Why Leaders Get Stuck

When you feel blocked by circumstances—budgets, deadlines, talent—remember that circumstances, over time, are shaped by your choices and actions.

When your results are not what you want, something important is being neglected—usually because your leadership strengths focus your attention on something else.

A focus on driving results, for example, may neglect fully enlisting your team. 

To see how your leadership strengths can sometimes undermine results, check out the free Leadership Strengths Self Assessment.

Breakthrough Leadership Sees The Full Range of Options

The feeling of being blocked or stuck comes from having a commitment to something important (often a hidden commitment) that makes your goal feel impossible.

To see your full range of options, you need to find and understand that competing commitment.

The Breakthrough Leadership mini-course will coach you through finding competing commitments and unlocking hidden solutions one step at a time.

The Power of Both/And Thinking

The secret to finding hidden solutions is learning to frame your goals and conflicting commitments as two sides of a paradox—a situation where two seeming opposites are mutually dependent.

You may have a goal that requires bold action, but have a conflicting commitment to avoid risks. Courage (bold action) and Caution (risk avoidance) seem like opposites, but both are necessary. They're like the two pillars of a suspension bridge. The best solutions are both courageous and cautious.

Paradox-aware leadership is also called "Both/And" thinking or "Integrative" thinking. It's what lets you look for and find hidden possibilities.

Turn Frustration Into Momentum

The Leadership Progress Cycle is a simple, repeatable process for using paradox-awareness to find breakthrough solutions. It has 4 steps:

1. Clarify Goals
2. Identify Crux Barrier
3. Experiment
4. Measure Results

The Breakthrough Leadership mini-course provides instruction, expert coaching, and application activities to help you and your team find your own breakthrough solutions.

About the Founder

Jared Oates is the creator of the Leadership Progress Cycle, a practical framework that helps leaders work with paradox to create lasting impact.

A self-taught engineer with a background in English Rhetoric, he’s spent over a decade designing learning experiences that go beyond surface-level training. As co-founder of Niche Academy, Jared has helped thousands of leaders in public and nonprofit sectors navigate real-world challenges.

Known for blending practical tools, ancient wisdom, and personal insight, he helps leaders see tension not as a threat—but as the energy source for innovation, trust, and growth.