A common symptom is imposter syndrome and/or a being a leader, is often you are surrounded by people who appear to be more technical or ‘smarter’ than you.
“If you are the smartest person in the room, you’re in the wrong room”. Michael Dell
This is something I have always grappled with as I tend to lead technical & analytics teams. People who are highly technical and know complex coding languages which don’t mean much to me. People who have a much higher attention to detail to me or are much more in the detail of building capability.
However, over the years I have improved this feeling of imposter syndrome significantly as I recognise why I am in the role I am in and what I bring to the table.
Often as a leader you can sometimes wonder what you are there to do. The key for me is to
ASK THE RIGHT QUESTIONS.
Here’s why. As a leader you are there to build and create an environment for everyone to be successful. Managing & developing individuals, building a culture where everyone is able to achieve their corporate and personal objectives. But your arsenal is to also ask the right questions, play ‘devil’s advocate’, look at it from a different perspective and challenge the norm. When working with my teams, they often present solution designs, or just a problem statement and you have the bonus of being at arms length and challenge what the right approach will be.
“What could you do differently”
“What outcome would you expect the customer to see”
“what would happen if you don’t do this”
“What impact will this have on other projects”
Give it a go when you are presented challenges or you worry about your role. Ask the questions, you’ll be amazed that you will help facilitate driving the right solution.
This is the value you add and what you can bring to the table.
Get in touch if you are suffering from imposter syndrome and want coaching.