Strengthscope<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n When asked to rate their strengths, leaders underestimate themselves in a number of areas including courage, strategic mindedness, compassion and self-improvement when compared to how their teams rate them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The findings also found the perception gap between how leaders rate the effectiveness of their leadership skills, compared to their teams perception of them, has grown by 75% since 2019. This highlights a disconnect between how well leaders think they\u2019re performing in comparison to how their team perceives their performance since the pandemic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Leaders\u2019 imposter syndrome may have been caused by the increased expectations, pressure and complexity of the current workplace. The challenge of managing remote teams, alongside post pandemic re-calibration of employees\u2019 expectations of work and the need for greater kindness and compassion have led to leaders feeling less effective and less confident in their leadership skills. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dr Paul Brewerton, Chartered Occupational Psychologist and founder of Strengthscope, said: \u201cLeaders have had to deal with a lot of changes over the past five years \u2013 often with limited support and skills in managing people. If leaders are not aware of their innate strengths, they may not be aware of their impact either \u2013 and this is critical for productive and effective team dynamics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe know that the impact of hybrid and remote working, since the pandemic, with all its benefits, can negatively impact the communication between managers and team members if the change is not handled appropriately.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The most notable gaps in ratings are for courage, self-improvement, leading, strategic mindedness, enthusiasm and compassion, where raters regard the leader as significantly more effective than they rate themselves. These are critical skills for leaders in any business, especially during times of uncertainty and change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhen HR and L&D teams are looking into building skills for leaders, they often look at gaps in knowledge as well as weaknesses and try to close those gaps. While this approach can be appropriate at times, there is immense value in understanding and doubling down on the strengths of your leaders. By understanding what energises them and what they\u2019re good at, HR teams can utilise these more effectively for better business outcomes,\u201d said Dr Brewerton.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The research is based on 1,272 leaders completing\u00a0Strengthscope\u2019s assessment and development tool between October 2023 and September 2024. The assessments were completed by senior level leaders in finance, marketing, HR, operations, IT, legal, sales etc.\u00a0The data is reflective of participants from the UK, Europe and the US. The results were compared to 2019 figures to provide a five-year change.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
For leaders in the cybersecurity space, there are added pressures. A sophisticated threat landscape, regulatory pressures, resource constraints and a keen eye on demonstrating ROI create what could be quite an overwhelming mix of challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Francisco Gaffney, CEO & Chairman, Trinity SES, said that, as CEO in a fast-moving, tech-heavy field, he has realised that what\u2019s often labelled imposter syndrome can just be the friction that comes from working on a moving target.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn cybersecurity and compliance tech, the goalposts shift constantly. New threats emerge. Regulations evolve. Frameworks change. Feeling uncertain isn\u2019t a flaw. It\u2019s often a sign you\u2019re paying attention,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe harder part is working out what\u2019s real. Sorting substance from noise. Cutting through the hype around shiny tools that promise everything but deliver nothing. That kind of clarity comes from doing the work, not from being the loudest in the room.
\u201cI read regulatory updates the way some people read financial forecasts. I speak to the people actually implementing security controls, not just the ones selling them. I challenge our roadmap regularly to make sure it\u2019s built around what clients genuinely need, not what looks good in a pitch.
\u201cNone of us know everything. The point is to stay curious enough to ask better questions and keep adjusting as the landscape changes.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Simon Fabb, CEO, ChiefJobs.com, recalls feeling that \u2018knot of self-doubt\u2019 early in his career, but concedes it can affect anyone at any stage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIn cybersecurity leadership, imposter syndrome often stems from rapid promotions or entering roles that outpace formal training. I work with CXOs who feel they\u2019ve skipped steps, even when their results prove otherwise,\u201d he said.
\u201cOne of the first things we work on is identifying the assumptions driving that feeling. Many leaders internalise outdated ideas about what authority should look like (usually perfection, total certainty or a specific type of technical background). Questioning those standards helps them realise they\u2019re holding themselves to an impossible benchmark.
\u201cAnother approach is helping them clarify their unique value in the room. That might be strategic thinking, communication under pressure or risk framing for the board. When they define what they actually bring, rather than what they think they\u2019re missing, their confidence becomes more grounded and consistent.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Imposter syndrome rarely disappears on its own, he said. \u201cIt needs to be addressed deliberately, and that starts with recognising it as a sign of growth, not failure. For many cybersecurity leaders, it simply means they\u2019ve moved beyond their comfort zone, and that\u2019s where leadership actually begins.\u201d
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As a naturally quiet introvert, being in a leadership role does not come naturally to me. Throughout my personal and professional life, I\u2019ve been happy working behind the scenes, getting the job done and maintaining strong friendships with colleagues. Leadership calls for a different version of this \u2013 managing accountability both up and down the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":74972,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18304,13],"tags":[18305,18306,18307,18308,18309,18310,18311],"class_list":["post-74964","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-secure-horizons","category-top-stories","tag-chiefjobs-com","tag-dr-paul-brewerton","tag-francisco-gaffney","tag-jess-phillips","tag-secure-horizons","tag-strengthscope","tag-trinity-ses"],"acf":[],"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74964","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/28"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=74964"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74964\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":74966,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/74964\/revisions\/74966"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/74972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=74964"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=74964"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.intelligentcio.com\/africa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=74964"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}