If you are stepping into a new role with broader scope, higher visibility, or C-suite level accountability, the pressure to perform often shows up as more effort, more involvement, and faster execution.

This episode of Grounded and Aligned™, looks at why that approach breaks down at senior levels. Karen examines how success in expanded roles depends less on activity and more on how leaders see themselves, how they make decisions, and how that internal reference point shapes authority, boundaries, and impact.

Karen looks at

1. Why strategies and behaviors alone are insufficient when role scope increases
2. How self-concept directly influences decision speed, priorities, and boundaries
3. The cost of remaining positioned as the reliable problem solver in senior roles
4. How authority is undermined when effort replaces judgment
5. Why teams and stakeholders respond to hesitation, over-involvement, and avoidance as signals of role definition

“Performance and impact, efficacy, it's not about what you output. It's about how you make decisions, how quickly you make decisions, how you frame those decisions and how you implement those decisions.” - Karen Gombault

As scope expands, leadership effectiveness accumulates through judgment, role design, and disciplined decision-making. Without an explicit shift in how leaders see their role and responsibility, effort increases while authority weakens, creating unsustainable patterns that limit impact over time.

Next steps

Download the associated guide, The Identity Lag: https://www.karengombault.com/identity

🧭 Book an Executive Pulse Call

https://calendly.com/kareng-coaching/executive-pulse

🤝 Connect on LinkedIn

Follow Karen’s writing on senior leadership roles, authority, and sustainable scope.

https://www.linkedin.com/in/karengombault/