3 Tips to Unleash Your Potential

"Coach, I can’t believe you are an Introvert"

"You speak very confidently"

I get comments like these quite often and it is with great surprise and disbelief that people utter these sentences as if it is not possible for an introvert to speak confidently or speak up. It is a very common misconception that they cannot.

In this article, I would like to talk about one’s potential and how to nurture it. But let me share a bit of my story first.

Until a few years ago, when I was a part of the corporate world, my bosses used to say to me quite often: "You seem to lack confidence" or "You don’t speak up" or "You are quiet when around other people".

What has changed since then?

• I became more self-aware about who I am
• I started nurturing my hidden potential
• I stepped up my learning process
• I sharpened my skills by taking help from various experts and programs

A few years ago in August 2018, when I walked into a Coach Training Program, I was very na?ve. I went into the training program with the aim of sharpening my skills as a corporate leader, but it was a significant turning point in my life. By Dec 2018 however, I had decided that I wanted to be a full-time Coach and signed up for the advanced program. Many of the co-participants later told me that I didn’t seem like or come across as a Go-getter to them.

Today, I am a prominent Leadership Coach and India’s first and only Executive Leadership Coach for Introvert Professionals. I decided to choose that as a niche to help the multitude of Introverts out there who struggle in corporate environments through no fault of theirs, but because of who they really are. Being an Introvert myself, I understand the challenges an Introvert faces and with my own personal experiences and my research in this area, I am able to touch lives of many professionals, helping them unleash their hidden potential. I aspire to touch the lives of a million professionals through my Coaching & Speaking practice and various Social Network platforms by Jan 1, 2025.

Early this month, I achieved the milestone of 500+ coaching hours which is one of the many criteria for earning the Professional Certified Coach certification from International Coaching Federation (ICF PCC). I am empaneled as a Coach with several companies. Several individuals reach out to me for 1:1 Coaching and sign up for career clarity, leadership development, job promotions, business growth, executive presence etc. My Coachees are from all industries - Retail, IT, FMCG, Hospitality, Health sector etc. I have been able to touch lives of nearly 200 individuals through 1:1 Coaching and over 1000+ people through my group coaching programs.

Now, I am invited to speak at various forums. I remember until a few years ago, I used to break out in a sweat at the thought of standing and speaking in front of even a small number of people.

When I look back at my life, this is not a journey which started in the last 3 or 4 years. It started years ago as I started upskilling myself at every stage in my life and career. I went through the process of improving my communication skills, speaking skills, leadership skills, management skills. I also went through a leadership coaching program in my career. In the last few years, I stepped up my efforts to reach out more through networking, personal branding, marketing etc - all of these skills I acquired in the last few years. This is against an Introvert’s default nature, but my increased self-awareness helped me recognize and accept my limitations and come up with unique strategies to address those limitations. These strategies are unique to each individual, depending on their needs and very much an essential requirement in this world which seems designed mainly for extroverts.

I recommend 3 steps to unleash your potential, whoever you are:

• Develop self-awareness. From my personal experience, it is not that easy to develop self-awareness on your own. When we look in a mirror, it shows us the face that we see every day. We need someone to hold that mirror for us and help us look at ourselves from different angles. A certified coach is trained to help you through this process. Coaches do not give the answers, but they will ask the right questions, which can be a huge help on your path to self-awareness. My leadership coaching program was a turning point for me. I was fortunate enough to have some great mentors early in my career and my introvert nature helped me when it came to deeper thinking and reflection. Here I should highlight: Mentors are those who give you specific guidance based on their expertise in a particular topic, while coaches are those who help you reflect and help you think for yourself. Both serve different needs. Do not think that a mentor can be a coach and a coach can be a mentor unless they have the expertise in both.
• Understand your Values, Life Purpose and Strengths: This will be a revelation and help you find meaning in many things that you do. It will help you understand why you are often not happy and content when you are not living your purpose. As Simon Sinek says: We find more meaning in what we do when we know why we do it. Helping People Succeed has come out as a significant element of my life’s purpose. When I reflect on my life, I realize that I have been helping people succeed throughout my career and life, helping them become leaders. Today I do that even more consciously. If we focus only on our weaknesses and rue about it, it is easy to drown in the negativity. We need to learn to use our strengths to overcome some of the weaknesses we may have. And if you need to develop some new skills, do sharpen your saw.
• ?Sharpen Your Saw: Stephen Covey, the author of the book The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People talks about Sharpening the Saw. It refers to preserving and enhancing the greatest asset you have–YOU. It means having a balanced program for self-renewal in the four areas of your life: physical, social/emotional, mental, and spiritual.

Physical: Beneficial eating, exercising, and resting

Social/Emotional: Making social and meaningful connections with others

Mental: Learning, reading, writing, and teaching

Spiritual: Spending time in nature, expanding spiritual self through meditation, music, art, or service

I strongly encourage you to have a read through this interesting book.

In the corporate context too, social and mental renewals are critical for your continuous growth whilst also being supported by the physical and spiritual elements.

Take the help of the right teachers, mentors and coaches to help you on this journey. Invest in books, courses, programs that will nurture you as a person, both personally and professionally. Do this by investing in yourself. That is what will take you to the next level in your growth as a human being.?

About the Author

Johncey George is an International Coaching Federation accredited Leadership and Life Coach. He is ICF PCC.

Johncey (https://www.coachjohncey.com) focuses on leadership coaching and has a special interest and expertise in coaching introverts. He is India’s first and leading Leadership Coach for Introverts.

He helps them celebrate their strengths and become successful as leaders. Being an introvert himself, he understands their thinking process. He combines this knowledge, his corporate leadership experience and his coaching expertise to help create more leaders among the Introverts.

Johncey has 23 years of corporate leadership experience and did his BE and Management Education from IIM Bangalore, Harvard Business School, ISB Hyderabad.