What game are you playing?
I’m hooked on the cooking competition Tournament of Champions. There’s something about this sudden-death, bracket-style showdown. Starting with 32 talented chefs, the field quickly narrows down to the Sweet Sixteen, Elite Eight, Final Four, and then the last two. With each round, the stakes get higher, the pressure intensifies, and the dishes presented to the judges are truly spectacular.
Part of what makes TOC unique is the randomizer. A giant 700 lb collection of wheels (basically a giant slot machine), it’s spun at the beginning of each match to reveal the protein, produce, equipment, style and wildcard for the battle. A chef’s ability to create a dish that leans into what the randomizer dishes out makes a huge difference in the final outcome, accounting for 40% of each chef’s score.
I recently watched a fascinating matchup between the #1 and #8 seeds in a first round bracket. The top seed, an elite chef with a strong competition background, focused on exquisite technique but barely gave a nod to several of the randomizer’s picks. The bottom seed, a competition newcomer, was strong in his skill but leaned heavily into strategic gameplay, leveraging each randomizer component in multiple ways.
In the end, the bottom seed chef who played strategically won the match.
The top seed was left stumped - how had his incredible talent not won the day?
Turns out, he was playing a new game by the old rules, and it didn’t work.
Have you ever noticed this in your own life?
So often, we find ourselves similarly stumped when we don’t find success in new roles playing by the rules that worked for us in the past.
We lean into knowing all the answers, because that’s what’s gotten us promoted in the past.
We put in more and more hours, just like we did early in our career.
We try to understand every detail, because knowing everything used to give us a sense of control.
Instead of taking a step back and assessing what will make us successful in our role now, in the world we’re operating in now, with the experience we have now, we leverage mindsets and approaches that may have worked in the past but have long become irrelevant.
So how do we break this cycle?
If you’re feeling like you’re playing by the old rules and it’s not getting you the success you’re looking for, try this:
Start with a fresh perspective
Take a step back for a moment and look at your current role with fresh eyes. If someone who wasn’t you was stepping into the role for the first time, what would make them successful? How would your leadership define success? What activities are rewarded? What actions are penalized?Play archeologist
Next, consider what’s made you successful in past roles. What has gotten you praise? What skills and approaches have been effective for you in the past? Be as specific as possible here, the better you understand what’s worked for you in the past, the more intention you can bring to reshaping your approach.Create a new pattern
With both lists in hand, consider which past beliefs you’d like to reframe to suit your new circumstances. For example, you might reframe the past belief of “I need to have all the answers” to “I trust my team to find the answers together.” Be specific, so that whenever you see the old belief pop up you can proactively replace it with the new mindset you want to embrace for the season you’re in now.
It’s easy to keep playing the game that has worked for us in the past, even when we’re in a new arena. Intentionally identifying where this comes up and choosing our new mindsets can be the difference between a win and a loss in the game we’re playing now.
What mindset shifts will you embrace?
Send me a message and let me know. I’d love to hear from you.
April 2, 2026
About the author:
Christina Von Stroh is a leadership coach who helps her clients become wildly successful by applying iterative software development practices to achieve their dreams. Want to work with Christina to help you iterate towards the person you’re becoming?
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