Why the Harshest Critics Fear Judgement Most

A note to young leaders.

Think of a person who’s highly critical of others.

Nobody has to search hard for this person. They tend to be memorable in the way that dental work is.

Who did you think of?

Chances are you pictured someone commanding and self-assured. But here’s the paradox: this person secretly fears being disapproved.

It’s a law of human nature worth remembering – the more a person dreads disapproval, the more freely they dispense it.

The person who harshly audits everyone is usually the person who has not passed their own audit. Severity outward is a hedge against a reckoning inward.

Once you see this, you can’t unsee it.

The consolation is that this makes hostile people legible. The complication is that the same law applies to you, and you will be the last to notice.

Remember this when you are next being judged. Remember it, more so, when you are the one doing the judging.