For many CEOs, the greatest barrier to their next level of leadership isn’t strategy, capital, or competition.
It’s themselves.
After over a decade coaching CEOs globally, I’ve seen a consistent pattern: leadership growth quietly slows, often after age 45, or shortly after reaching the top.
Not because growth isn’t needed. In fact, the need for growth becomes more urgent the higher one leads — but because the very mindset that once fueled their rise begins to quietly work against them.
What helped them climb now becomes what holds them back. This can be reflected in a few perspectives:
1) Curiosity gives way to certainty.
Curiosity, once a powerful driver of exploration and innovation, subtly gives way to certainty. The leader becomes more invested in being right than in being challenged. They begin to operate from a hardened sense of expertise rather than a learner’s openness. Decisions are made faster, but often with less inquiry. Possibilities shrink to what is already known.
2) Vulnerability to defensiveness.
Vulnerability, once a source of authentic connection and self-awareness, is gradually replaced by defensiveness. The more visible and accountable they become, the more their identity becomes fused with their success. Admitting uncertainty or personal struggle starts to feel dangerous: not only to the board, but to their own self-concept. So they protect, posture, or emotionally withdraw.
3) Feedback-seeking turns into validation-seeking.
And feedback-seeking, which once served as a compass for self-improvement, evolves into validation-seeking. Rather than asking “Where am I missing something?” the internal question becomes “Am I still seen as strong, smart, and effective?” This unconscious shift limits the depth and honesty of feedback they’re willing to hear — and others are willing to give.
These changes are rarely dramatic or visible. They unfold slowly, almost imperceptibly, beneath the surface. But over time, they shape the leader’s capacity to grow. Not through failure — but through a quiet, dangerous success that reinforces the illusion that development is no longer necessary.
The Hidden Plateau
This internal shift doesn’t show up in earnings reports. But it’s there, in the avoidance of hard questions, the recycling of old playbooks, and the quiet erosion of self-awareness.
I’ve seen it across cultures.
A Western CEO once told me: “I’ve been in this industry for 30 years and led this company for a decade. What do I need coaching for?”
An Asian CEO echoed it: “I’m already a CEO. You think I still need coaching?”
These aren’t leaders lacking intelligence or drive. What they’re missing, often unknowingly, is an ongoing commitment to inner development.
Why Growth Stalls at the Top
Research in adult development, notably by Harvard’s Robert Kegan and Lisa Lahey, shows that adults can continue growing in complexity throughout life. But that growth isn’t automatic.
It requires what they call “subject-object transformation” – the ability to step outside one’s own identity and examine it.
The higher a CEO rises, the less friction they encounter. Environments begin rewarding consistency over reflection. Without intentional mechanisms for stretch, feedback, and pause, development slows, even if success continues.
Neuroscience supports this too. While neuroplasticity declines with age, it doesn’t disappear. What disappears is practice. Without active challenge, the brain defaults to what it already knows. Leadership habits solidify. Identity becomes fixed.
And so does leadership style.
The Cost of Stagnation
This plateau comes at a high cost – not just to the individual, but to the entire organization.
When CEOs stop evolving, it shows up as:
- Repeating outdated strategies in a changing world
- Failing to engage next-gen talent
- Avoiding uncomfortable but necessary conversations
- Defaulting to optimization over transformation
- Leading culture efforts that feel performative, not real
Over time, the organization mirrors its leader.
Boards often misread this as a strategic issue – market fit, product innovation, or talent pipeline. But the root problem is the maturity of the person at the top.
Remember this:
A company cannot evolve beyond its CEO.
Why Traditional Tools Don’t Work Anymore
Ironically, many CEOs try to address the plateau with what’s worked before: business school refreshers, executive coaching, advisory boards.
But these often focus on horizontal development: more skills, more knowledge.
What’s needed is vertical development, such as greater self-awareness, cognitive flexibility, and depth of meaning-making.
The real bottleneck is not technical. It’s developmental.
What Exceptional CEOs Do Differently
The CEOs who break through this invisible ceiling share a few core behaviors:
🔹 They treat maturity as a capability It’s not a byproduct of age; it’s a discipline. They invest in it like any other strategic skill.
🔹 They ask a different question Not “What do I need to fix?” but “Who am I still becoming?” This opens the door to deeper growth.
🔹 They do uncomfortable work They examine their unconscious patterns, emotional triggers, and internal narratives. Not just behavior, but also identity.
That’s why they work with a CEO coach who can challenge their edge, surface blind spots, expand their perspective, deepen self-awareness, and hold them accountable to their highest potential.
🔹 They train their adaptability They use feedback-rich environments, contemplative practice, and curiosity-training to keep their mind flexible.
🔹 They seek challenge, not comfort They surround themselves with people who stretch them, not just affirm them.
🔹 They reconnect with their ‘why’ They return to the mindset that first propelled them forward, before success made them overly cautious or image-driven. Back then, they led with hunger, purpose, and curiosity.
So they now reconnect with that original drive helps them lead with authenticity again, not just responsibility.
The truth is, most CEOs today lead from a sense of obligation (which they call responsibilities): “This is what needs to be done,” or “This is what we must achieve.” But without anchoring in purpose, leadership becomes fragmented- driven by goals, but disconnected from meaning.
What Boards and CEOs Must Wake Up To
This is not a call for more offsites or upskilling programs.
It’s a call for deep psychological development at the top.
Boards must recognize that sustainable transformation comes not just from market strategy, but from the internal evolution of the leader.
If the CEO’s mindset isn’t evolving, neither is the company’s.
Leadership today isn’t about knowing more.
It’s about becoming more: more adaptive, more self-aware, more courageous.
The Ceiling Isn’t Out There
The ceiling isn’t in the market. It’s internal. And the best leaders don’t just break through it for themselves.
They build cultures where growth is contagious.
–By Catherine Li-Yunxia
Top Global CEO Coach & C-Suite Coach 2023 | Keynote Speaker on Human Leadership | Author of Integral CEO