The more powerful you become, the less you know if anyone is actually talking to you. You’re at dinner with your team. Someone raises a glass. Says something generous, specific, eloquent. Everyone agrees. Enthusiastically. You smile. You make it about the team. But somewhere under the table, your foot is pressing into the floor. Because you genuinely do not know if that person means it. And what disturbs you isn’t the uncertainty. It’s that you can see all three versions simultaneously - the genuine one, the strategic one, the one who just needs you to feel good about them right now. You’ve been at the top long enough to know the difference. Except lately - you can’t tell anymore. This isn’t a trust problem. It’s a nervous system problem. And it has a name. Full piece in the comments - worth the read if this already landed somewhere in your body.

The more powerful you become, the less you know if anyone is actually talking to you. You’re at dinner with your team. Someone raises a glass. Says something generous, specific, eloquent. Everyone agrees. Enthusiastically. You smile. You make it about the team. But somewhere under the table, your foot is pressing into the floor. Because you genuinely do not know if that person means it. And what disturbs you isn’t the uncertainty. It’s that you can see all three versions simultaneously - the genuine one, the strategic one, the one who just needs you to feel good about them right now. You’ve been at the top long enough to know the difference. Except lately - you can’t tell anymore. This isn’t a trust problem. It’s a nervous system problem. And it has a name. Full piece in the comments - worth the read if this already landed somewhere in your body.