In “Once an Eagle,” his novel about an American soldier, Anton Myrer quotes Army Gen. Joseph Stilwell:
“If a man has enough character to be a good commander, does he ever doubt himself? He should not. In my case, I doubt myself. Therefore, I am in all probability not a good commander.”
That question and its answer carry a great weight. Substitute almost any profession or position you like for the word commander—father, mother, priest, teacher, CEO, you name it—and self-doubt in a person of character would seem to indicate, as Stilwell implies, inadequacy. But is this the case?…