"What Happened, Yamada!?"

Have you ever caught yourself thinking:

• "I should act more like a manager..."
  
• "I'm the eldest, so I should be more responsible..."
  
• "I'm not the boss. It's not really my place..."
  
  

We all play different roles--manager, teammate, parent, senior, junior. Often, without realizing it, we adjust ourselves to fit those roles. We try to be appropriate, telling ourselves what we should do based on the title or position we hold.

And sometimes, that works. These roles help anchor us.

But other times?
They limit us. They shrink what we think is possible.

The Unwritten Rules We Obey

There's a quiet inner script many professionals carry:

• "As someone in my position..."
  
• "Because I'm not in charge..."
  
• "That's not really my role..."
  

It's like we unconsciously filter our behavior through invisible rules trying to meet expectations, stay in line, or maintain harmony.

But here's the thing:
The very rules that help us succeed within the system...
can keep us from stepping beyond it.

The Executive Who Was "Doing Everything Right"

I once coached a senior executive. We'll call him Mr. Yamada.
He was highly respected, leading a large division in a global company. International experience, sharp business sense, a deep care for his people.
By all accounts, he was a strong leader.

The company president didn't assign me to "fix" him. On the contrary, they believed Yamada had untapped potential. They sensed there was more in him.

In our sessions, he was consistently thoughtful and prepared. But over time, I noticed something.

All his insights, plans, concerns--they were excellent, but they stayed neatly within the box of his current responsibilities.
He was operating safely.
Too safely.

So I asked him:

"Yamada-san, everything you're saying makes sense.
But it all fits perfectly within your current frame.
What if the real opportunity is to challenge that frame itself?"

He paused. Something shifted in his expression.

The Breakthrough

Over the next few months, Yamada started stretching.

He reached out to colleagues outside his usual orbit. He explored ideas that weren't "his responsibility." He started seeing himself less as a division head, and more as an organizational catalyst.

And it wasn't easy.
It's hard to think bigger when the system rewards staying in your lane.

But then one day, five months in, he walked into our session with a spark in his eyes:

"I realized I've been stuck in the mindset of 'someone in my position.'
But what if I just went for it? Really went for it?
I came up with a phrase:
'What happened, Yamada!?'
That's what I want people to say about me this year."

It was a turning point.

When People Around You Say, "Whoa, What Got Into You?"

That phrase--"What happened, Yamada!?"--was his personal call to action.
Not to inch forward.
But to leap.
To do something bold enough to surprise people.
To surprise himself.

"If I grow slowly," he said, "I stay in the box.
But if I aim to surprise, maybe I'll finally break through it."

And he was right.
That day, I saw more joy, more life in him than ever before.

"This is the most excited I've felt in years," he said.
It wasn't about performance.
It was about possibility.

What Would Make You Say, "What Happened to Me?"

You might already be leading. You might be doing everything "right."

But here's the question:

• What role have you stepped into so automatically, you've stopped questioning it?
  
  
• What lines have you drawn around yourself without meaning to?
  
  
• What would it take for others to say of you,
  "What happened to you?"
  With curiosity. With admiration.
  
  

What initiative would you lead?
What conversation would you start?
What version of yourself would you finally let out?

You don't need a new title.
You don't need permission.
You just need to start leading beyond the role you're in.

Because that spark--that aliveness--is where real leadership begins.

And maybe...
you're only one bold move away from it.

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Language: Japanese