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Confidence is a leadership skill
Own your job like a boss!
For anyone who has landed a job, is about to start a new senior role or hasn’t quite got that feeling of being fully in command of your responsibilities, let me ask you ‘Do You Own Your Job?” Do you feel like you have caught up with your new job title; fully in command of your job, competent and confident about getting your job done, at the level expected of you?
I know, it sounds like a quirky question, but I’ve asked it many times in coaching sessions and seen the positive impact of it. It’s that one question that could unlock a world of confidence and success for you, especially if you have just stepped into a more senior role.
We often seem to be saying and doing the right things, with apparent confidence, but the body seems to be telling you a different story. If you don’t feel like you are there yet, this is the gap to close. It happened with a senior director I was coaching. I noticed the mismatch in what they were saying and doing. The question occurred to me and it opened up the issue at the heart of the coaching session, they had the job, but hadn’t consciously stepped into it. And so, we dropped into the coaching space and got the experience of stepping into the role and truly owning it.
We are consistent meaning-makers and sometimes our meanings about our jobs are outside our awareness, until we ask what’s going on. Coaching ourselves is a good way to measure how confident we feel.
A simple question like this is often a game-changer for people who are new to a role or get a promotion, but have yet to catch up with the reality of it. I’ve worked with countless talented, intelligent, and humble individuals who hesitate to step into their job fully and acknowledge their own success and achievements. Even those with massive teams reporting to them, holding senior positions, often battle with that pesky little doubt that knocks them off balance. They wait and wait to get there, when it’s a mind shift is all that is needed.
How does that question feel to you? Does it evoke a resounding “yes, for sure!” or does a nagging unease creep in? If there’s even a hint of hesitation, this is your coaching opportunity. Where did you decide you needed more external approval or time to fully embrace and own your job? It’s not a reflection of poor self-perceptions, it’s just a moment to take stock of the progress you have made and update your meanings about your as a professional. After all, the end goal is productivity, confidence, and delivering what is expected.
So, what does it mean to own your job?
As a coach, passionate about linguistic patterns, I’ve noticed how certain language and metaphors pop up in conversations to reflect the often-mentioned “fraud factor” or “imposter syndrome.” Is it real? Of course, if you’ve lied on your resume or lack the qualifications for the job, that’s fraud and there definitely other questions to be asked.
But what if you have everything it takes, and more? Yet, somewhere deep down, you run a idea in your mind you’re not good enough, at least not yet. That’s where we coach what’s driving the reluctance to fully embracing your success and achievements. Try some self-coaching and see if it will move the needle for you.
Evidence and Certainty are the keys to confidence
Step into a state of certainty and take stock of the evidence you have about you. Make a list of your skillset, training, past results, and all the evidence that confirms you are qualified and capable of excelling in your job. Keep counting until you run out of things to count. Then, ask yourself: What do I know for sure about what I’m capable of? And what else? Keep going until you feel that surge of certainty and confidence stacking up, reshaping your understanding of your talent and ability. Notice how that feels now?
Amp up your Internal Reference with an External Check
Now, let’s crank up that certainty even more. Ask yourself why you can fully own your job right now. Create a strong internal reference by answering the question: How do I know I’m doing a good job? Your response should ideally be a blend of empirical evidence from your day-to-day work, such as sales results, numbers, project milestones and the response you get from people. Start with “I know I’m doing a good job because… I think, I feel, I notice this about myself.”
If you find yourself relying on external factors, like what others tell you or you are waiting for performance reviews, that’s where doubt and lack of ownership creep in. So, put your internal reference first and then do an external check to see if what you believe about yourself aligns with the evidence. It’s concrete inside-out evidence that paves the way to owning your role, whether it’s a new job or one you’ve growing comfortable with over time. This could also be influenced by your comfort around senior people with more responsibility than you.
You don’t need to wait for more evidence, more time, or another opinion. It’s crystal clear that you’re in your job because of your skills, talents, and experience. The people who hired you believe in you, and now it’s time for you to step up and own your job!
Own your job like a boss, embrace your role with confidence and trust that you have what it takes, if you have been hired. This is self-leadership at work on your Trailblazing Journey.
#leadershipdevelopment #executivecoaching #changemanagement
About the Author:
Shiera is an Executive Coach and trainer with a passion for transformational coaching, the language of leaders, and strategic communication. With over 16 years of experience and expertise in coaching executives and leaders to enhance their impact in how they communicate and interact in the workplace.
As a Master Practitioner in NLP, with extensive training in Meta-Coaching and cutting-edge Neuro-semantic approaches to Change Management and Executive Development, she brings a wealth of knowledge to coaching, with a background that spans various aspects of business, including sales, communication, and people development training and coaching.