Limitations Strategy Planner

A manager on a high-growth product team consistently explains missed targets, missed promotions, and missed opportunities through external factors: budget cuts, reorganizations, a manager who didn't advocate for him. In coaching he presents these accurately — the external factors are real — but never examines whether his own response to those constraints contributed to outcomes. He wants coaching on 'navigating organizational politics.'

Frame this as a strategy expansion tool, not a self-blame exercise. 'Before we talk about how to navigate constraints, I...