Last summer, while at a skydiving center in Hawaii with my wife and nephew, I met a writer from the Wall Street Journal. She was there with her husband, ready to take the plunge. When she learned that I chair an executive peer advisory board, she asked:
What do you think is the most common challenge CEOs face?
Without hesitation, I replied:
Imposter Syndrome.
Naturally, she was intrigued and asked me to explain.
No executive can be 100% certain about the major decisions they make for their organization. Often, I see leaders doubting themselves, feeling deep down that they might not be the right person to make these critical decisions. They feel this way because they are the ones who have to make the final call on the biggest decisions. They feel like they just have to take a leap. But what if they weren’t alone?
One of the biggest uncertainties that leaders face is, “Have I thought of everything?” Realistically, it’s impossible to consider every possible option or outcome. However, you can gain a lot of perspective by bouncing your thoughts, ideas, and questions off others in a similar role. The key is to avoid “groupthink” by consulting with other leaders from diverse industries and backgrounds, not just those inside your own organization or even in your own field.
In my Vistage groups, I am continually amazed by the collective wisdom and the quality of solutions and action plans we develop together. We always conclude our “issue processing” sessions by helping the member-in-focus create a plan of action and holding them accountable for taking action and bringing their lessons learned back to the group. This makes the investment worthwhile for everyone involved.
So, if you have those nagging feelings that you just don’t know enough and would like to hear experiences and ideas from other seasoned leaders, click above to Book a Call with me now. I’ll show you how you don’t have to be alone or feel like an imposter. You can become the leader you aspire to be.
