As you find yourself in areas of greater and greater responsibility, you may feel struck by one of two extremes. Ironically, they may actually both hit you at the same time.
The first is impostor syndrome. This is not merely the fear that you’ll fail to perform in your new role. It’s specifically the idea that you didn’t earn, and therefore don’t deserve, the position you find yourself in.
The second extreme is one of entitlement. This is the idea that your position gives you the right, and maybe even the responsibility, to impose your perspective on others in the organization.
And it’s entirely possible to feel both – that you didn’t deserve your position, but now that you have it, it gives you the responsibility to influence others with whatever wisdom you may have.
But there’s an antidote to both extremes, and it’s one that I learned from the CEO of a company I used to work for. He would often say, “I’m convinced that every human being has something they can teach me.”
Remember, this was a highly effective CEO. Of all positions of influence, his was about as high as you can go in a company. But his conviction that he could learn from anyone allowed him to change his plans for a company initiative after talking with me. And it allowed him to stay committed to those new plans even when implementing them became difficult.
Of course, not every new idea you hear will be worth implementing. But when you can find the humility and confidence to believe that every human being has something to each you, you can avoid both extremes of entitlement and impostor syndrome.
And if you’d like to explore ways you can learn from others in your current situation, let’s talk. Visit stevedwire.com/talk to begin the conversation.
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