In 25 years of leadership development in academic settings and with academics, I’ve seen five key sets of beliefs/assumptions that, when identified and unlearned, increase leadership effectiveness and self-efficacy. However, because these belief patterns operate like computer software, usually unrecognized and activated only when the situations, people, or tasks faced trigger them, leaders are unlikely on their own to take the steps necessary to stop their habitual responses and learn new ones. This article will first help you expose these belief patterns and then suggest cognitive strategies to unlearn them.