Hey ChatGPT, what’s impostor syndrome?
I only got this far because…
I just got lucky…
We couldn’t possibly continue if…
Someone else would do a better job than me because…
I don’t have the right experience…
Impost syndrome is very common and many of the most successful founder CEOs have struggled with it themselves:
- Howard Schultz, CEO of Starbucks - "Very few people, whether you've been in that job before or not, get into the seat and believe today that they are now qualified to be the CEO. They're not going to tell you that, but it's true.”
- Sheryl Sandberg, Former COO of Facebook - "There are still days when I wake up feeling like a fraud, not sure I should be where I am.”
- Research from NerdWallet - Found that 78% of business leaders experience workplace imposter syndrome
We’ve also had, and continue to have, moments of self-doubt in our own company building journeys. Impostor syndrome is perfectly normal, healthy and rationale and if you recognize it for what it is instead of letting it paralyze you, then you can turn it into rocket fuel to drive you forward.
One of our personal favorite bits on impostor syndrome comes from Toto Wolff in conversation with Jake Humphrey and Professor Damian Hughes. Toto is an accomplished entrepreneur and currently serves as Team Principal & CEO of the Mercedes Formula One team. He’s led a 1,000+ person workforce since 2013 and is responsible for engineering, aerodynamics, chassis and powertrain development, race team, pit crew, logistics, marketing and everything else a Formula One team needs to execute on to win 8 Constructor’s Championships and 7 Driver’s Champions in just 11 years.
In short, Toto talks about how he has often experienced impostor syndrome because he can’t point to specific contributions he’s made that directly led to their last win or will necessarily lead to their next win. That said, when he takes a step back, he’s able to channel that angst into motivation to continue to grind, taking nothing as given. He approaches every season as a new challenge, working through it all again from the bottom up.
References
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