

• “What got you here won’t get you there” (core thesis)
• “Successful people become great leaders when they shift focus from themselves to others”
• “How well you own up to mistakes makes a bigger impression than reveling in successes”

These emphasize humility, accountability, and team-centric growth.

Unlike theoretical leadership guides, Goldsmith’s work focuses on specific, measurable behavior changes. It complements books like Atomic Habits by addressing interpersonal dynamics rather than individual routines, and contrasts with Leaders Eat Last by prioritizing habit elimination over cultural building.

Some critics argue the 21 habits oversimplify complex leadership challenges, and the focus on behavior change may neglect systemic organizational issues. However, most praise its actionable approach, with The Globe and Mail calling it “practical with a rich understanding of human behavior.”

The book teaches how to shed habits like clinging to past successes (“winning too much”) and resisting feedback—key barriers when moving into roles requiring collaboration over individual achievement. Its apology framework helps rebuild trust during organizational changes.

Key frameworks include:

• Feedforward: Seeking future-focused input instead of dwelling on past feedback
• The Apology Cycle: Admitting faults, committing to change, and following up
• Stakeholder-Centered Coaching: Involving colleagues in behavior-change goals

As workplaces prioritize emotional intelligence and adaptive leadership, Goldsmith’s lessons on ego management and continuous behavior improvement remain critical. The rise of AI and hybrid teams amplifies the need for human-centric skills the book champions.

1. Success often breeds complacency about problematic behaviors.
2. Small habit changes (e.g., listening more, criticizing less) disproportionately impact leadership effectiveness.
3. Sustained growth requires treating behavioral change as a process, not a one-time fix.

Goldsmith’s PhD in management and experience coaching 200+ CEOs inform the book’s blend of academic rigor and real-world applicability. His focus on measurable outcomes reflects his mathematical economics background, while case studies showcase decades of C-suite insights.

Goldsmith compares detrimental habits to “winning a battle but losing the war,” illustrating how short-term victories undermine long-term success. The title itself is a metaphor for the need to evolve strategies as career stages change.