What No One Tells You About CEO Self-Doubt

People often think the CEO has all the answers.

What they don’t see is the CEO tossing and turning in bed at night over a tough personnel decision. Or staring blankly at the wall after the boardroom clears. Or looking over the latest numbers at their desk, feeling a private panic.

Self-doubt comes with the weight of the CEO job. You are responsible for everything and accountable to everyone, but you rarely get direct feedback and you have little direct control. You have no manager, and often, no one to talk to about the hard decisions.

71% of US CEOs experience symptoms of imposter syndrome in their role.
—Korn Ferry

Why Doubt Shows Up

Doubt tends to creep in because of the unique dynamics of the CEO job. Most CEOs will recognize these:

• You are responsible, but not in control. You carry the burden of results, yet rely on others to execute. You try telling people what to go and do, but how do you know they’re even doing it? Do they really know what you mean? What you want? If not, it’s going to fall back on you…

• You are isolated. You cannot always tell your executive team about your personal doubts. You might know that being vulnerable is a good thing in some situations, but you also have to maintain their trust in you, their sense of your competence. But some days it feels like you’re the only one holding the vision in place. There’s a big temptation to have your team rubber-stamp all your decisions, but you can’t get them to consensus. In a word, it’s lonely.

• The stakes are high. Lots of livelihoods depend on your ability to lead the company. There’s a spotlight on you almost all the time. And if the board decides to cut you loose, it’s going to be a big deal, for your career and for the company.

How to Respond When Doubt Creeps In

Here are some tactics I recommend CEOs use when self-doubt starts to surface (and that I’ve used myself). They aren’t magic fixes, but they can alleviate the doubt when it becomes intense.