Do you believe you can do it?

Welcome to The Inbox Coach nudge, a small nudge to help you stay on track with your career development. In this last edition on the topic of self-promotion I want to think about the role of self-belief in ensuring you are recognised for your efforts. ?

“I have become more authoritative, and in doing so, am able to detach from requests to effectively resolve them.”

I started this month thinking about all the things you need to do to effectively promote yourself at work and I have finished the month reflecting on how important your own self-belief is to this process. Once you have identified your strengths and thought about how to best showcase these to other people, your efforts to promote yourself will only be rewarded if you truly believe in yourself.

?

Overlooked and underrated

A few years ago I left a job where my strengths and skill set weren’t recognised. I had tried so hard to get the influential people to see the potential I had, but no matter what I did I was overlooked. I felt like a failure in that moment because I hadn’t been able to get other people to believe in what I had to offer, and I felt that in turn meant I didn’t really have anything to offer. Leaving that job I was angry and frustrated that my attempts at self-promotion hadn’t worked, but I went on to do bigger and better things.

Something else shifted too, in my next role I stopped seeking approval from other people and just got on with doing the work. I no longer cared as much about how I was perceived, and I focused on building a strong and effective team. It helped that I had a lot of autonomy in my new role, but I also think my newfound self-belief was what convinced other people to believe in me.

I think before, even though I had known I had a lot to offer I was showing up in a way that suggested otherwise to those who I was trying to convince to promote me. This has been a hard realisation to come to because it meant I had been getting in the way of my own success, but now that I have recognised that I can make sure it doesn’t happen again.

?

I believe in me

The more senior you become, the more important it is that you are your own champion. You must believe 100% in your ability to do the job, because if you don’t then why should other people? No one else is going to be as invested in your career as you are.

It is challenging, because senior roles often involve you doing lots of things you haven’t done before. You can’t be a subject matter expert in all the areas you have oversight of, nor can you have experienced every crisis or challenge that might come up. In these situations you can’t rely on knowing that you have done these sorts of things before, so you will be ok this time.

Instead you must trust that you have the right approach. To ask the right questions, to know when to delegate to your team for the answers and when you need to step in and make the call. Your teams will be looking to you for leadership, guidance and support and they want to be confident that they are in safe hands. As I found out, if you don’t truly believe in yourself, it comes across to other people. Therefore I believe the first step to self-promotion is self-belief. When you know deep down that you are capable and have value to offer, it will come across in everything that you do.

??

“I have become more authoritative, and in doing so, am able to detach from requests to effectively resolve them.”

A common challenge people bring to my coaching sessions is wanting to feel more confident at work, and this is exactly what this client who shared this quote with me, chose to reflect on. They found themselves reluctant to take up space in meetings and were frustrated that they couldn’t convey all the brilliant ideas they had to contribute. The insight that made the difference for this client was realising the impact their lack of self-belief was having on their interactions. In pressurised situations their focus turned to what others would think of them, rather than on contributing to the work, which caused them to come across as less capable than they were.

We worked together to develop strategies for them to feel less bothered about what their peers thought and instead looked at what they needed to do to respond effectively when in those high-pressure situations. The result was they were able to showcase all their skills and talents, which improved how others perceived them at work.

Most of my clients have all the skills and expertise they need to do their job, get promotions, and be rewarded for their success. What they are struggling with is how manage all the things that get in the way of truly believing in themselves, trusting they have the answers and taking a big leap in their career. I help them to identify what is getting in the way and through questions, support, reflection, and challenge, I help them to be bold. To say, I am the best person for the job, with full conviction and really mean it.

??

As often happens with this newsletter, I also learn and develop from the act of writing about a topic for a whole month. I’ve done some uncomfortable reflection on where I might be getting in my own way, and I’ve also come to better appreciate the value that I add to my clients. I’ve had final sessions with a few clients this month and it has been so rewarding to hear how much progress they have made with new jobs, difficult relationships and dealing with crisis situations, all with my support. The common reflection is how valuable an hour out of their day with someone who will hold a space for them to think is. Amongst the chaos and stress of a busy job, those hours every 6-8 weeks have been moments of calm, to reset thinking, gather their thoughts and go back ready to take on whatever is thrown at them.

Are you looking to make a shift in your career? Would benefit from that space to think? Email me [email protected] to set up a free enquiry call to see how I can support you with your career goals. You can find details of my full coaching programmes, as well as one off sessions to make a plan and get clarity on your future on my website.

If you have found this topic of self-promotion valuable, you can say thank you with a virtual cuppa using my Kofi link. I believe that everyone has the right to feel good at work. I keep The Inbox Coach free to read so as many people as possible can benefit, but everyone who contributes as a way of saying thank you, allows me to support even more people. Thank you.

?

I’ll be back next week with a new topic. ?

See you then

Laura