Your Inner CEO: What you see is what you are (or aren't)

Talk to anyone who’s working in executive recruiting and you’ll hear a very paradoxical message. The good news is, people applying for managerial positions are better qualified than ever. They have glowing academic records, often including degrees in business or accounting. They have solid work experience, with sincere letters of recommendation from their supervisors. They present themselves very effectively in interviews, with excellent knowledge of the company they hope to work for, and of the economy as a whole.

The bad news is, everyone looks great on paper and in interviews, but everyone also looks exactly the same. People have figured out how to present themselves as competent, qualified managers who won’t make waves and who won’t make mistakes -- but hardly anybody wants to say, “I’ve got ideas that are really new and different!” People are afraid to present themselves as innovators, and consequently innovation itself has become a lost art.

This is a problem for American business. But it’s also an opportunity for anyone who values originality and knows how to put it to work. You can instantly set yourself apart from the crowd by focusing on what you’ll do right instead of what you won’t do wrong. To do that, you’ll need insight about your strengths and weakness, and intelligence about how to maximize your contribution. But most of all you’ll need inspiration -- the power to create energy and excitement by what you say, how you look, and above all, what you do.

Self-image is built upon self-perception. How do you see yourself in your own eyes? If your self-perception is out of synch with the way you want to be perceived, you will have a hard time making a positive impression -- especially if you’re not even fully aware of the problem. This is exactly what happens to many people. For some reason, we tend to think less of ourselves than we'd like. We also tend to have a lower opinion of ourselves than other people have of us.

It may be that you don’t want to seem egotistical or that you don’t want to elevate your self-image at the expense of others -- but putting yourself down is definitely not a good way to get ahead. So recognize the fact that you deserve to think of yourself in a far better light than you’ve gotten used to. This will not only make you feel more confident and deserving of success, but it will probably also bring you a lot closer to the truth of your image in the world.

Until you stop selling yourself short, don't be surprised if the world does the same thing.