Is this really true? I've always felt that people are more likely to open up and be themselves if I demonstrate that I'm a bit unsure of myself, too.
Don't get me wrong, I _hate_ when someone presents their work by saying "here's my poor attempt at X, it isn't very good" (which is especially enraging if their work is, in fact, good). But helping to bring more quiet members of the team out of their shell by sharing a bit of my own humanity, a bit of my own weakness? That seems like it does serve the world to me.
I think the key is that you shouldn't need to shrink. You can be competent and still have weaknesses that you openly acknowledge. And you can play with how you present those weaknesses, but that shouldn't require you to think less of yourself or to present yourself as less than what you are capable of.
Like I said, I have seen both extremes. I feel it's best when we are confident, but not cocksure.
There's always someone better. No matter how good I get, there's probably some kid in a Hanoi Internet café that can totally smoke my best.
But I won't hold back from doing my best, anyway.
Apparently the author (Marianne Williamson, not Mandela) was flabbergasted and honored that her words were being attributed to Mandela. [0]
Yeah, that's why I said "I think."
LOTS of misattributed quotes out there.
My fave is "Don't believe everything you read on the Internet." -Abraham Lincoln.
UPDATED TO ADD:
I preface my Medium posts[0] with quotes, and those, I tend to research a bit more exhaustively. One of my entries[1] is prefaced by the quote "A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for."
The quote is by John A. Shedd[2], but is often attributed to Grace Hopper, who used it one of her speeches.
[0] https://medium.com/chrismarshallny
[1] https://medium.com/chrismarshallny/thats-not-what-ships-are-...
Taking on big stuff isn't necessarily a "big ego" thing, but getting upset that we didn't solve the problem might be.
In my experience, big problems get solved by teams. It's important to be a good team member, even if we are "close to the gods." From what I understand, Feynman seemed to work well in teams, but I never worked with him, so I don't know.
False humility isn't helpful either.
I have worked with, and known, many truly brilliant folks. Some were unbearable, and getting on their team meant you drew the short straw.
Others were so self-effacing that it was actually embarrassing. It was difficult to be on a team with them, as we often accidentally treated them disrespectfully, or ignored their input.
I think it was Mandela that said: "You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you."