The Audacity to Believe in Ourselves

Welcome to The Audacity, a brief for executives who dare to show up for themselves and transform what's possible in their lives. In each edition, I'll share a leadership challenge I'm hearing and a powerful practice and resource to begin working through it.??

?This brief provides a guided approach to achieving greater personal alignment through relatable stories from my executive clients - your peers.?

Let's go!

One of the most audacious things we can do is believe in ourselves - to bet on our ability to figure out the challenge in front of us and get it done. Our belief in ourselves is a gateway to stepping fully into our greatness.

Can you think of one way you're not fully showing up for yourself today? I suspect you have a couple of thoughts percolating, which is why I can’t think of a more important topic for my first Executive Brief.

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??? What I'm hearing is…

"I don't know if I am ready for [insert next big step here - the next promotion, opportunity, project]."

I often hear this from executives at the top of their game, as if they aren't showing up and showing out every single day. Many senior leaders, particularly Black and Brown, and especially women, grapple with truly believing in their competence.?

There was a time in my life when I questioned my own readiness for a promotion. In fact, I turned down an opportunity twice before it was GIVEN to me. And then, despite my own significant self-doubt, I excelled. How?

??: You won’t often feel 100% ready for something the first time you do it.

?But there’s a way to short-circuit these self-defeating thoughts before they hijack your success and many of my clients have been able to do this. If you’re not sure how, keep reading…?

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???? What I'm practicing now…

1. Identify the Self Doubt Story: Brené Brown shared a phrase that I find particularly helpful, "The story I am telling myself is…" Using this wording helps us separate our feelings from the facts. It also reminds us that what we're thinking isn't necessarily true. So start by asking yourself these questions:

• What is the story you're telling yourself?
• Why do you believe the story is true?

2. Counter the Story: Can you think of a time when the story wasn't true? (e.g., The story I tell myself is that I am bad at managing project budgets, but I do a good job managing my personal/family finances and managing a project budget isn't that different. So, maybe if I apply myself, I can do it.)

When you test the story and find it isn't true, it’ll help you to create a new narrative based on facts. And the fact is, you’ve done hard things and you can do new things.?

?? What is helping…

Brené’s Latest Special on Netflix??

Disclaimer: While I appreciate much of Brené Brown’s work, I acknowledge that some of the “courage culture” that she talks about doesn’t translate to/nor is it reflective of the lived experience of Black & POC leaders.

?Have the audacity to believe in yourself…

Thank you for taking the time to read! Make sure to subscribe at the top of this page to join the conversation regularly and let us know what you dream of? having the audacity to do in the comments.

P.S., Post coming next week on Imposter Syndrome!