Like all myths, the story of Achilles shines a light on a deep aspect of human nature -- in this case, the fact that no matter how strong we are, no matter how well prepared we are, we all have some weakness that can be our undoing. Even more to the point, Achilles' fatal flaw was not his head, or his heart or some other vital organ -- it was his heel, the last place you would think to look. We have worked extensively as executive coaches, brought in by companies to work with high performance, high potential senior managers and executives who, like Achilles, have some characteristics that are preventing them from reaching their full potential -- or even threatening them with career failure.

To have a successful career you have to find the right path for yourself, and navigate that path skillfully -- but equally as importantly, you will go a lot farther and a lot faster if you are not tripping over yourself along the way. What follows are several varieties of "Achilles' heel" we have encountered over the years. This is certainly not an exhaustive list; to catalogue all the ways we have seen people's careers go off the tracks would take a very, very long time. We do think, though, that the following comprises perhaps 90% of the types of major problems we people see encounter.

It is a cliché that people's greatest strengths can be their greatest weaknesses (or can become their greatest weaknesses under certain circumstances). The person who has a single-minded determination to achieve a goal at any cost; the person who is cooperative, a selfless team player; the person who will do anything for a customer; the person who won't stop polishing and refining a product or process until it is perfect -- all fine qualities that can paradoxically lead to the individual's not being as effective as he or she might otherwise be. In fact, sometimes the very same qualities that helped you early in your career can be your downfall later on, at higher levels in an organization. They usually become problems when they are (a) extreme and (b) blind spots -- when the person is unaware of the characteristic and how people are affected by it.

To return to our hypothetical CareerLeader™ user, Jan Wright, when Jan looks at herself in terms of the following types of "fatal flaws," then, in addition to looking at the CareerLeader™ markers, she should think about whether either she or other people see her as being too much in that direction. Does she get (but disregard or downplay) feedback from the world around her that "it would be better if you were a little less..." or "if you had a little more flexibility in your style in terms of...?" The key here is to look carefully at oneself, using all of the sources of information open to you, and don't gloss over these issues too quickly -- just as spending a moment checking the oil and coolant in your car before you head out on a cross-country trip can pay off by preventing your breaking down in the middle of Death Valley, so can spending a few minutes "checking your 'heels'" pay off handsomely as you drive your career.

As Jan reflects on her scores from the three inventories she has already taken, some feedback she has received from mentors in her career, and looks over the eight types of career Achilles' Heels, she decides that she is a surprisingly good match with Mr. Spock. (Note: only details for "Mr. Spock" are available on our guided tour. All 8 profiles will of course be available to purchases of CareerLeader™.)