Positioning Yourself for the Win

Do you feel like you are being left behind and everybody else out there is visible, but no one can see you?

Whether you're in a career working for others, or in your practice or business, getting in front of the right people and being seen at the right time is really important.

So, stick with me because this week, I'm going to help you understand some shifts that you need to make so that that also happens for you.

Hi, this is Grant Herbert, VUCA Leadership and Sustainable Performance Coach, and today, I want to continue our conversation in this area of our Professional Leadership skills by helping you to POSITION YOURSELF FOR THE WIN.

As I'm recording this morning, I'm about to watch the Super Bowl in America, and although what we’re going to talk about today has nothing to do with sports, I want you to think about the eyes that will be on that event today.

That didn't just happen. It's not left to chance. Whether it's a Taylor Swift opportunity, you follow one of those teams, or you're an advertiser, no matter what it is, you need to make sure that you get yourself to a position where people want to see you, and that will make this event today a very successful one.

By the way, there's actually a game of football that's going on at the same time, and sometimes I feel that the result of that sort of pales into insignificance a little bit. So, you need to make sure that your plan brings everything together so it's good for you, for those around you, and for the greater good.

So why do you feel this way sometimes — where everybody else is being seen, but you’re not?

Well, just like everything you are dealing with, it starts in that IDENTITY area with you having a belief about yourself that could be true or not true. It's those limiting and false beliefs that you have about your own ability, whether it be feeling like an imposter or continually trying to get the approval of others. That's the biggest barrier to what I'm talking about today.

If you don't feel worthy of being seen, you won't.

As we talk about the strategies and skills you need in this area of positioning, I want you to underpin that in your thinking and behaviour with everything you're learning and growing through in that area of identity.

The shift in this area of positioning is going from being invisible—where you feel like no one can see you — to being in-demand.

In-demand is not about more people wanting to have a piece of you, but being in demand means that you are in front of the right people at the right time, and it will open up opportunities for you. Whether or not this is in an employed situation where it's internally in the organisation you're working in, that the right people within your profession see you, you are seen in a certain way, and/or being in a practice where it’s not only about doing those same things but also having visibility in the marketplace.

The Super Bowl is a huge event in terms of advertising, and the only reason they can draw that advertising dollar is they guarantee eyes on the game. So, there are particular skills and strategies you can do to do that, so that you can make sure that (not necessarily that you've got billions of people watching you) you've got the right people to see you. They not only see you - they see what you bring as the answer to their problems at that moment.

When we talk in marketing, we talk about the four forces. The fears and the frustrations that people want to move away from and the wants and the aspirations that they have. Put yourself out there in a way that people not only see you but see that you are the person that's going to be able to take them on a journey from where they are, and what they want to move away from, to where they want to be.

To do that, you need to become a thought leader.

So, what's a thought leader?

From the way I understand it and from what has been taught to me, famous people are well-known, and academics know things, but more importantly, a thought leader is known for knowing a specific thing.

They're seen as being a go-to person in that marketplace — in that area and discipline. So, when someone sees a problem, the dialogue that goes around that, and the available information, the thought goes to YOU as one of the people they need to consider talking to.

So that's going to take you from being invisible to in demand.

Being “invisible” happens because many people do what you do. In fact, there's a perception out there in the marketplace that all people who do what you do it the same way. They tar you with the same brush, both in the negative things that they understand about that profession and the positive things. So, when you all look the same, you all sound the same, you all can do the same, you're not standing out.

There are two ways that you can stand out...

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Grant Herbert (aka The People Builder) describes himself as an ordinary guy, with an outstanding wife and 5 amazing kids, who has a passion to help people escape the performance trap and regain their authenticity in every area of life. He is a VUCA Leadership Mentor, Sustainable Performance Coach, Master Coach Trainer in Social and Emotional Intelligence,?and the founder of People Builders.

Visit www.grantherbert.com to find out how you can connect.