Leadership and Imposter Syndrome: A Personal Journey

I often encounter clients grappling with their identity as leaders. This struggle is not uncommon, even among accomplished professionals. Allow me to share a personal reflection that might resonate with many of you.

The Leadership Conundrum?

Recently, I found myself in a conversation about leadership with a brilliant friend - a lawyer and coach. Despite my personal and professional experience in leadership development, I admitted to feeling hesitant about discussing leadership publicly. This reluctance, particularly when it comes to speaking on stage about leadership, stands in clear contrast to my comfort with presenting on other topics.

?In the eyes of many, I am a leader. But it is not a label I’m comfortable using for myself.

Partly, I think this is because our instinctual response to identifying leaders gravitates towards iconic figures at the helm of organisations - the Winston Churchills, Colin Powells, or Elon Musks of the world. Depending on our interests, we might also consider thought leaders like James Clear, Margaret Heffernan, or Daniel Kahneman. However, I believe that impactful leadership often emerges from within organisations, not just from the top.

?The Internal Struggle

Thus, this internal dialogue unfolds whenever I'm asked if I consider myself a leader. While I've held senior positions in the past, I no longer sit at the top of a large organisation. My ego whispers that I'm not a 'real' leader, causing me to shy away from opportunities to discuss leadership publicly.

?Confronting Imposter Syndrome

Yet, as a friend recently reminded me, I was the founding dean of Chatham House's Academy for Leadership in International Affairs, where I designed their leadership curriculum. My leadership experiences span managing both up and down, and some of my most profound insights have come from developing my own business and working with other leaders as a coach.

This creates a cognitive dissonance - intellectually, I understand that I have been and am a leader, but emotionally, I struggle to fully embrace this identity. This gap is where imposter syndrome thrives.

If you've experienced similar feelings, know that you're not alone. Many accomplished professionals grapple with imposter syndrome, especially when it comes to leadership.

?Embracing Your Leadership Journey

I believe that leadership is not just about titles or positions. It's about action, impact, influence, and inspiring and guiding others. It’s about moving the agenda forward. I recently posted a great definition by the outgoing president of the Ford Foundation, @darron walker, ‘Leadership is an action, not a title.’.

Your leadership journey is unique and valuable, regardless of your current role or title.

So, if you, like me, are struggling with acknowledging and accepting your own leadership, I’d suggest you consider the following:

• Take a moment to recognise your leadership experiences, both formal and informal.
• Think about how others might define your leadership. What would they say about you?
• Create a list for yourself of when you’ve shown leadership and an aide memoire or an image that will remind you of those times when you’re feeling its absence.
• Explore your own broad definition of leadership – when have you seen it in others and be honest with yourself about whether you’ve sometimes shown similar characteristics.
• When might you be able to learn more about your own style of leadership.

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Remember, leadership is about making a difference, and that can happen at any level of an organisation. Don't let imposter syndrome hold you back from embracing your leadership potential and sharing your valuable insights with others.

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If you’re looking for a technique to help you with this, I’d suggest you google ‘embodiment’. There are lots of good videos on YouTube that can help or check out one of my earlier posts on the topic.

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