These stories can be limiting in terms of our development as leaders. An example could be “I’m not good at this” or “this is something I’m not able to do.” These stories start early on in life and are built up around some perception or story that we’ve chosen to tell about ourselves.
Some people may experience this as imposter syndrome where it’s as experienced as “I’m never good enough, no matter what I do. I’ll never be good enough.” I’ve definitely experienced this one myself. Our greatest defense in this case is to be our own strongest critic, for the fear of anyone telling us so.
Do you often find there’s a story that you tell yourself that limits who you can be? As I work with many leaders, I often find that some of them have just one story that they’ve connected themselves to. This one story can drive everything in how they show up as a leader. These stories may have gotten them this far, but might not be serving the next iteration of their leadership journey. I invite you to ask yourself: What are the stories that you identify with and What other stories could you tell?
Do you hide parts of yourself and cover up your vulnerability to personify a more put-together leader? Sometimes admitting your own vulnerability or needing help can be a story we tell ourselves that gets in the way. If you’re someone who has been very successful in your career and you get to a place where you’re struggling, you may look to the past and say, “I’ve always figured this out on my own before. I don’t need anyone’s help.” This could just be a part of leadership growth; you could be experiencing new challenges that need to be reframed.