What’s Really Holding Leaders Back
Senior executives rarely struggle with the challenges they think they do. When something feels off in your leadership, it often shows up as missed targets, team frustrations, or stalled initiatives. But beneath the surface lies something harder to spot: an invisible force that quietly pulls you off course.
In my 20+ years of leadership experience and coaching engagements with executives, I’ve found that when a leader or a team is stuck, it’s usually because of one of 5 undercurrents that hides below the surface. The leader thinks they are battling a challenge on the surface, but the real issue is deeper and causing more problems than we can see at first.
At Delta Catalyst Lab, we call these hidden forces the 5 Undercurrents of Executive Leadership Challenges. If you don’t identify them, they drain momentum, cloud decision-making, and limit organizational growth. But when leaders learn to recognize and navigate them, they unlock clarity, confidence, and progress for themselves and their organizations.
Why Undercurrents Matter
Most leaders I talk to describe themselves as problem-solvers. When something goes wrong, the instinct is to spot the problem and fix it. I get it – I am wired this way too. But, jumping in and attacking problems before figuring out what’s really at play can put you in an endless game of whack-a-mole. Many of the patterns that keep executives stuck aren’t sitting on the surface. They come from deeper pulls, habits, beliefs, misalignments, and blind spots.
Identifying these undercurrents doesn’t just prevent leaders from fighting the surface battles again and again. It gives them a framework to lead with greater intention, scale their impact, and create healthier organizations.
So – what are these undercurrents? What’s hiding beneath most of the challenges that leaders face?
The 5 Undercurrents
- The Misalignment Undercurrent: When Partners, Peers, and Boards Pull in Different Directions
On the surface, misalignment looks like endless debates in leadership meetings, frequent pivots that confuse employees, or teams producing results that don’t add up to the same goal.
Beneath the surface is a deeper tension: goals and values that don’t match. Mismatched goals can typically be hashed out once leaders see that they or their teams are moving in different directions. But, what about when leaders want the same outcomes and there is still tension and disagreements? In that case, the rub is likely coming from differences in how they define success and what they’re each willing to sacrifice to achieve it. - The Weight Undercurrent: Why Leaders Think They Have to Do It All
Many executives believe that if they personally don’t hold everything together, the whole organization will collapse. On the surface, this looks like leaders stuck in the weeds, projects stalling without their approval, or exhausted executives playing firefighter for every issue.
The real undercurrent is a lack of trust and missed opportunities to share accountability. Teams haven’t been empowered to step up, and leaders struggle to let go. - The FOMO Undercurrent: Spread Too Thin When Everything Is on the Table
High-achievers don’t like to miss opportunities. On the surface, this undercurrent shows up as teams juggling too many projects, budgets spread thin, or leaders constantly chasing competitors’ moves.
The undercurrent is the fear that saying “no” means missing out on the big breakthrough. In reality, this constant “yes” dilutes focus, frustrates teams, and slows execution. - The Relevance Undercurrent: The Fear of Not Being Needed
As leaders rise, their organizations evolve and the work that once defined their value is now handled by other people or teams. Some leaders welcome this and move on to the next thing. But, many struggle with the transition.
On the surface, this undercurrent shows up as leaders re-inserting themselves into projects, insisting on being copied on every email, or clinging to outdated expertise.
Underneath is a fear of becoming irrelevant. Leaders wonder: If the team doesn’t need me for what I used to do, then what is my value? - The Optimism Undercurrent: When Hope Blocks Hard Truths
Optimism is often celebrated in leadership, but taken too far it can become toxic. On the surface, this looks like constantly moving deadlines, brushing off team concerns, or investing in struggling projects long after evidence says to cut losses.
The undercurrent is a leader’s inability to accept uncomfortable truths. Caring too much about people, or being overly hopeful, blinds leaders to reality and makes tough decisions impossible.
Diving Deeper Into the Undercurrents
We’re going to continue this series with a deep dive into each of these undercurrents. I’ll provide some real life examples I’ve faced and some that have appeared for my coaching clients.
What you’re not going to see are any magic solutions for stopping the undercurrents from doing what they do. There isn’t a way to do that. Undercurrents are what they are and they will continue to lurk under the surface even in the best of times.
The goal is to recognize that they exist, acknowledge what part they may be playing in your world right now, and determine how you’ll navigate them so that they don’t pull you under and so that they don’t fool you into solving the same surface problems over and over again.
A Better Way Forward
If you’ve ever felt stuck, overwhelmed, or pulled in too many directions, chances are one of these undercurrents is at play. The good news is you don’t have to fight against them alone.
When you identify what’s really happening beneath the surface, you gain the power to lead with clarity and resilience. You stop swimming against invisible currents and start navigating them with purpose.
At Delta Catalyst Lab, we partner with executives, teams, and organizations to uncover and overcome these hidden challenges. Together, we create catalysts for change: leaders who can move faster, lead more effectively, and shape the future of their organizations.
Are you ready to identify the undercurrents holding you back?
Let’s talk about how individual coaching, team coaching, or a leadership development workshop can give you the clarity and momentum you need.
