A leader's biggest blindspot: insecurity

Insecure leaders constantly think of themselves first. They fear that others might think of them as weak, foolish, or insignificant. They often take more from people than they give.

Their insecurity makes them feel like they are less so they seek validation more. Validation seeking behavior rarely (if ever) aligns with the best actions a leader could be taking on behalf of their team.

Teams and organizations suffer because others' best interests are overlooked. Instead the insecure leader looks for their best interests. This shows the inherent tension of working for an insecure leader: their interests are in conflict with the best interests of the org. The best leader's interests are the same as doing what's best for the org.

Insecure leaders limit their best people. They struggle to let others rise because giving others their due makes them feel less. In contrast, the best leaders hire, promote and build people to rise above them. If you build internal leadership in the org, then you have fewer functions you need to be responsible for as a leader, which will free you up to evolve as needed to attack the highest leverage problems as they emerge.


Thank you JM.











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