You're worth it! Job visibility whilst working from home
This coronavirus really has gone all in and raised the stakes. Not only has it impacted our day to day lives, it is also taking no prisoners when it comes to businesses and people’s careers. In the last few weeks, clients have spoken to me about a multitude of challenges that they are facing. To be clear, not all of these challenges are of the negative kind. However, for many, an underlying theme as emerged.
In recent Mindful Conversations and blog posts, we have talked about redundancies, furloughs & layoffs where leaders and employees alike were often struck with distressing amounts of anxiety, stress & paralysis. We’ve talked about the importance of emotional intelligence in communication and leadership, and how strategic positive thinking can really help you and your business move forward. At this time, many of you as individuals and as businesses have to embrace agility, quick but smart thinking and a renewed sense of purpose and vision, more than ever before. Business leaders and employees alike have to do things very differently, even if their core offering remains the same. Others will be feeling insecure as the state of the economy globally shrinks at a pace faster than we’ve ever known. There is still a lot we don’t know and can’t solve out there, so we have to take charge of the things that we can. How our businesses are run and our individual careers.
And yet, because of this incredible upheaval not only do we have to be agile, strategic and smart, we have to do so with commitment and confidence, as the various parts are moving around us at phenomenal speeds. Not only is this unsettling but the doubts start to creep in - what are you good at, where do your strengths lie? How do you convince others that your business is worthy of buying products or services from? Can you convince someone to hire you?
In a previous post ‘You’re a fraud’, I used Wikipedia’s pretty accurate definition of what Imposter Syndrome is.
‘as a psychological pattern in which an individual doubts their accomplishments and has a persistent internalized fear of being exposed as a "fraud".’
To date, you’ve been establishing yourself and your credentials through offering a service or product to your clientele. At work, you’ve been working hard to prove your worth and contribution by working hard, engaging with others and actively contributing. Now that suddenly has to change and the goodwill and reputation that you’ve built up overtime has all but disappeared and you have to start from scratch or do you?
Case study 1 – job insecurity
Client X feels that her job and her role might be on the line. Whilst the management has reassured her that it is business as usual for now, she is not sure that is the case, or at least for long. Traditionally, her division has been perceived as the ‘ugly cousin’ of the business but in very recent years, she has turned things around and is now contributing to a very significant portion of the business. With persistent reminders of her department’s lower status and contribution (despite clear evidence to the contrary), X is starting to doubt her abilities, her contribution and is considering leaving but is unsure. It’s like the perfect storm of self-doubt, persistent reminders that her & her team should doubt themselves and a gloomy economic outlook – no wonder she doubts her skills despite phenomenal achievements. She is not alone.
Case study 2 – job insecurity
Client Y has been WFH but is increasingly under the impression that his contribution is being unseen, and possibly becoming irrelevant. As such, he is starting to wonder about how long he can keep his job, if he is in the right role and if he should be there at all. And if that is true, who on earth would hire him, and why should they? Especially in this difficult climate, he has even less of a chance of getting a good job, if he can’t even do well in one that he is in. Sensing the blind panic here?
Here’s what we worked on: (tweaked for each individual case)
· Reassurance
o Feeling vulnerable and unsettled? Try some compassion for yourselves. These are unprecedented, unsettling and for many, scary times, it’s normal to feel as you do.
o You’re not the only one in this situation – everyone is, so there is every chance that whilst your feelings are valid, your fears might be unfounded.
· What’s true?
o We reviewed, analysed and discussed each situation – were their thoughts fact? How did they know? How might someone else perceive those situations? Would they arrive at the same conclusions? What other perspectives might there be? What else is fact, true and relevant? How might a different perspective affect your thoughts & feelings and where did they want to go from there?
· 2 reminders
o 1) you’re perfectly able, smart enough and good enough for this job, or any that you might be going for. You have achieved a lot to get to where you are. Remember that
o 2) It’s all about perception – if you don’t behave as if you are an asset and that you deserve to be where you are, no one else will. No need to go overboard but if you have to fake it till you make it, so be it.
Be the leader you wish others would be
o Good leadership requires agility, emotional intelligence, a clear vision, effective strategy & execution, as well as exceptional communication skills.
o What does that look like?
o What practical things could they do to allay their fears and if true, change perceptions that others might have of them?
Some examples
· Use the situation to your advantage – now that everyone is WFH, the slick political maestro or the very loud and opinionated person does not have quite the same access to senior management or board members as before. How can you use this opportunity to showcase your and your team’s strengths?
· Check in with relevant decision-makers and influencers to see how you can support them with their mandates and to ensure that you are on the right track.
· How can you help and collaborate with others to show leadership and initiative?
· What is your edge? Is it use of technology – can you help roll out a new business strategy? Is it nurturing client relationships – how do you leverage of that for other departments? Is it planning & strategy – if so, how can we use that skill to help your business pivot? How can you or business use that edge to help others and to shine?
· How else can you increase your visibility – be it internally or externally? Might it be producing videos? Webinars? Interviewing experts in your field? Amusing but relevant content? Perhaps initiating conversations with divisions that you don’t normally engage with to get to know them better, understand their contributions and challenges & to see how you might collaborate into the future or merge particular functions? Might it be posting articles and/or commenting on them on social media for people to get a better flavor of who you are and what you have to offer? This is also relevant for team or intra team meetings – how can you constructively contribute to that conversation?
· Assuming it is appropriate for the audience (really important to get a sense check), share something slightly more personal and cheerful – like a funny article or a picture of your new work colleague – your very cute but currently needy dog!
· Keep engaging with everyone – ensure that you are in communication with others – to the right level. More than you normally would in an office, after all WFH can be like a vacuum. But not so much that you’re being intrusive and very irritating. This will vary from person to person but exercise your emotional intelligence!
· Support others at this difficult time, in a way that works for them and for you. It could be new initiatives like how you check in with each other, or how you deliver your work, or how you split up roles and responsibilities. By being receptive to change and open to different strategies, you will stand out as someone who is ‘leaning in’ to this change and making it work for you and the business.
Some broader tips: (per previous blog)
Remember why you deserve to be there. If you need to, list your achievements, strengths and look at your experience. Why are you where you are? How did you get here? How do you contribute?
If you’re not sure, seek out help from trusted internal and external sources. Get a coach (blatant plug here…) to help you think through your thoughts and your strategy
It’s alright not to know everything. In fact, learning should be a continuous process and it will give you an edge over everyone else
Do seek out mentors and advisors but be clear on your objectives and healthy boundaries. Advice is just advice, you don’t have to take it
Have a vision and be clear about it. The advice you seek will come from learning how to navigate your way into delivering on that vision
Be careful what you share and with whom you confide – some might use your insecurities against you
Behave like you deserve the role – it’s the biggest draw
Above all, remember to show off your leadership skills. By showing initiative, leading through turbulent times with empathy and a clear vision, and motivating and collaborating with others, you will be standing out from others who have retreated into hibernation and paralysis. You’re in charge of your life, not someone else, so don’t let others decide who and what you need to be. If you know you deserve that job, then prove your internal dialogue and the detractors wrong.
This is your moment to shine, so get out there and shine!
This topic will also be touched upon at our online event, ‘Are you robbing yourself of greater success?’ on Wednesday 29th April. Click here for more details.
Here’s the video from today’s conversation. If you want to skip the blurb and go straight to Davina’s 4 minute meditation on bringing presence to the body by simply sensing and feeling into the hands, scroll to 18:00 mins. Remember to check out Davina’s website and you can also find her on LinkedIn. She is one of our treasured partners and you will learn so much from her and her work.
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