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TRANSCRIPT
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
About . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Want to Improve? Get a Coach (Consultant or Trainer)! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Giraffe Can’t Fly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
The Test You Can Never Fail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Double Down On Your Strengths . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Woman In a Man’s World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Here’s a Little Secret; We All Have Imposter Thoughts . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Courage to Try . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
How Ziplining Changed My Perspective . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
My Career By the Numbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
Hail to the King Makers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
30 Pieces of Advise I’d Give to My 30 Year-old Self . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
Closing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
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INTRODUCTION
With vast and varied work practices from a 26+ year career, I have experienced
highly functional work environments, as well as toxic, challenging ones --- and
everything in between. Concurrently my involvement at all levels, within all
sizes of companies/institutions (from private start-up to family-owned, to large,
international, publicly traded, as well as non-profit and governmental, etc.) has
provided me with a perspective of organizational health and its benefits to the
establishments and its employees.
At its foundation, organizational health is a top-down, middle-out philosophy
that must be embraced by leadership to be embedded within the company/
institution. It all begins with an understanding that we are unique and must be
appreciated for the value and diversity of thought/experience that we bring to
the table for any needle to move.
Leveraging this awareness, we have compiled this collection of emotional
intelligence-specific articles to address several subjects regarding the
development of a strengths-based organization and how it is rooted in
identifying the value that you and your employees are innately wired with. If
you’d like to discuss this or other strengths and/or value-based topics and
how they work to advance your mission/vision/charter, please contact me at
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MY WHY• To Inspire, Ignite and Activate
Inner Greatness in Others and Myself
MY HOW’S• To Invest in Others• To Be a Resource• To Identify and Articulate Value to
Others and Myself• To Collect/Deliver the Right
Information and People at the Right Time
• To Live a Life of Independence & Excellence
• To Move Forward and Surrender to the Possibilities of the Future
• To Stay Disciplined & Continue to Work Hard
CERTIFICATIONS• Gallup CliftonStrengths Finder Coach• LEED AP BD+C• Simon Sinek “Why Discovery”
Workshop
ACCOLADES• Houston Woman to Watch
(Houston Chronicle, 2016)• Houston Woman On The Move
(Greater Houston Women & Chamber, 2015)
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT• CoreNet Houston (Past President,
2019-2020 Term)• Greater Houston Women’s Chamber
of Commerce• 4Word
Dawn F. Landry
AUTHENTIZITY’S SERVICE OFFERINGShttp://authentizity.com/services
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WANT TO IMPROVE? GET A COACH (CONSULTANT OR TRAINER)!
Bill Gates was quite open in this Ted Talk when he proclaimed that “We all need people who will give us feedback; that’s how we will improve.” So if one of the world’s most intelligent and successful people who ever existed leverages this type of advice, then shouldn’t the rest of us?
The Differences DefinedIt feels like lots of folks want to get (or have gotten) into the business of coaching / consulting / training these days. (Present company is included; I must disclose.) However, there are distinct differences between each service:
Coaches – Focus on you, helping you define your goals. They ask questions; they listen with limited opinion. They work with you to advance the strengths that you already have (often
times revealing some that you are even unaware of ) to help you open the door to your potential.
Consultants – Provide answers and impart their point of view; they create strategy and roadmaps for organizational change. They offer advice and counsel in areas in which you have no, or limited, expertise. They may also work with your teams to augment their ability to go farther faster.
Trainers – Are subject matter experts, advanced in a particular topic enough to teach groups by leveraging the lessons they (the trainers) have learned and best practices that they have experienced. Trainers research and then assemble training modules customized to meet their audience at the trainee’s level of proficiency to ensure the program’s maximum effectiveness.
“We all need people who will give us
feedback; that’s how we will improve.”
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For ease of reading today, we’ll categorize them all using one word:
Partner – because no matter the service, you must develop trust to garner any possible success. Trust is only achieved with a true partner who has established credibility, credentials, confidence and comfort with you.
