Why Your Leadership Presence Might Be Outdated (The Blackberry Effect)

You have grown and your responsibilities have changed. Your strategic thinking is sharper than it was three years ago, your confidence has caught up with your capability, and the rooms you walk into now expect a different version of you than the one who was earning her seat then.

Your wardrobe and the energy you carry have not necessarily kept pace.

That gap is what I call the Blackberry Effect. The Blackberry phone failed because the company couldn't let go of an identity the market had outgrown. The same pattern shows up across the leadership careers of the women I have coached.

The friction shows up before you can name it. Something doesn't feel right before a big meeting. You look in the mirror and don't quite see the leader you know you are. You find yourself working harder to establish authority in rooms where your track record should already be doing some of that work for you.

This isn't confidence or capability, it's an identity issue. The full article on Substack works through what the Blackberry Effect actually costs, why it affects the highest performers most, and the question that replaces "will I fit in wearing this?" once you're operating at a level where fit isn't the goal anymore.

Read the full article on Substack: https://sonyachoilarosa.substack.com/p/blackberry-effect-leadership-presence-outdated