I used to think leadership meant holding it all together. Saying yes when I wanted to say no. Smiling when I was breaking inside.
The truth? I wasn’t leading …. I was performing. Driven by the fear of letting people down.
This is what happens when fear runs the show… and how stepping into honesty changed everything for me, my team, and the way I now lead.

I used to say, “My door is always open.”

But the truth was, nobody knocked.
They thought I was too busy — and I ended up being the last to know about problems, issues, even good news.

It wasn’t until I plastered “Be Present” stickers around my desk and made myself a promise — to stop whatever I was doing when someone came in — that the culture began to change.

Because culture isn’t built in strategy sessions.
It’s built in the knock on the door.

Mark Matthews reflects on imposter syndrome in leadership — why it never goes away, and why being real matters more than being special.