Trust your Instincts

"You need to learn to take more control over your brand and decisions when doing your job. Right now, you are more of an order taker, and we need an order maker." These were the painful words expressed to me by a senior colleague when I asked them for advice regarding my areas of improvement. Speaking with colleagues I work closely with is something I do often to ensure that I am holding an objective mirror to myself. On this day, let's call this person "Cindy," had agreed to coach me on a few things I can do to refine my brand within the company. When she first shared with me this idea of being an order maker, I was a little taken aback. I know that many colleagues and friends say I'm a natural leader, I take control of a room, and I can be quite assertive with my opinions. So initially, I wanted to disregard that part of her recommendation and focus on something else.

But for some reason, I couldn't let those words go. Am I an order taker? This question led me to assess my professional and personal experiences over the years. Back in 2017, at a friend's company, I was very inexperienced in my career. The company provided a service, and I was one of the coaches for that service. I remembered how I never felt comfortable doing the actual job, and I never adequately prepared or committed myself to enhancing my skills enough to do the job. At the time, I would simply perform the job, occasionally listening to the advice of senior team members. During company meetings, which consisted of about 20-30 people at the time, I never contributed any input, despite having many ideas. I always feared that what I had to say wouldn't make sense or that I had missed my window of opportunity.

Reflecting on this led me to deep introspection about what was causing my behavior today, and how it may be related to my career back then. As a first-generation graduate and professional, I had never been taught how to leverage college, let alone how to grow a career. During my time at that company, I was still behaving as if I were in college, which I had simply coasted through. Taking orders, turning in papers, and asking for a grade. Over the years, I had somehow learned to do this in professional settings, ultimately stunting my potential. Cindy was holding up the mirror that would impact the future of my career.

I have learned that, in order to be an order maker, I must trust my instincts. I have an instinctual barometer that helps me know what to say and when to say it. I already do this in my personal life. However, it is a skill that I've had to exercise repeatedly in my career. From my perspective, to effectively leverage your instincts within a professional setting, you must:

• Be prepared. Preparedness at all times is the key to following along in conversations with enough understanding to provide insights or ideas. In my opinion, there is no way around this. Some may be able to blurt out their thoughts without being prepared, but not me. In my experience, those who can usually do so are senior employees or are beloved by everyone. Know your company, industry, the latest news, and the details of your job.
• Jot down your thoughts. This mainly depends on the structure of your company. If you have access to the people who can make changes, then go that route. If not, jot down your thoughts to bring up at a later meeting. If you're like me, schedule a meeting with leadership and let them know you have some ideas you want to discuss.
• Trust yourself. Know that you are not in your role by mistake and that you have a ton of value to offer. The popularized term for this is Impostor Syndrome. Ignore that voice in your head that has you worried if you're smart or not. You are here, and what you have to say is valid.

Being an Order Maker is an art. You must weave it into your career one experience at a time. In the world of SaaS, I don't believe anyone has a choice in this. Innovation depends on everyone who works at the company to not only get things done but to determine, through their own experiences, how to do them better. Each employee's unique perspective is an added benefit to the company culture and bottom line. So, be prepared, write down your thoughts, trust yourself, and trust your instincts.