Janice Chaka:
Hello, and welcome to the traveling introvert. Today, I want to talk about confidence, specifically as an introvert leader. And maybe sort of when it comes to you've probably been a very good individual contributor, and that has led you to being up for promotion, and then now you are a manager or a leader in some way, shape, or form. And along with this comes the confidence that, yes, you know how to do a job, but also comes the doubts that, oh, maybe I don't know how to do this role specifically within the job that you have. And so I wanna talk about a couple of things to help you sort of build that self confidence so that your imposter feelings don't win out. Because the thing with imposter syndrome, which really is feelings, how you feel that maybe I'm not set up for this job, maybe I'm not the right pick, maybe insert thing here it's all about how you feel and it is fine for you to feel that you might have sort of these imposter feelings, that is not a problem. It's how you deal with these feelings or how you react to these feelings is what is critical. And one of the things is with those feelings of imposterism, you kind of doubt your strengths, and you forget about your past successes.
Janice Chaka:
The one thing that would be really important for you to do is think well, it's basically to be self aware, but spend some time weekly or monthly, but at least on a regular basis, reflecting on your strengths and your past successes. A lot of the time, we're really good at negating our past successes as, oh, it wasn't that big of a deal. Oh, it wasn't that important. But really what you want to do is build that muscle of not only celebrating your past successes, but finding proof of these successes, whether it be emails or phone conversations you've had, thank you notes, anything of that nature, stuff on social media that reflects how successful you have been in the past, and there's a reason that you have been picked to do the job that you are currently doing. You will be successful at it, but just doing that on a regular basis and acknowledging and coming to terms with oh oh yes, I was successful in that thing', and other people recognize this success it's gonna help build your confidence. The other thing that's gonna help is sort of thinking about and this helps you sort of build a personal achievement list. This addresses those imposter feelings because you might feel like you don't deserve that position or you're not capable enough or I'm good at this and this but I'm not good at this. Not everyone is good at everything and that is fine, but what you need to think about is creating this personal achievement list or folder or journal or, you know, whatever thing it is so that you can go back and see, oh, I have the data.
Janice Chaka:
I am good at this, that, and the other because the data is key. And the other part of it is sort of goal setting to help build your confidence as a leader. Think about setting small, achievable goals that reinforce the progress. And here's the thing with goals where we kind of get tripped up a lot is the end state. How do I want to write a book? We're focused on the end state of writing a book or even having it published. But we don't think about, I'm gonna write a 100 words a day, or I'm gonna write 50 words a day, I'm gonna do research for 10 minutes a day. So when you're thinking about these goals that you're setting, don't just think about the end state. Think about all of those tiny steps that you have to take on a fairly regular basis to be able to hit that big goal.
Janice Chaka:
Think about the journey you have to take and all that you learn with that journey, it's not just about the big end goal. It's about the journey that you take to get there, and the skills that you're going to learn while being on that journey. And so having those small achievable goals will help reinforce that progress, and as each goal is met, your confidence will improve and grow, therefore providing momentum for other things that you're going to do. But be realistic and don't be hard on yourself. Confidence grows through self reflection, noticing achievements, and understanding the value that you bring as a human and as a leader. So don't be afraid to celebrate your successes and write them down. Recognize them. Recognize these personal and professional achievements, and use them as a springboard moving forward.
Janice Chaka:
Thank you for listening. This is Janice at the Career Introvert, helping you build your brand and get hired. Have a great rest of your week.
