Don’t let the dangerously innocuous pandas maul your career

A firm warning about career blind spots from the Harvard Business Review couched in an amusing metaphor.

Having assessed over 2,000 CEOs and over 18,000 C-suite leaders since 1995, we are struck by how often careers of talented executives stall or even derail because of seemingly trivial issues, many of which are utterly fixable. We call these types of issues “pandas.” Pandas look innocent, but their powerful jaws deliver a bite stronger than a jaguars’. Pandas can be painfully costly to individuals whose careers stall for reasons unbeknownst to them and to organizations and managers unable to develop talented leaders to their full potential.

Elena Lytkina Botelho and Katie Semmer Creagh

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