A wonderful point made in the article is that most executives are afraid that hearing a voice in the back of their mind saying “You’re a fraud” means it’s true, they are frauds! But who”s going to admit that they hear any voice, much less one saying that!?!
The point is that although most people hear that voice with that or a similar comment, nobody talks about it. Everybody has self doubts. The delivery kid wonders if he/she’s getting around the office fast enough. The CEO wonders how she/he got that position when most of their past successes were really attributable to luck. Just knowing that others have similar thoughts makes those thoughts less scary. And being able to admit that they have those thoughts allows them to be more honest, more transparent and thus – – more real. And the more real you are, the easier leadership flows, with “auto-pilot” ease!
Here’s a great article from behind the WSJ paywall: “Silencing The Voice That Says You’re a Fraud” from 6/16/2009
