It can shame you into not sharing your ideas, make you feel stupid when asking a question, or cause you to lose sleep over-preparing for that big presentation.
Your inner critic can be a loud voice or a quiet whisper of anxiety. The way we talk about it in society often feels like it’s an intimate, personal struggle, a silent battle that many of us face daily. While this perspective holds some truth, there is a crucial missing piece in the conversation: the broader implications for teams and organisations, particularly how certain organisational cultures can allow the inner critic to thrive.
In one of the previous articles, I discussed what the inner critic is - an unsophisticated strategy of our brain to keep us safe and protect us from social disconnection.
[There are other articles in this confidence series. Go to this page if you’d like to start from the first one]
In this article, I’d like to explore five different manifestations and consequences of the inner critic that can hinder great performance and team dynamics.
I'm curious if you recognise any of these or if there are others you would add to the list.
1. Hijacked Creativity.
Imagine the mind as an economy with limited resources that need to be allocated across different tasks. When the inner critic is left unchecked, it drains significant mental and emotional energy, leaving fewer resources available for other important functions.
Many of my clients are initially unaware of the constant negative self-talk that consumes their mental bandwidth. Through our work they begin to recognise the extent of this inner dialogue and its exhausting effects.
But the impact is not only emotional; there's simply less capacity left for creative thinking, problem-solving, building connections with others, or enjoying life like reading that great novel after work.
Ideas to take this forward
Remember, just because you think something, it doesn’t mean it’s true. Practice identifying and defusing your inner critical voice. By learning to manage it, you can free up valuable mental resources.
2. Effects on Mental Health.
The connection between the inner critic and burnout is well-documented. Burnout can arise not only from the prolonged depletion of mental and emotional resources, as discussed earlier, but also from the pressure to meet the unrealistic standards set by our inner critic. The imposter phenomenon, a variation of the inner critic narrative, can lead us over-prepare in an effort to mask feelings of incompetence or fear of being exposed as a fraud. While over-preparation may offer temporary relief from anxiety, it can become a crutch – and a habit that can be hard to unlearn.
Another way the inner critic drives burnout is by pushing us to take on too much to prove our worth and indispensability. These unhealthy strategies, over time, can lead to chronic stress and eventually burnout.
Ideas to take this forward
Challenge yourself to test how much preparation is truly necessary. Experiment with scaling back on preparation in lower-stakes situations and notice how it affects your performance. You may find that being more spontaneous helps your flow and creativity, leading to better outcomes without the overwhelming effort.
3. Micromanagement.
If you’ve ever had a micromanaging boss, you likely remember how disempowering and frustrating the experience was. What might surprise you is that this behaviour often stems from the boss's own inner critic. Micromanagers tend to over-control processes or become overly involved in others' work as a way to shield themselves from failure or criticism. Unfortunately, this not only stifles creativity and prevents team members from doing their best work but also erodes morale. In fact, dealing with a micromanaging boss is one of the top three reasons people quit.
Ironically, a micromanager's actions often fuel the inner critics of their team members, undermining their confidence and causing them to fixate on potential mistakes instead of spreading their wings.
Ideas to take this forward
If you find yourself in a leadership role and feel the urge to micromanage, start by cultivating self-awareness. What situations trigger the desire to step in and take control? Can you identify any self-critical thoughts in those moments? Once you recognize these patterns, you can make more conscious choices that foster your team’s autonomy.
4. Risk Avoidance.
For early humans, being part of a group was essential for survival. The inner critic likely evolved as a protective mechanism, helping us avoid behaviours that could lead to exclusion from the group. In modern times, however, this same mechanism often drives us to stay within our comfort zones, avoiding challenging tasks or responsibilities due to fear of failure or judgment. This can manifest in various ways—such as overthinking every decision out of fear that mistakes will reflect poorly on us, or constantly seeking approval and advice from others rather than making independent choices.
Ideas to take this forward
When a situation feels risky, broaden your perspective by considering a range of outcomes: not just the worst-case scenario, but also the best-case scenario as well as a more likely, ok scenario. Consider also what steps you could take if the outcome was indeed negative. You might discover that it’s not as disastrous as your inner critic might suggest, and that you have the resources to remedy the situation.
5. Litmus test for psychological safety.
Psychological safety refers to an environment where employees feel safe to express ideas, raise concerns, ask questions, or admit mistakes without fear of ridicule. When this safety is absent, the inner critic can run rampant - people become more likely to withhold their thoughts due to fear of being judged, criticised, or undermining their career prospects.
This highlights the significant role leaders play in creating an environment where team members feel comfortable sharing their opinions and offering diverse perspectives.
Research by Amy Edmondson on psychological safety within teams has indirectly highlighted the impact of the inner critic on team behaviour. Her studies show that when individuals fear criticism and judgment (both external and internal), they are less likely to speak up, take risks, or share ideas, which significantly hinders team learning and innovation.
Ideas to take this forward
As a leader, observe dynamics in team meetings. Does everyone speak up? How is disagreement handled? If certain individuals rarely contribute or if disagreements are avoided, these could be signs of a lack of psychological safety. Watch for signs of risk aversion, such as reluctance to offer new ideas, or an over-reliance on approvals before making decisions. There are many things leaders can do to improve psychological safety by rewarding experimentation and normalising failure. Your leadership style can serve as a model for this—remember to ask for feedback from the team directly and be open to making adjustments.
In summary
Recognising the influence of the inner critic is crucial, not only for individual well-being but also for fostering a healthy team dynamic. The more I engage with this topic, the clearer it becomes that effective leadership requires a delicate balance: supporting individual team members while simultaneously raising awareness of the systemic factors that invite the inner critic and actively working to change them.
As leaders, your actions can significantly shape the team's environment. By promoting psychological safety and encouraging open dialogue, you create a culture where everyone can thrive, even with different individual starting levels of confidence.
Some people think that this is the domain of juniors – my experience contradicts this. The more senior someone becomes, the higher the stakes, and often more difficult to create new psychological habits rather than manage through well tested coping mechanisms like perfectionism or the need to please and receive approval from others.
Ultimately, managing our inner critic, at all stages of our career, is a leadership skill.
Curious to learn more?
I support my clients through 1-to-1 coaching sessions and / or workshops on understanding the inner critic and the imposter experience.
If you like the idea of working with a coach or inviting me to talk to your team, please email me at coaching@martaabramska.com
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