Despite high levels of confidence overall, nearly all leaders say they’ve questioned a critical aspect of their leadership, and more than half do so on a monthly basis, according to Sept. 20 survey results from Robin Pou Inc., a leadership development firm.

This leadership doubt appears to be most commonly triggered by a large workload, team performance issues or industry disruption, and leaders reported their doubt often led to burnout, decreased productivity and lower revenue for the company.

“All successful leaders experience what we call Leadership Doubt,” Robin Pou, executive coach and founder of the Leadership Doubt Index, said in a statement.

“This groundbreaking research is an important milestone on the path to normalize the concept of Leadership Doubt,” Pou said. “If leaders can identify their doubt, they can develop strategies to overcome it so they can lead effectively.”

According to the firm’s Leadership Doubt Index, nearly all leaders have questioned some aspect of their leadership, and 54% experience long-term, chronic leadership doubt. Most often, leaders tend to question their ability to manage conflict, establish a thriving culture and manage change.

Beyond that, 41% of leaders have considered changing jobs as a result of their leadership doubt, and 51% have wondered if they can be successful as a leader in the future.

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