In the second chapter of Clay Scroggins’s book, “How To Lead When You’re Not In Charge,” Clay covers the problems with mistaken identity and what makes up our identity. He previews the chapter by saying that “the way you see yourself is determinative for your life and the decisions you make as a leader.” You see, leading well doesn’t have to do with your behavior but your identity. In Part I, we will dive into some of the problems of mistaken identity.
Consequences of a Fake Identity
A mistaken identity can flip your world upside down. In his book, Scroggins uses analogies with a passport and fake ID. Much like a spy, many new leaders will change their identities (passports) depending on their needs. From personal experience, this causes stress and confusion about the real one. “If your identity is unstable,” says Scroggins, “you’ll subconsciously flip through identities to find the one you think others need you to be.”
“I’ve seen many young leaders admit weaknesses in the name of keeping it real,” says the author. “I love the authenticity of that. But we have to find the balance between authentically admitting our weaknesses and excusing our weaknesses.”
Anxiousness and Instability
When we use a fake ID in life, we are trying to project an identity suited for the people around us. Scroggins likens this to a time when he because super anxious waiting for the bouncer to verify his ID was legit. Pretending in life and leadership causes the same anxiety. Have you ever experienced that?
If you’re a leader, this anxiety will create a pressing problem. You will be unsure of your ability to lead, which will cause your followers to be skeptical. This makes everything unstable. Instability will not only prevent success but will actually begin to create turmoil because of your lack of confidence.
Distorted Identity
Clay’s last example is misrepresenting your height and weight on your license. While this won’t cause many issues (if any), it can cause several issues when you misrepresent your abilities in life. “Honestly, I don’t know which is more damaging – being too critical or thinking too highly of yourself,” says Scroggins. “Either way, accepting a distorted identity is failing to live in reality, ultimately eroding your ability to lead.”
Romans 12:3 says:
“For through the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think more highly of himself than he ought to think…”
There are two sides to this coin, and both will cause a meltdown in leadership. The first is thinking too lowly of yourself. When you believe you are not good enough or unqualified, you will go through life not challenging situations and will allow people to run over you. That is not God’s will for you. Even if you believe this internally, it will project outwardly, and your team will see this. This doesn’t build influence.
Conversely, you will overestimate your ability if you think of yourself too highly. This is more along the lines of my personality. We believe our way is better and become blinded to the repercussions of our actions and words. For some, this develops into hiding their mistakes, forcing us to live in fear that we will constantly be exposed as a fraud. This aggressive behavior opposes building influence because nobody wants to listen to the one who uses a jackhammer to get their point across.