Push Through Your Doubts to the Next Level
I believe that self-confidence is one of the most important strengths needed for career success and that it is often something women struggle with. We work hard to do a great job, to be experts in our fields, to satisfy client demands, and to be mentors to associates. But often, it still feels like we are not doing enough. No matter how much we accomplish in a day, we still feel like we are falling short. We have that voice in our head that says we need to be smarter, more efficient, more thoughtful, and more assertive. I have talked with many women who say they feel like “imposters”—not worthy of their success and unsure of their abilities. Unfortunately, this lack of confidence and drive for perfection can undermine professional success. We can be reluctant to speak up in meetings, voice our opinions, promote our accomplishments, take risks, and push outside of our comfort zones.
Of course, it’s not only women who struggle with confidence. Men do, as well. However, in my experience, we women doubt ourselves more and allow these doubts and insecurities to impact our success. That is why we must consciously decide to step through our doubts and work on building (or at least projecting) confidence and self-assurance.
I think it is important to pay attention to the small wins and not be so quick to downplay our accomplishments. We need to avoid minimizing our role or being self-deprecating when we describe our accomplishments to others. We can’t be afraid to push back and not apologize for our opinions.
Importantly, professional growth requires pushing through your limits to get to the next level. So seek out those complex projects and push to work with the big, complicated clients. Finally, let go of perfect. We need to accept that at times we will fall short and that with each of these failures there is an opportunity to learn, grow, and build confidence for the next endeavor.
