Honesty is one of the hallmarks of great leaders. Not only should you be honest with others, but you must also be truthful with yourself.
Failing to invite in an honest approach to thinking, feeling, and decision-making as a leader cannot allow them to effectively lead anyone else. Let’s examine 5 ways you may be lying to yourself about your leadership:.
1. You’re Not as Good as You Think You Are
One of the main issues facing many leaders today is overestimating their abilities. Even when there may be areas in which you lack experience or skill, many often overestimate themselves in other areas due to overconfidence induced by the Dunning-Kruger effect; when someone who excels at something fails to recognize his or her talents and assumes everyone is comparable; unfortunately this also limits learning from those better than you in certain aspects – something which can hinder leadership growth over time by not taking advantage of potential learning opportunities or supporting other leaders along their journeys.
Have you ever heard the expression, “Nobody’s perfect?” That statement holds true when assessing your leadership ability; but even more significant: nobody thinks they are as skilled at anything – this holds especially true for leadership as we often become so immersed in our roles that we don’t fully realize just how good or bad we really are at what we’re doing!
One of the greatest traps for leaders is believing they’re above criticism or don’t require input from others – an attitude which prevents you from learning how to improve. One effective way of avoiding this pitfall is taking some time for introspection and soliciting honest feedback from those close to you.
An increasingly common leadership mistake is overestimating one’s character and values, leading to actions without regard for those of your team. This can be disastrous; motivating employees requires placing their needs before your own if you want them to remain productive employees. While difficult, this practice must ensure integrity is maintained by leaders as well as respect for employee dignity.
2. You’re Not as Smart as You Think You Are
If you find yourself frequently surprised that people do not understand your intelligence or underestimating your intellectual capabilities, this could be a telltale sign of arrogance or ignorance on your part. Truly intelligent people have the ability to quickly assess situations, think rationally and view things from multiple perspectives; while realists understand when someone else may be being wrong or inept.
Self-deception lies at the root of many self-deception traps. Opinions are subjective – beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder – while results can be measured (such as through numbers on a pay check). Smart leaders understand that success should be measured through actions taken and impacts created for others rather than subjective feelings about oneself.
Smart people know not to waste their time and energy on argument or feuds with other people, instead recognizing the importance of surrounding themselves with supportive and positive people in order to thrive professionally and personally. Furthermore, when conflicts arise it’s better for them to admit when they are wrong instead of fighting back trying to “win” an argument with a violent approach.
Tom Callum discusses this phenomenon in his book Leadership and Self-Deception, in which many intelligent people become so enamored of themselves that they begin to believe they are smarter than their peers. He warns against this dangerous mindset because it could cause you to believe there is nothing new to learn, which would then prevent further progress as a leader and leave them falling further behind their peers.
Smart people know the value of remaining open to learning new things to advance in their careers and lives. They recognize they can learn a great deal from those around them – even those less apt at intelligence than them – including people they may consider less bright. By assessing the strengths and weaknesses of those around them and taking note of their experiences and mistakes, as well as taking the best parts from behaviors or qualities displayed by peers they can learn something from everyone around them.
3. You’re Not as Strong as You Think You Are
Leaders often make the mistake of falling prey to self-deception, convincing themselves they have all of the answers and disregarding warning signs as an easy way out. Either way, this can have lasting repercussions for their leadership abilities.
One of the easiest forms of self-deception is believing you are stronger than you actually are, which may cause you to take on too much responsibility and result in burnout or breakdown. Being aware of this tendency allows you to take measures against it and ultimately avoid burnout or breakdown.
Mindfulness can help you become more self-aware and accept when you’re wrong, while receiving feedback from others is another excellent way to challenge self-beliefs and learn from mistakes.
Surround yourself with people who bring out the best in you – such as friends, family and colleagues who help improve your overall wellbeing – as this will only serve to refuel and rejuvenate yourself. Take some time for yourself each week so you can recharge and reenergize.
Keep faith, hope, and inspiration strong – it takes strength to maintain them during difficult times.
Contending with self-deception is key to becoming an effective leader, although it may be challenging. I recommend reading The Arbinger Institute’s Leadership and Self-Deception for an insightful look into the way self-deception affects one’s ability to be an effective leader. Building self-awareness and seeking honest feedback are effective strategies for combatting self-deception and becoming the leader your team deserves. For further study in these topics, check out our Epic Leader Program; applications can be submitted here for our next cohort!
4. You’re Not as Strong as You Think You Are
Leaders can often become so focused on leading others that they neglect being their own best leader, leading them down a path of self-deception. Self-deception may manifest itself in different forms but common examples include not taking ownership for mistakes made or thinking you cannot go wrong. To overcome this weakness, leaders must set aside time for self-reflection, seek honest feedback from their teams, embrace humility and vulnerability with openness.
One of the toughest parts of becoming a better leader is learning to acknowledge when you’ve made mistakes and correct them quickly and openly. While this may be embarrassing or painful, doing so is integral to becoming successful as a leader; leaders who do so create more trust with their teams while strengthening relationships overall.
Becoming a strong leader also requires maintaining faith, hope and inspiration throughout adversity. Loss of faith during tough times is easy to come by but staying inspired takes strength.
One final way that you can become a stronger leader is by surrounding yourself with people who can both support and encourage you. Having people you can confide in can make all the difference in your life; having such people can make all the difference when leading others.
Being a leader requires integrity and high standards. Unfortunately, many leaders struggle with this because they find themselves deceiving themselves regularly – this becomes easier as one ascends the ranks because their power and influence over other people increases exponentially.
Self-deception can have serious repercussions in both your personal and professional lives, threatening both. By setting aside time for self-reflection, practicing humility and vulnerability and seeking honest feedback from your team members, self-deception can be overcome and become the leader that your team deserves.
