5. Realize You Aren’t Fooling Everyone Anyway.
I hate to burst your pretending bubble, but others can see through the faux leadership confidence facade. You’re not fooling most of the people around you. Pretending is exhausting, and you will eventually be discovered. That’s why pretending is so exhausting. It’s why we feel like imposters.
The absolute sure-fire solution to imposter syndrome is internal and external honesty. We lie to ourselves more than anyone else, so we first need to become internally honest. Next, we need to lead from that internal honesty. Honesty destroys the imposter.
6. Redefine Strength and Weakness.
Great leaders discover their strength in their honesty. The superpower of great leaders is vulnerability. That’s a buzzword these days. Everybody talks about openness, but too few leaders are genuinely vulnerable because real vulnerability exposes us emotionally. When people get to know the “real” you, they may not like you. But, let me ask you a critical vulnerability question: How does it feel when people like the fake you?
People who love the pretend version of you don’t love you, which is emotionally painful. When I decided to become a more vulnerable leader, people rejected me, but they rejected the real me. I discovered that it is more emotionally taxing for people to love the pretend me than leave the real me.
Conclusion
Great leaders are real leaders. Being authentic takes guts. Honestly opens us to rejection. But it also opens us to acceptance. Real acceptance. The kind where you are fully known and fully loved. So start being real. Reject the facades. Apologize to those who you’ve faked. And, over time, the fruit of authentic leadership will be worth every drop.
This article originally appeared here and is used by permission.
