279: How to Tell If You've Become Too Expensive to Advocate For

The Way of The Wolf by Wolf Executives · Apr 28, 2026 · 14m

Sean Barnes opens up about a tough lesson from his own leadership career. He had a high performing team member who could deliver on anything but couldn't escape his own negativity. Over time, Sean realized he had quietly stopped pulling this person into key meetings, not because of skill, but because the negative energy was becoming a liability. In this episode, Sean unpacks why advocacy goes silent for talented leaders, the three reasons it happens, and the diagnostic questions every director, VP, and senior leader should be asking themselves right now. He also gets honest about his own…