Leadership, Success, Ego, and Imposter Syndrome
Conscious leadership is critical for a balanced life and business
One of the great ironies about success is often the most outwardly successful individuals struggle the most inwardly with ego or imposter syndrome. Imposter syndrome is the fear that your success wasn’t based on your merits, but something outside your control, and eventually “they will figure out I’m a fraud.”
The New York Post recently shared the story of a successful tech entrepreneur whose Imposter syndrome and ego almost destroyed him. John Roa authored a book detailing his internal struggles as his company, ÄKTA, “a high-end mobile design and development consultancy”, skyrocketed to success. Roa admits he felt like a fraud and fake: “I was ready for the whole thing to fail. When the whole thing burned down, and I just figured it was only a matter of time, I could use this as an excuse. It was because of me.”
Roa draws a connection between Silicon Valley’s high suicide rates and the drive to have moonshot success like Musk or Zuckerberg. While the outer trappings of success drive many entrepreneurs, inside they are struggling with normal human emotions they feel they cannot express for fear of jeopardizing their careers or businesses. Roa wonders, “What separates us from normal people?” “Are we really as crazy as we seem? Or is it the current culture of entrepreneurship that forces us to do crazy things to succeed?”
“I would play the role of the impervious young CEO they all wanted to see,” Roa says. “I would hide my humanity and struggles. I refused to show any sign of what I perceived as weakness. I wanted people to aspire to be me.”
Roa’s story is the perfect example of why conscious leadership is so important. Rising to success leveraging only ego-centric knowledge and wits is unsustainable. The missing element is increased consciousness—or awareness—that creates the balance necessary to be both successful and healthy.
Our current systems of work and leadership tend to push individuals away from conscious awareness of their true selves. Instead, they become too enmeshed in an image created to gain and sustain success. In the process, they lose key pieces of themselves in order to climb their way to the top. The ego-driven fear of being perceived as weak robs so many leaders of their ability to connect and be the conscious leaders we desperately need.
What we need is a culture that encourages people to examine their motivations and express what they’re experiencing internally. That doesn’t mean everyone needs to be aware of others’ personal struggles. But often the best leaders are the ones who do share their personal growth experiences.
The future of work is conscious leadership, where individuals don’t worry about being an imposter or letting their ego dominate their relationships and motivations. True success will be defined by positive, conscious impact and service. This success will be defined by how happy and prosperous all stakeholders are; individuals, their teams, customers, and community.
Maybe you feel like Roa: an imposter, or afraid of failure, or eager to process and express what you’re experiencing as a leader. Conscious leadership coaching focuses on helping leaders step into even greater levels of success because conscious leadership looks at a personal holistically, not just as a role or position. If you’re ready to step into the next evolution in leadership, let’s connect.
Meredith’s coaching helps conscious leaders step courageously into the future of work. Contact her to develop your conscious leadership and transform your organization into the workplace of the future.
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