I Should Not Be A CEO

Maybe I should be, or at least there is a small group of people that believe in me. Every day I get up, go to work, and feel like an "impostor" acting in a continuous role that is my life. After reading Amy Cuddy's book, Presence, I have a much better understanding of the phenomenon known as Impostorism. The formal definition of Impostorism:

"The impostor phenomenon refers to people who are objectively competent but feel the opposite and therefore fear being unmasked. In light of the strength and pervasiveness of the self-esteem motive, the impostor phenomenon presents an enigma because so-called impostors appear to lack this fundamental tendency for self-enhancement. According to previous work, impostors experience discomfort when they succeed, attribute their successes to factors other than their ability, and deny they are as competent as their behavior seems to indicate (Clance, 1985; Clance & Imes, 1978; Harvey & Katz, 1985)"

It has been identified that just as many men suffer from this as women. A recent Business Insider article highlighted this trend just recently. So despite feeling this way much of the time, here are some tips I use to overcome the fears and obstacles:

1. Early Win. I try to get a quick win under my belt early in the day. Try and gain confidence at the start of the day with something that feels like you made progress.
2. Communicate Often. I am terrible at this (at least I feel I am). I try to get my message out there when I can to the organization. This is something that takes constant work for me.
3. Outwork. I don't think I am too smart, but I know how to work. I will outwork anyone, hands down. Hopefully I am a guy that is seen as being in the trenches, when the chips are down, a guy you want at your side working and helping.

For some reason I have always felt this way. In fact the insecurity I have felt has never been easy, but it was refreshing to hear that other people suffer from this same insecurity. I may even catch some blow back from the bushiness community and my industry for evening admitting to this, but I do think it may be an important issue.

I continuously believe that success is where luck meets preparation. But I tend to put a little more faith in the luck part I suppose, and maybe I shouldn't, but it's hard to reverse the thinking. If you feel this way, talk with someone about it, get some advice, and work really hard to build confidence.