Is Fear Holding You Back from Success?

Client Susan asks: I am scared to be more visible and take on more responsibility. However, I’ve seen how much my career has been limited by the lack of opportunities. I’m fed-up and ready to take the necessary steps to gain more visibility.

Coach Joel answers: Visibility is the secret sauce to growing your career. Help you create opportunities to interact with people in other departments. Show others how talented and how great you are. Take on projects that will not just have more visibility, but more influence, impact and value to the firm.  Here are three steps you can take right now to overcome fear and gain visibility:

1. List your talents and strengths.

   You have unique strengths and assets you bring to the job. Write down all your skills and talents.  What do you do well?  What comes easily to you?  You were hired because your employers believed you brought value to the company. What value do you bring?As you list your strengths, you develop confidence.  These are likely things you do better than those around you.  You might have strong ethics, are dependable, or solve problems well. Give yourself credit where it is due.  If you have trouble with this, ask your friends, co-workers, or family to help you see your strengths.

2. Dive into your favorite jobs at work.

   What do you love to do at work?  What jobs or accomplishments make you the happiest?  When you focus on those jobs and build on those strengths, you’ll have greater job satisfaction and greater visibility. You will also bring more value to the company.There’s a story of a squirrel, a mole and an owl hired at a company. The squirrel worried he lagged behind mole in digging and stayed extra late trying to dig better. The mole feared he wasn’t as good at tree climbing as the squirrel and spent a lot of time practicing climbing. The owl soared on the winds, swooped for the catch, and soon caught the attention of management for her great skills. When we improve what comes naturally, we naturally come to the attention of management.   Study and grow in your area of strength.

3. Look for gaps and needs.

   Spend time listening to those around you, especially, those above you.  What are the problems they are facing?  What does the company need right now?  The job of your leaders is to focus on what is the best for the business.  Your job is to make the leader look good.Look for places you can match up your strengths with the company’s needs.  Here is where you will bring the greatest value to the company. It will impress your boss and make him look good. Your leaders will thank you and be grateful to you for solving that problem.

You will have less fear in speaking up and moving into the limelight when you know you have strengths and talents and you are confident you can use them to help the company’s objectives. Automatically you’ll gain more visibility. People will be delighted to hear what you have to say!  You’ll speak from authority… and people will listen.

Personal leadership coaches  work with clients to help them find ways to increase visibility and add value to their company. Find out how this can lead you to overcome fears and produce dramatic results. Contact Joel now to find out how he can help!