Despite of the fact that the definition of success is subject to personal opinion, the word success usually conjures images of achievement, of well-being, and of self-confidence.  The personal development literature is filled with assertions that self-confidence is a key requirement to achieving results and being successful.  In the article Corporate Career Success – How to Become a CEO, we talked about how self-confidence is a common characteristic of chiefs.  But can insecurity be a virtue?  Can insecurity actually help some people achieve success?

The USA Today published an article this week called “Could insecurity be the secret to CEO’s success?” The article makes the case that insecurity and paranoia keep some executives on their toes, push them to work hard to prove themselves, and force them to always be on the lookout for the dangers that lie ahead, keeping them one step ahead of their competition.  This idea that insecurity leads to high performance seems to apply not only to the business world but also to other areas of endeavor, including sports.  Three-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady has said that insecurity is the secret of his success:  “I always feel there is someone hunting me down”, he says.

The renowned former CEO of Intel, Andy Grove, wrote a book with a title that captures this idea well:  “Only the Paranoid Survive”.   This state of paranoia seems to be common among CEOs.  Aaron Allen, CEO of Quantified Marketing Group explains how he feels:  “I sometimes lie awake in a state of paranoid anxiety that someone is plotting against us”.

Can insecurity really be an enabler to success?  Apparently it can.  Mathew Hayward, author of "Ego Check" states that “the insecure person will always outperform.  It is that insecurity that will drive a person”.  Hayward’s statement seems to imply that insecure people have an edge over their secure counterparts.  But not all successful CEOs are insecure.  Mary Wilderotter, CEO of Citizen Communications says “I don’t come from that paradigm.  I think (insecurity) is common in certain leaders.  Some have a tendency to rule more by fear than by motivation.  That’s usually a sign of insecurity”.

So what is the conclusion?  Is insecurity an enabler or a detractor to success?  I think the answer is, it depends on how you react to it.  Everyone has some level of insecurity.  The real question is what you do about it.  Do you take that insecurity and channel it into positive actions?  Do you react to insecurity by being alert to potential dangers, and consequently preparing for it?  Do you see potential problems ahead of everyone else and put together effective plans to address those problems before they become real?  Do you work harder than everyone else in order to overcome your real or perceived weaknesses?  If that is the case, then, by all means, insecurity can be an enabler to success.

But what if insecurity paralyzes you?  What if insecurity turns into fear and prevents you from taking calculated risks?  What if, instead of working harder to overcome your real or perceived weaknesses, you just accept your fate and do nothing about it?  What if instead of facing your insecurities you just protect yourself by not engaging?  In this case, your insecurity will be a detractor to your success.

Success is more about what you do with the cards you were dealt than the value of the cards themselves.  Are you insecure?  Then, as we saw here, this could play to your advantage or disadvantage.  Have you faced adversities in life?  Some people become very successful because they learned how to deal with adversities that they faced early in life.  Others let adversities become excuses as to why they have not succeeded.  Were you born with a silver spoon?  Some people leverage their wealthy backgrounds to do well in life.  Others let their lives be ruined by easy money.

If you feel insecure, turn it into a virtue.  Use your insecurities to prepare better than your competitors.  Use it as a motivator to work harder than everyone else.   With the right attitude, even something as negative as insecurity can be turned into a positive attribute that can help you achieve success.