In a recent LinkedIn post, Eric Partaker shares a powerful personal narrative about overcoming self-doubt and the transformative impact of seeking external guidance to achieve significant professional milestones. Partaker recounts an early career moment where he confided in his coach about feeling inadequate to lead the company he was running. Instead of offering reassurance, his coach challenged him with an ambitious goal: to win CEO of the Year.
This seemingly audacious directive, as Partaker details, spurred him into a period of intense self-improvement and strategic learning. He describes building a personalized ‘bootcamp’ that involved interviewing high-performing CEOs to understand the drivers of their success, immersing himself in over 50 leadership books, and importantly, establishing a consistent practice of soliciting feedback from his own team.
“I started asking my own team for feedback on a regular basis, because if you want to get better at leading, the people you lead already know what you need to improve.”
Partaker emphasizes that the true value of this intense period was not the eventual award, but the personal evolution it necessitated. He posits that the people closest to us, particularly those we lead, often possess the clearest insights into our areas for development.
The Power of External Accountability and Mentorship
The article further illustrates this principle through Partaker’s experience with building a business advisory board. He intentionally included high-caliber individuals, such as the VP of Marketing at McDonald’s and a former MD of Krispy Kreme. This strategic move provided a crucial mechanism for candid feedback.
He highlights a specific instance where the former MD of Krispy Kreme directly addressed his shortcomings in running board meetings, a critique that might have been softened or omitted by internal team members. Partaker uses this anecdote to underscore the unique benefit of having external advisors who are willing and able to offer unvarnished truths.
“When I was running board meetings badly, the Krispy Kreme MD pulled me aside and told me exactly how badly. Nobody else in the room had.”
This emphasis on external influence extends to a broader social science perspective. Partaker references research by Nicholas Christakis and James Fowler, citing a study that indicates happiness can be contagious, with effects extending through social networks.
Your Circle Dictates Your Potential
Drawing a parallel to leadership development, Partaker argues that one’s immediate environment and the people within it significantly shape potential. This concept is encapsulated in his assertion:
“Your circle sets your ceiling.”
He elaborates on this by stating that much of his own success has stemmed from identifying and adopting existing ideas from others. His role, as he sees it, is to get close enough to these concepts and individuals to effectively ‘borrow’ and adapt them.
The post concludes with a reflection on the individuals who have seen greater potential in others than they saw in themselves, prompting readers to acknowledge their own mentors. Partaker also subtly promotes his new book, “Ultraproductive,” co-authored with Dr. Christian Poensgen, positioning it as a resource for individuals aiming for high achievement without burnout.
📝 About This Content
This article is based on insights shared by Eric Partaker on LinkedIn.
📅 Originally posted on September 10, 2026 | View original post on LinkedIn →