How to lead with confidence when you’re hired based on potential
It’s an exciting thing to be promoted based on potential. It shows the organisation believes in your ability to grow into the role, even if you don’t have years of experience under your belt just yet. But being promoted early, especially if you’re in a multicultural setting or when you're younger than your peers, can come with some heavy pressure. The expectations feel high. And when you feel like you’re being judged by your colleagues, the self-doubt can creep in fast.
So, what’s the best way to lead credibly and confidently when you don’t yet feel like the finished article?
Play to your strengths
This doesn’t mean that all is lost – but it does mean that you need to identify and publicly play to your strengths, whilst privately working to build your knowledge and experience quickly. In practice, this looks like ‘fake it ‘til you make it’. How would you act if you did have all the answers and were totally sure in your position? When you’re on calls or in meetings, have your shoulders back and head high. Be decisive where needed. This means you need to do a lot of work in the background by prepping well for meetings so you can be decisive; filling in knowledge gaps through training and mentoring; and getting as much exposure as possible to people who know what they are doing so you can copy them.
Note your achievements
You might be at the end of what feels like a difficult problem but, with work, it’ll only get better and your confidence will grow. As such, I also recommend keeping a note on your phone, ‘things I can do this week which I couldn’t do last week’ and updating it each Friday with all the knowledge and skills (no matter how small) you’ve acquired. Within a few months, you will really start to see a turnaround.
Some reassurance…
And, if I can just add one thing to reassure you – whilst people may have questions about your ability, we are all so self-obsessed they won’t spend much time thinking about it. Next time you think you feel someone judging you, remind yourself that in 90 seconds or so, they’ll be back to thinking about what they are going to eat for dinner and how many squats they did at the gym this morning.
You’ve been given this opportunity for a reason. Trust that and give yourself permission to grow into it.
3 resources to help you grow into your role
This is from a relationship writer, but the principles hold true and it's great advice: 4 Ways to stop worrying about being judged by others
Hit the ground running, even if it all feels very new to you and you're not sure what you're doing:
How to 'fake it until you make it, and exude confidence despite not feeling confident at all: According to careers experts, here's how to fake it til you make it
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