Most of the leaders I work with struggle with imposter syndrome.
It can lead to a life of suffering and perfectionism, and, outside looking in, incredible success.
I’ve struggled with it myself. But I think it’s pointing to something much different than inadequacy.
When I’ve taking on new roles, I’ve had moments when I momentarily forgot everything I was working on, everything I’d ever done. And then I was asked to speak.
It used to terrify me. But I noticed, over time, that words would come. And the words that came were often better than the “elevator pitch” that I saw many others use to avoid the discomfort.
The words came from nothing. And I noticed over time that it was this same nothing that success came from. That everything came from.
The same nothing that the mystics call “emptiness.” The same creative spark that produced and animates the entire universe.
My experience is that imposter syndrome is pointing at something to be cultivated, not avoided. It’s pointing at our inherent capacity to create.
Yes, there are times when we feel like nothing. But it is in those times that we have the most potential to be anything.
What do you see in your imposter syndrome?
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