A formidable impediment to achieving your best as a CEO or leader can be fear. A lack of confidence in one’s own abilities can cause leaders to play small. The limiting belief that one does not have the resources to handle a crisis or unanticipated results of one’s choices leaves leaders standing at the back of the stage rather than stepping into the limelight.
For example, you may believe that you are not an articulate communicator and, therefore, will not be able to influence the Board to make a strategic acquisition or that the CFO’s performance issues are as a result of you expecting too much of him.
I have worked with many leaders who have doubted themselves and their capabilities—in spite of considerable evidence pointing to the contrary. When I tell CEOs this, they are often surprised.
I recall a conversation with a brilliant and talented president of a mid-sized company.
After several quarters of rapid growth, economic pressures and personnel issues altered the successful trajectory. The president had to make a number of difficult financial and people decisions. He was critically questioning his abilities, asking what he could have done to prevent the situation, worried that his clients were losing faith in his firm, and so on.
When I asked him if he had heard of the imposter syndrome (coined by psychologists in the 1970s), he said he had not. He then asked if it was anything like his secret fear, “the Board Chair and one of the board members are going to enter my office and advise that they made a mistake when they hired me and have identified my successor?” Of course, that is an example of imposter syndrome. He was not unique in harbouring that fear.
When you attribute your successes—including your ease when interacting with others, your keen financial acumen, your unerring ability to stay ahead of the competition—to external factors unrelated to your decisions, actions, and capabilities, you are holding limiting beliefs.
These may have been formulated in messages you heard as a child or hear now from colleagues or a spouse. Whatever the source, you will benefit from recognizing and beating down these messages, replacing them with more positive and compassionate messages in your head.
To learn more about disarming fear and to learn how recognized leaders Giuliani and Merkel elevated their credibility when responding to crises, pick up a copy of my book, The 360 Degree CEO: Generating Profits While Leading and Living with Passion and Principles. Elevate your leadership performance by learning from some of the best.
My clients accelerate their results – increasing profitability, leadership performance, innovation, and accountability. I would love to discuss how I might help you thrive and contribute to your overall success. Contact me today.
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© 2018 Lorraine A. Moore. All rights reserved. Permission granted to excerpt or reprint with attribution.