As a leader striving to elevate your impact and align your leadership style with your personal brand, have you ever considered how your self-image influences your success?
Many leaders focus on developing new skills or strategies to improve performance, but overlook the foundation that determines whether those changes stick: their internal self-concept.
The late Dr. Maxwell Maltz, a plastic surgeon and author of Psycho-Cybernetics, witnessed that even after improving his patients’ appearance – removing scars, correcting deformities, and performing cosmetic procedures – many still saw themselves exactly as they had before.
He concluded:
“You act and feel not according to what things are really like, but according to the image your mind holds of what they are like.”
In other words, you act like the person you believe yourself to be.
The Leadership Paradox
If you don’t believe you can be a great leader, you’ll unconsciously prove yourself right. You’ll hold back from taking the very actions that could help you grow, like speaking up in meetings, pursuing stretch assignments, or sharing your bold vision. Because those behaviours don’t align with the internal picture you hold of who you are.
This isn’t about effort or discipline, it’s about your identity.
Dr. Maltz called this the “snap-back effect.” It’s the tendency to revert to what’s familiar when your outer progress outpaces your inner beliefs.
Your brain is a powerful tool and operates 95% of the time on autopilot. It accepts whatever narrative you tell it as truth, whether the story empowers you or limits you. So, if your inner narrative is outdated and continues to run in the background, your behaviour will naturally “snap back” to match it until you reset your internal dialogue to align with who you are becoming.
Your Inner Story Isn’t Private
You often believe that what you think about yourself stays hidden, but it doesn’t.
Your self-image shows up in how you carry yourself, speak, lead, and relate to others.
- You stay quiet in meetings because you believe your ideas won’t matter.
- You interrupt others because you’re working hard to prove your worth.
- You judge or criticize because you feel less than and want to be seen.
These behaviours are not random; they’re echoes of old narratives you’ve been telling yourself for years. They shape your leadership presence far more than your résumé or title ever could.
Whether you realize it or not, your self-image is influencing how others experience you and your ability to grow.
Rewriting the Story
The truth is that your story is not fixed. You can intentionally reshape your inner dialogue to align with the leader you aspire to be.
Start with awareness and small, intentional steps:
- Listen to your inner voice. What language do you use when you talk to yourself? Notice patterns of doubt or self-criticism that hold you back.
- Challenge old narratives. Ask, “Is this story true or familiar?”
- Visualize your future self. Picture the leader you want to become; how you think, speak, and act.
- Replace limiting language. Shift from “I can’t” to “I’m learning to,” or from “I’m not good at…” to “I’m developing strength in…”
These small shifts rewire your brain to accept a new self-concept. Over time, your actions begin to align naturally with your updated inner self-image.
Aligning Inner Image with Outer Impact
Your self-image not only shapes how you feel about yourself, but it also shapes how others experience you.
If you see yourself as uncertain or not “leadership material,” you’ll unconsciously play according to the script you tell yourself. You might avoid visibility, defer to others, or minimize your achievements. In doing so, you reinforce the very perception you want to change.
The model of the leader you desire to become requires alignment between how you see yourself (internal) and how you show up (external).
To strengthen that alignment:
- Define the story you want told when you’re not in the room.
- Identify the behaviours that reinforce that narrative: your tone, body language, and resilience.
- Take deliberate, visible action:
- Volunteer to lead a high-profile project.
- Ask for feedback on specific aspects of your leadership presence.
- Reach out to a respected colleague for a candid conversation about growth.
Each action builds evidence for your new identity, helping your mind and behaviours to evolve together.
Begin with the End in Mind
Real transformation begins on the inside. As you practice your new story through conscious thought, language, and action, your beliefs begin to shift. When your inner image changes, your outer results follow.
Change doesn’t start with a new role, process, or strategy.
It starts with a new self-concept; a clearer, stronger mental picture of who you truly are and who you’re becoming.
When you change your mind, you change your leadership.
And when you change your leadership, you change your world.
Reflect and Evolve
If you recognize that you hold yourself back from being fully aligned with your potential, get your journal and answer these questions:
What narrative about your leadership are you ready to rewrite?
What is the new storyline you need to feed yourself to rewire and reset?
Now, believe and live into the leader you want to become. You’ve got this!
Ready to Elevate Yourself and Your Leadership Style?
At Authentic Leaders Edge, we help leaders like you develop an impactful leadership presence that establishes the value only you can offer. Whether you’re leading a team or refining your personal brand, Dorothy Lazovik provides tailored coaching to accelerate your growth.
Book a complimentary 30-minute consultation to explore how coaching can help you step into your full potential. Email today to get started!
