Emerging Women Leaders Fear and Trust Issues
QUESTION:
I’m in a new leadership position. I’m excited about the opportunity for advancement, but sometimes I feel insecure about my ability to lead a team. I’m afraid I’ll fail if I can’t get people to trust my leadership.It frustrates me when I wonder why I’m the leader instead of someone else who might be more qualified.
Although I can ask experienced leaders in the company questions, I don’t have a mentor. My function is somewhat unique, so I don’t see a person who is a role model I want to follow.
Policies are pretty clear, but I’ve discovered there is no rule book for being a leader.
How would hiring you as a coach help me become the best leader I can be?
ANSWER:
Congratulations on your new leadership position!
Even if you had a role model you wanted to follow, we would still need to discover what kind of leader you want to be.
I can lead you through an exercise where you’ll identify your current perceptions of an ideal leader. This is a fascinating activity because you’ll discover and quickly delete some misconceptions that are causing you to question your leadership ability.
My clients love this exercise. Self-discovery paves the way to discovering Your Authentic Leadership Style. When you live and work as Your Authentic Self, your new leadership role will feel as comfortable as a pair of hand-tailored house slippers. You’ll feel confident and stable as you inspire employees to do their best.
During your coaching sessions, we’ll explore your leadership vision so you can design a strategic plan for leading with your strengths. We’ll identify your personal mission before mapping what you want to achieve in the next three years. Each time we refine and implement your strategic plan, we’ll check to see how satisfied you are and make any necessary changes. I’m a firm believer in having as much fun as possible during your journey to joy on the job. (That’s why I wrote that bestselling book.) I’ll do my best to ensure you enjoy work-life balance, which also prevents stress and anxiety.
Discovering more about your core strengths will also escalate your confidence. Some of your obvious strengths are why you were hired for your new leadership position. I’ll help you discover your hidden strengths. Exploring these precious personal assets will unleash charisma and personal power that will inspire employees to follow your lead.
Once I know more about your preferences and your personality, I can help you decide how you want to improve or compensate for weaknesses. We all have flaws. Our weaknesses are not dangerous unless we practice self-deception, which crushes our ability to lead. Self-acceptance helps us delete the stress of trying to seal our flaws in a leaky container with a faulty lid.
The Truth About Trust and Leadership
You said you want your team members to trust you so they’ll follow you. You must first trust yourself. Self-trust includes being transparent with yourself, including acknowledging, when appropriate, “I made a mistake. I’ll build my confidence by acknowledging this error and charting a new path forward.”
This level of self-love and self-respect is rare. It is, however, common among today’s most successful leaders. The leader or emerging leader who radiates this combination of confidence and humility is highly sought by recruiters and upper management.
A frequent concern of emerging leaders is the fear of criticism. That’s why it’s so important that we carefully identify your strengths and fortify your self-compassion. Since a key ingredient of your leadership success will be intelligent risk-taking, I’ll help you build a solid safety net in your mind first. We’ll practice proven ways to activate the parts of your brain that empower you to think strategically and deal with uncertainty while you compassionately assess your performance and use your intuition to improve.
Some new leaders think they need to “have it all together” to be effective. The opposite is true. Acknowledging our flaws helps us become effective leaders. Our new level of self-awareness helps us build greater trust with our team members, one human to another.
Please know that the feelings you describe, like fear of failure and wondering if you’re fully qualified for your new challenge, are perfectly normal. Fears and insecurities can never hurt you once you acknowledge them and devise a realistic, strategic leadership plan. I’ll also show you how to harness the energy of your negative feelings so you can use them as tools for growth.
I can definitely help you decrease anxiety, trust yourself more and avoid unnecessary stress while we design and implement your new career path. Step by step, we’ll consistently identify and secure the resources you need so you can continue to expand your knowledge and your support network.
Time For Action Sign Up for Women’s Leadership Coaching!
Since you mustered the courage to accept your new challenge and you said you’re excited about this opportunity for growth, you’ve already proven that your fear of failure is wimpy compared to your desire to grow. Splendid!
Now, it’s time for you to take another step forward. Let me help you become crystal clear about your special and unique gifts and your innate leadership potential. As soon as we design your personal leadership plan, your clarity, vision and passion to excel will propel you forward with confidence.
Just complete the short application form here so I can contact you for a complimentary 20-minute consultation. If we decide we’re a good fit as client and coach, we’ll discuss a coaching agreement. I look forward to helping you gain the confidence, awareness of your strengths and purposeful passion you need… so you can enjoy being an exemplary leader.
