I Don't Know
This past weekend I hosted a virtual retreat to mark the beginning of my next 5-month Mastermind. I am honored to lead this high-caliber group for the next 5 months. Our purpose is to explore and examine what showing up as a leader looks like when everything around us is so uncertain.
After all, much of the narrative of what leadership is has involved being confident, assertive, always having an answer (and the right answer), and making decisions quickly and boldly. But this creates so much pressure. Pressure that actually gets in the way of leadership. I have worked with countless leaders at high levels of their organizations who—in the safety and privacy of our conversations—share their worry that they are not fully equipped for the job at hand. I've come to learn that Imposter Syndrome doesn't go away at the top, it actually gets worse. What's more, in today's world, we can't possibly always have the right answer or be so brazen in our decisions—so much is changing that we simply cannot know. And that can be a very uncomfortable place for a leader. It can feel like you're being exposed for what you don't know, for the confidence you don't have. It can be tempting to assert yourself anyway and forge ahead even with all of the secret doubts.
But doing it this way misses a key part of what being a great leader requires: vulnerability. And what could be more vulnerable than uttering the phrase, "I don't know."
I'm including an audio recording from something new that I'm working on. It's 8 minutes long and I know it will shift something for you.
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