Faye impressed her prospective employer at interview and won a big new job. But as soon as she started in the new role, she confronted the magnitude of her new challenge. She questioned whether she was capable of delivering on her promise.
Self-help books suggested she should fake it until she made it. However, she needed more than swagger to save her from sleepless nights listening to her little voice of doubt.
Faye compared herself to the leaders around the table, particularly the men, who appeared to be confident and have it all together.
However, all is not as it appears. A survey discovered that being found incompetent is the number one fear of CEOs and executives worldwide.
Once Faye realised learning and growing goes with the territory of being a leader, she shifted her focus to concentrate on what she was good at. Faye dealt with her self-doubt not by trying to make it go away, but by building on her strength. She was great at building relationships and connecting with people.
It took courage to confront her fears, but she can now authentically support people who question their capability and support them to be the best version of themselves.
She can see the evidence for her success in her commitment to make a lasting difference to everyone around her.
Marshall Goldsmith addresses this leadership dilemma of continuous learning in his book, What Got You Here Won’t Get You There. When leaders have a belief, they are successful, he suggests they adopt a mantra, “Why change if it’s working?” He wants us to recognise that the skills and habits that have taken us this far might not be the best skills and habits to take us further, hence the subtitle of his book, “How Successful People Become Even More Successful.”
🙋 What are your plans for learning and growing this year? 🙋♀️
Best regards, Brian
