I just had a conversation with one of the smartest, most successful people I know who held executive leadership roles for complex organizations. To me and most others, he came across as articulate, commanding, and astute — someone who you would admire as a model leader.
Yet, in a moment of retrospective candor, he revealed that he had private misgivings about his abilities in that role. If he wasn’t confident about his skills, how could we mortals be expected to be self-assured?
I think that many times we mistake discomfort for a lack of ability. We don’t have to be great at everything we do. Having private doubts could signal that we are taking risks, pushing ourselves, or doing something that we haven’t yet mastered.
Instead of defaulting to the “imposter syndrome” or putting yourself down for a presumed lack of capability, reframe your thinking to believe that your lack of confidence is just a natural discomfort that comes with learning something new. Don’t let jitters morph into self-doubt.
