Every competitive athlete with gold medals around their neck is familiar with the moments of doubt when their own abilities are questioned. Even managers are notimmune to self-doubt and at the same time have to pass on a feeling of security, confidence and stability to their employees. An unsolvable conflict? Not at all, because self-doubt also has its positive side and can be quite productive for managers.
Young managers in particular are often confronted with the concentrated experience of older colleagues in meetings. This automatically raises the question: Can I keep up with my young wealth of experience and make a productive contribution? If you are also at the point of asking yourself this question, you should keep one thing in mind: Self-doubt is always the gateway to self-awareness and therefore also to the ability to identify your own weaknesses and overcome them through targeted action.
At the same time, self-doubt also leads you to another point: the realization of your extraordinary abilities, which opened the door to management in the first place. As a young manager, you have skills that older colleagues do not have. According to a Harvard study, young managers are much more optimistic, motivated and open to new tasks and see change as an opportunity.
The study is based on the findings of 65,000 managers worldwide in various industries and positions. It showed that managers who doubt their abilities are generally reliable, learn the most and develop the most.
Researchers at Harvard Business School found that it is young managers who are most likely to suffer from self-doubt. However, it is precisely this group that benefits most from the positive effects of doubt. Young managers who doubt their abilities tend to learn more and constantly develop themselves further. They look for feedback from others and try to recognize their weaknesses and work on them. They approach their work with a positive attitude and see challenge as an opportunity for personal growth - this helps them to become more successful in their position at the same time.
Managers with less self-doubt, on the other hand, tend to stay in their comfort zone and stick with what they know - even if it is no longer ideal. In everyday working life, this can lead to certain problems not being solved or opportunities not being exploited. The study also makes it clear that self-doubt in particular can - if interpreted correctly - make a major contribution to personal development.
In our part of the world, uncertainty is often seen as a weakness. If you don't run your head against the wall straight away, but pause for a moment first, you will be overtaken. However, this kind of dithering can increase productivity, point out new paths and provide an important basis for upcoming decisions.
If you declare war on self-doubt instead of running away from it or letting it get you down, you can benefit greatly. After all, self-doubt is a natural impulse in the brain that is designed to prevent us from making mistakes. Especially at a young age, people are often convinced of their own abilities and believe they can do a lot. But it is precisely this arrogance that can lead to mistakes. This is where self-doubt comes in: They slow us down and make us more aware of our actions and their consequences. This allows us to recognize weak points and work on them.
Three tips on how to deal well with doubt through targeted self-management.
1. accept doubt as part of your personality
Computers, smartphones, navigation systems: all these technical devices do not doubt, but deliver reliable and immediate results. People, and managers in particular, are often expected to do the same. However, people are not machines, but personalities with emotions and a gut feeling. Having doubts themselves enables managers to recognize and understand the doubts of their employees. You should therefore never see self-doubt as a barrier, but as an opportunity to develop yourself further and become a good leader for others.
2. integrate doubts into the dialog
Hardly any writer would ever have written a good book if they had not been consumed by self-doubt during the creative process. There is a fine line between toxic and productive self-doubt that should not be crossed. Doubts are productive when they encourage questioning. Managers should involve their own doubts in a dialog and ask others (colleagues or employees) for well-founded feedback.
3. turn doubts into active action
If you start to have doubts, you will first of all struggle, roll topics around in your head and reflect on them. You can turn this passive agonizing into active action through good self-management. There are many ways to achieve this. Acquire the necessary knowledge that you still lack, gain clarity of purpose and remind yourself of your abilities in order to strengthen your self-confidence.
First of all, you should find out where your doubts are coming from. Am I afraid of failure? Do I not feel good enough? Am I underchallenged/ bored?
Once you have determined the cause, you can take targeted countermeasures:
The following tips will help you:
Conclusion: You have now learned why self-doubt doesn't have to be so bad for you and why you should see it as an opportunity. Our coaches will be happy to support you on the path to transforming your doubts into excellent leadership qualities through good self-management. Feel free to get in touch with us!