Successful leaders struggle with chronic doubt

The first-of-its-kind Leadership Doubt Index found that Almost all leaders (97%) say they have questioned a critical aspect of their leadership, despite high levels of overall confidence, says the ‘Leadership Doubt Index’ by Robin Pou Inc., a leadership development firm. 

Workload and team performance issues were the most commonly reported triggers of Leadership Doubt, and instances of doubt led to decreased productivity, feelings of burnout, and lower revenue. 

"All successful leaders experience what we call Leadership Doubt," says Robin Pou, author, executive coach, and founder of the ‘Leadership Doubt Index.’ "This new research is important because 'imposter syndrome' has been the only concept to describe any form of uncertainty about one's professional role, yet we found top leaders do not resonate with that term. Executives actually feel extremely qualified for their roles, but they question their leadership abilities in specific situations, and this devolves into full-blown doubt." 

Highlights of the index include: 

• A majority of leaders (56%) question an aspect of their leadership on a monthly basis 

• The top three leadership skills questioned are managing conflict (57%), establishing a thriving culture (54%), and managing change (53%) 

• Over half (54%) experience long-term, chronic leadership doubt 

• Workload and team performance issues were the most commonly reported triggers of Leadership Doubt 

• The top three triggers for successful leaders questioning their abilities are managing a huge workload (28%), a team's inability to perform (24%), and industry disruption (22%) 

• Leaders don't typically like to discuss their Leadership Doubt