✨ The idea of “altitude sickness” is perfect. When scope expands, the nervous system loses its old anchor and tries to cling to mastery for safety. That’s exactly when people slip into overperformance, anxiety, or chronic overload.
Your framing of beginner’s mind and psychological flexibility is a gift. Growth at higher levels isn’t about knowing more — it’s about tolerating not knowing without collapsing into self-critique.
💛 And the reminder that identity must stretch, not snap, feels incredibly important. So many high performers suffer only because they misinterpret transition as decline.
Thank you for putting words to a process that is deeply human and often misunderstood. 🙏
Beginner’s mind demands psychological safety, but high performers often rely on speed and control. What helps them slow down enough to actually inhabit that openness without tipping into anxiety or overload?
Thank you! I think the greatest enabler of positive behaviours is context. People in companies with fast-paced cutthroat cultures will never slow down…
Great piece, Andrea. I like how you explained that moving into a bigger role can feel confusing at first. It makes sense that we lose some confidence before we build new skills. Your point about staying curious, asking good questions and learning in public really stood out. It’s a helpful way to think about growing into new responsibilities.
I spent years as a partner in one of the largest professional services firms and watched us promote superb client-service pros into management roles, only to see some of them struggle with classic altitude sickness. Diagnose it, narrate the change. Spot-on advice!
Nice post, Andrea. I remember this shift well. You captured that strange feeling of losing mastery when your scope grows. It helps to treat every new level like starting over. Thanks for helping me remember that.
Thanks for the feedback! I’m still making peace with it sometimes - in consultancy it feels extra weird to advise someone when you’re almost at arms length from the research!
✨ The idea of “altitude sickness” is perfect. When scope expands, the nervous system loses its old anchor and tries to cling to mastery for safety. That’s exactly when people slip into overperformance, anxiety, or chronic overload.
Your framing of beginner’s mind and psychological flexibility is a gift. Growth at higher levels isn’t about knowing more — it’s about tolerating not knowing without collapsing into self-critique.
💛 And the reminder that identity must stretch, not snap, feels incredibly important. So many high performers suffer only because they misinterpret transition as decline.
Thank you for putting words to a process that is deeply human and often misunderstood. 🙏
Beginner’s mind demands psychological safety, but high performers often rely on speed and control. What helps them slow down enough to actually inhabit that openness without tipping into anxiety or overload?
Thank you! I think the greatest enabler of positive behaviours is context. People in companies with fast-paced cutthroat cultures will never slow down…
Yes, that sounds very realistic. Thanks for the honesty 👍
Great piece, Andrea. I like how you explained that moving into a bigger role can feel confusing at first. It makes sense that we lose some confidence before we build new skills. Your point about staying curious, asking good questions and learning in public really stood out. It’s a helpful way to think about growing into new responsibilities.
Thank you so much, I’m glad it resonated! 😀
I spent years as a partner in one of the largest professional services firms and watched us promote superb client-service pros into management roles, only to see some of them struggle with classic altitude sickness. Diagnose it, narrate the change. Spot-on advice!
Thank you so much for the feedback - it’s really valuable to see this validated by a leader in professional services 👏🏼
Nice post, Andrea. I remember this shift well. You captured that strange feeling of losing mastery when your scope grows. It helps to treat every new level like starting over. Thanks for helping me remember that.
Thanks for the feedback! I’m still making peace with it sometimes - in consultancy it feels extra weird to advise someone when you’re almost at arms length from the research!