When leaders say any of the following:

• I put a lot of pressure on myself.
• I hold myself to very high standards.
• I am the biggest critic of my work.

It typically means that they will find it challenging to establish relationships based on trust, particularly with direct reports.

And it’s not because what they say is not true. It might indeed be that they expect a lot of themselves, that they are never happy with what they achieve, that they always strive for more.

But they then extend the same expectations on others. They assume that just because others don’t feel the same pressure, don’t adhere to the same standards, don’t agree with the same critiques, it means they are not as committed, as motivated, as performing.

That’s a bit of an arrogant assumption.