You’re at the office and you just got an email from your boss saying there is a mistake in a report you sent in. You’d checked it twice but somehow missed it...what do you say to yourself? (After the cuss words if there were any ;)) Maybe something like… “You idiot! How could you miss such an easy thing!” (I like to call these the “oh sh**” moments).

The way we talk to ourselves matters so much. It’s the voice we listen to the most and tends to be a reflection of what we believe to be true about ourselves.  Most leaders have an overly critical judge that has been riding them hard for years. It’s helped them succeed by pushing them relentlessly and not giving any grace. Fortunately or unfortunately, it’s not sustainable long term - it leads to burnout.