"What Am I Doing Wrong?"

Scenario: "Dude, I'm doing everything 100% correct. My employees love me. Yay!" Just about-almost-every-single-frickin-manager lives in a bubble thinking s/he's the greatest manager/executive/coworker/yadda in the world:

"Wow, I'm a hot shot. I'm doing everything right!"
"I love how I lead people. I'm so good."
"I'm the most knowledgeable person in the world!"
"Everyone loves my managerial smarts."
"Give me a high-five!"

We call it the "superficially-bias" mindset: That is, we're all blinded by how much we really suck.

Yeah, Most of Us Suffer From It

Think back to: Your average teacher. That dude probably thought he was the world's greatest teacher. Your average manager. That dude probably thought he was the king of the world. Your average grade-school friend. That dude probably thought he was the most loyal friend, ever. An average speaker. That dude probably thought he rivaled MLK. Think back to an average singer. That dude probably said he'd go down in history. Or, take it from the most fabulous people on Earth: John Travolta: "I have fame on the level of a Marilyn Monroe or an Elvis, but part of the reason I didn't go the way they did was because of my beliefs." Kanye West: "I changed the sound of music more than one time... For all those reasons, I'd be a part of the Bible. I'm definitely in the history books already." Justin Timberlake: "Just like the McDonald's deal, whose market share went up 25 per cent when I walked into those offices and changed their image -- when I did the Grammys, the viewing figures went up by 25 percent." @^^%^&*!@^^%^&*!@^^%^&*!@^^%^&*! In our minds, we might think we're the smartest, strongest, coolest, baddest, rock-star on the !@^^-!@^^%^ planet. But to outsiders, we're just cocky peons who have no perspective of how much we really suck.

Why Confront Your Suckiness

You experienced it before: working with "Chucky" -- the 'average' team member. You'd guess Chucky would've been such a much better badass if he had:

Talked openly about his problems.
Stopped rambling.
Defined his role clearer.
Gave honest feedback about the team.
Stopped using buzzwords.

Oh-how-you-wished.

Guess what?

People who are working with you -- right now -- see you as their "Chucky." To them, you're an 'average' team member -- but oh! -- "someone-who-could-oh-so-!@^^%^-rock if s/he just fixed some things!" To discover where you do suck -- and fly higher than a !@^^%^ bald eagle, ask those badasses who work with you: