Print

Introduction: That Nagging Feeling When we are no longer able to change a situation, we are challenged to change ourselves. —Viktor Frankl, Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor You are an experienced and successful leader. You have a solid foundation of competencies for your leadership level. You’ve taken the leadership-develop- ment courses. You’ve read the books about the ten things great leaders do. Maybe you’ve even gone back to college, but it still feels like something is missing. You know you are capable of even greater leadership. You push the thought aside and run off to the next meeting. You and your team are getting results, and there is no indication that anyone thinks you are less than competent. But the feeling is still there. Your leadership is not quite where you want it to be it’s just not good enough. Possibly you are subconsciously picking up on the body language of your direct reports, peers, or boss. You replay interactions in your head. What is causing this paranoia? You tell yourself it’s your incredibly high stan- dards, but, again, that deep knowing that there is something more to learn is urging you to reach further. Maybe your career is on fire, and you’re being recognized as the next successor to a key role in the company. You second-guess if you really have what it takes to step into those bigger shoes. If only you felt a bit more confident about having a larger group follow you into the future. Maybe your climb up the leadership ladder has slowed. Perhaps you’ve gone from being one of the favored individuals getting plum assignments and making presentations to senior leaders to being one of the masses. You watch curiously as others receive coveted assignments, present to the