Leader Syndrome
“Imposter syndrome” is the chronic self-doubt that - despite external evidence to the contrary - you are not fit to be “the leader.” Many people experience this as a nagging anxiety that there is just something about them that is somehow not fit for a certain position or level of leadership. But I wanted to shine light on the opposite problem: what I’ll call “leader syndrome.” And leader syndrome is the feeling or belief that there is something about me that makes me inherently fit to be a “leader.” While it’s likely to be read as confidence, I think it’s the flip side of the “imposter syndrome” coin, and problematic for its own reasons.
Both imposter and leader syndrome come from the same fallacy that we’re conditioned to believe: that there is something innately different or special about the “leader.” But I think the most powerful belief that a leader can embrace is the opposite reality - that they are no more superior or inferior than anyone they are “leading.” For whatever host of reasons, they may be better positioned to hold their particular title and decision making power. They have more experience or have had a greater opportunity to develop a particular skill set that is currently valuable. But they may not. They may hold their leadership position because of bias or for more arbitrary reasons. Either way, it doesn’t mean they are somehow innately better than the people they lead.
This may sound obvious, but I certainly didn’t always lead this way when I held a more traditional position of power. Often, I led with the implicit assumption (as uncomfortable as it is to say now) that I was somehow better than the people I was leading. My job was to get them to do what I thought they should do. Although I didn’t use these words at the time, I often resorted to manipulation or coercion (at the time, I would use more pleasant words like “influence” and “warm/demanding”).
We can argue about whether it’s right or wrong, moral or immoral, to lead in this way. But I’d rather make a different argument: if you’re leading with the conscious or unconscious assumption that there’s something about you that inherently makes your opinion or instincts more worthy than others, that’s just not reality. Whatever leadership position you hold right now, I don’t believe there’s something about your soul that is just designed to be a leader, and that is missing or defunct in the people that you lead. If the people you manage had led your life in your body, they’d have your title. Their soul is no less worthy than yours. That’s not an invitation to shirk your leadership responsibilities. You have the responsibility to make a certain set of decisions and to create an environment where people can thrive, and you shouldn’t shy away from that. But to pretend that makes you in some way innately “better,” is just not reality. And taking that path will cause you to:
Listen to people superficially or with an agenda
Blame the people you lead when they don’t do what you want them to do
Magnify your blind spots
Resist reality by trying to push things in the face of evidence to the contrary
Create environments where people are trying to please the leader instead of accomplish a goal
No, you’re not better or more special than the people you lead. But embracing that can set you free and unlock your most powerful leadership. Because leaders that embrace that will:
Listen deeply with genuine curiosity
Develop greater investment and connection with the people they lead
Minimize their blind spots
Be far more aware of reality, and adjust course more seamlessly
Create more psychological safety (and less politics) for the people they lead
The next time you find yourself wondering if you are enough to be the leader - or feeling that you are enough and then some – see what it feels like to let go of that idea in favor of a different one: you just are. And there’s nothing about you that is superior or deficient to anyone else around you. That might feel humbling, but it can also be relieving.
