How preoccupation with self-esteem limits opportunity
John Niland
Supporting professionals to build a powerful professional identity in the Age of A.I., rooted in self-worth and self-belief
We live in turbulent times where many people are searching for new jobs, clients and opportunities.
There are basically four ways in which opportunities arise; yet so many people are relying on just one or two of these sources:
1: Doing your own search: job boards, online search, networking etc. Problem: for most people, this is hard work and time-consuming.?
2: Waiting to see what comes. This often happens when a person’s energy is low, or a professional feels confused about next steps and direction. So, for example, they might just update their LinkedIn profile and wait to see who contacts them.
3: Dependence on agents, brokers, partners, companies who sub-contract etc. In this way, you can avoid most of the bizdev; but the nature of the work—and the remuneration—is largely dictated to you.
4: Educating your network to be your ambassadors. This can be blended with any of the above approaches, and it has the advantage of reaching people you often cannot reach in other ways, while still protecting (even enhancing) the value of your proposition.
Of course, everyone dreams about these benefits, but unfortunately many people unwittingly cut themselves off from this approach by the way they talk about themselves and their work. A decade ago, I used to think this was just a matter of fixing communication skills; now I understand that that this goes much deeper.
Here is the crux of the problem. If you want others to be your ambassadors, you have to stop talking about yourself… and start talking about the specific problems of the marketplace. But self-esteem-driven people find this really hard to do, because they are always craving validation.?
With self-worth, you move beyond this limitation into a wider expanse of value. You become fluent in the problems of the world and the fresh insights that are useful there. You are more interested in how you might be of value, than how valuable you are. With this mindset, you educate your supporters to open doors for you.
To get a start on how to open doors, join our next webinar “How to have more impact in a first meeting or interview” on Thursday June 27th at 12:30 UK / 13:30 CET. Together we will address:??
Alcohol & Mindful Drinking Coach ?? Teaching you how to drink less, rarely or not at all ?? Host of the 90 Days Later podcast ??? Author ??
5 个月Once we become our own ambassadors and biggest cheerleaders we stop needing that validation from others. Then we're fully accountable for all our results and it's a beautiful thing.