Are you also dealing with direct reports who are asking for promotions but aren’t showing that they are capable of assuming new responsibilities? That’s the situation that several of my clients find themselves in.

These senior leaders express frustrations that their direct reports seem content to stick with the same mindset and behaviors that they’ve been applying for years. It seems as if the direct reports missed the message that “what got them here won’t get them there,” the classic phrase coined by author and executive coach Marshall Goldsmith (and the title of his 2007 book).

As time goes by, the bosses’ concerns start to escalate: If performance problems exist today, tomorrow will need a reset on promotion expectations and the future may require revised succession plans.

The three most common career-limiting performance problems the senior leaders notice in their direct reports are:

1. Showing a fixed mindset

2. Hoarding information

3. Playing it safe

And there’s more! Leaders tell me they’re also observing low emotional intelligence. This shows up as low empathy, lack of self-regulation and unsophisticated communication skills.

These career-limiting behaviors fall into two big buckets:

• Mindset Traps: Fixed mindset, risk aversion, resistance to challenges, low emotional intelligence
• Behavioral Blind Spots: Hoarding information, poor communication, limited networking skills and relationships, low business acumen

For more about these behaviors and suggestions on how to get people to see them and adjust their behavior, check out my article for the Forbes Coaches Council, How to deal with direct reports who want promotions without ‘The Work’, published online on September 23, 2025.