5 ways high achieving introverted women are harming their leadership success

Having worked with many high achieving introverted women over the years, there are some common things I have observed in which some are harming their leadership success.

They do this by putting a lot of pressure on themselves and not allowing themselves to fully step in to their roles as their true authentic self. This pressure affects their self confidence and gets in the way of them fully embracing and enjoying their successful careers.

To the outside world they may appear to be high flying, successful leaders and business owners, but on the inside it is a different story…

1. Imposter Syndrome

They often question whether they are really good enough at what they do. Despite having got to where they are on their own merits, deep down they believe that one day the bubble is going to burst and someone will expose them as a fraud. Then everyone will see that they really are not good enough.

Many times this is as a result of experiences from their younger years. Because they were an introvert, parents, carers, teachers, who may have thought they were acting in their best interests, tried hard to ‘bring them out of themselves’.  Being on the receiving end, they translated this as meaning that they were not good enough.

If this is you, remember why you got to be where you are in the first place. Do you really think that you would have got to where you are if you were not any good at what you do?

2. Perfectionism

This often goes hand in hand with Imposter Syndrome. The perfectionist, high achieving introverted woman has set very high standards for herself. Standards which are impossible to achieve. So, she puts a lot of pressure on herself trying to live up to this ideal.

No one has told her that her work isn’t good enough. She will work excessive hours to get a project or task completed when she could easily have finished it ages ago. But because she wants it to be perfect, she will burn the midnight oil if necessary. She wants things to be perfect so that people accept her.

Again, this often stems from her early years’ experience. A client in her 40s was still affected from being told by her Dad as a 12 year old child that she should have got an A in her exam when she got a B. She was told that she must do better. Over the years she continually put pressure on herself to live up to some perfect ideal.

If this is you, learn to accept yourself as the wonderful, talented woman that you are.  Raise your tolerance levels and ease the pressure you are putting on yourself. What will happen if you produce good results instead of perfect?

3. Blowing her own trumpet (aka self promotion)

Brought up being told that good girls don’t brag or boast, she is not one for blowing her own trumpet. Preferring instead to let her work speak for itself. But the trouble with this is that in a world where everyone is shouting that they are the best, her efforts are likely to go unseen.

Self centred and selfish is how it feels to her and she is most definitely not self centred. In fact, she is probably more likely to be selfless.

If this is you, yes, bragging and boasting can come across as self centred. And no, you do not have to be like that. Find the balance that lets those who need to know know about your successes, achievements and the difference that you make, without it coming across as me, me, me.

4. Comparing herself to others and putting herself down in the process

Her more gregarious colleagues get lots of attention and come across as the people everyone wants to know. Like bees to honey, they are the ones that people gravitate to because of their larger than life personalities. They’re the first to speak out at meetings, clamouring to get their voice heard.

But why try to be something that you’re not? As an introvert, do you really want all that buzz draining your energy? You have your own unique qualities and strengths and that is what people love about you.

Be you. Do you. Be your authentic self and watch your confidence levels soar.

5. Superwoman syndrome

On top of it all, these high achieving introverted women think that they are superwomen. Trying to be everything to everyone. They don’t have the heart to say no.

Feeding into points 1 and 2, she takes more and more on in an effort to prove her worth. She hasn’t really got the capacity to do all this added work, but she can’t find it within her to just say no.

This adds to the pressure and creates more stress. And because she’s so good at what she does (which everyone else sees but her), she takes it all with a smile painted on her face.

If this is you, remember, superwoman is not real and you are not superwoman. You too need to rest and play, because if you don’t, you could be headed for burnout.

Are you a high achieving introverted women who puts undue pressure on yourself as in the reasons described above? If so, how will things be for you 2…. 5… 10 years down the line if you carry on as you are? What can you do about it? Or better still, what WILL you do about it?

If you are a high achieving introverted woman who sees herself in any of the above who wants to break free from the pressure you put on yourself and take your career, business or life to another level, schedule a free Breakthrough Consultation with me here.

#HighAchievingIntrovertedWomen #Women #Leadership #Authenticity #Perfectionism #ImposterSyndrome

ABOUT ME:

I am The Coach for High Achieving Introverted Women, a Writer, Speaker, UK top 50 Business Adviser and the founder of Abounding Solutions. I help introverted women to be authentic, bold, confident leaders and excel in their careers and businesses.

I also help organisations develop the talent pipeline of female employees so that more women make it to senior management roles.

I write here on LinkedIn, on my website and on Huffington Post on subjects to help women achieve optimal potential in their careers and businesses.

Are you a high achieving introverted woman? A woman striving to be the best that you can be. A woman who wants to be a sphere of influence and be an authentic, bold, confident leader, excelling in your career or business. Do you want to make a difference and a positive impact in your respective field or community? Do you want to do this AND be true to who you are, whilst living a meaningful, purposeful, balanced life? If this is you and you're not part of the community, come on over and join the conversation here