Acclaimed Surgeon, Atul Gawande, delves further into this topic in Want to Get Great at Something, then Get a Coach by defining what he’s found to be key: “Having a good coach provides a more accurate picture of our reality; instills positive habits of thinking; and breaks our actions down to then help us build them back up again.”
How to Hire a PartnerThe overall intent, whether you are hiring a partner for yourself (individually) or for your company, is to advance you so that you’re not at the same place next year at this time as you
are today, no matter where your starting point may be.
Here are my recommendations for hiring the best partner for you and/or your organization:
1. Get Referrals, Check References and Interview. With coaching, consulting and training partners becoming an integral component of companies’ successes these days, you’ll find that many ally organizations and peers have wonderful recommendations. All you have to do is ask them.
Meet with several partner candidates before making a decision. Just as your company is unique, so are your partnering needs. Interview candidates to ensure that they are a good fit and are able to customize a program specific to exceeding your goals/expectations for the engagement.
2. Dig Deeper. Do your research; get to know the firm and more specifically the person providing the services.
For Business Coaching: What is this person’s track record of success? Do they have a portfolio of work with companies of similar size, industry sector, etc. comparable to your organization? It’s much easier if your partner has
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a familiarity with your market from which to leverage past experience so that there is a limited learning curve.
For Individual and/or Life Coaching: What is your impression of how this person lives their own life? Are they content? What’s amazing to me is that many life coaches don’t have their own lives together. How can they possibly coach someone else then?
3. Develop a List of Expectations. Make sure that you have clear expectations regarding what you hope to achieve from your assignment. If you are unclear, then be transparent with your partner at the onset. A great partner will guide you in understanding realistic, achievable results within a particular timeframe.
4. Be Transparent. Openly and confidentially share your current situation, warts and all. Without a clear understanding of why you are considering a partner, then your engagement is initiated half-heartedly before it even begins. If you can’t speak honestly and feel that it will be kept in confidence, then that is a clear sign that this is not the right partner for your situation.
5. Be Receptive. A qualified, successful
partner will respond truthfully regarding your situation at the inception and throughout the life of the assignment. You should encourage them to provide their opinion fully and receive this feedback in the spirit of advancement of you (individually) and for the betterment of your organization. Once again, if this can not be achieved by either party then you do not have the right partner.
The Best Times to Hire a PartnerIn Grant Cardone’s Entrepreneur.com article, When to Hire a Consultant, here are just a few of the times when hiring a partner might be considered:
Expertise: You might not have the internal resources or skill set within your company to tackle your project or goal. Using a consultant or power player within your industry might pay big rewards.
Seasoned Change Agent: Navigating
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office politics and taking the blame for reducing headcount or other cost-cutting measures, consultants are change agent experts and can act as that outside voice to break up the roadblocks and make things happen.
Process Improvement: Your consultant will be a leading expert in their field and have years of experience in what you are attempting to solve for the first time. Why try to invent a best practice when a consultant has probably already implemented it multiple times?
Idea Generator: A consultant can bring a fresh perspective to your business that you might not have. They can see the bigger picture of the market and where your company fits into it by being an outsider. The insights they have can boost your internal team to new ways of thinking and approaching problems.
Trainer: By the nature of the job a consultant does, they are natural trainers. Their job is to share their knowledge, insight, and experience. They would be a good choice to do a training course, presentation or do one-on-one or team coaching.
The Ultimate GoalRemember the intent of whatever your engagement is — to take you from
good to great, or great to greater. You are not hiring a “Yes” person; you want someone who not only reflects a mirror back to you, but also guides you as you create long-term, achievable solutions. I have provided several great resource links for other articles below.
• Top 10 Reasons Organizations Hire Consultants
• Seven Tips For Hiring The Right Consulting Firm
• International Coaching Federation (ICF) video about Coaching
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GIRAFFE CAN’T FLY
Nature reveals so much to us — in living color — if we pay attention.
For instance, each species of animal knows its exact purpose and value on this Earth. Imagine a world in which we would witness a giraffe attempting to fly or a fish trying to do anything out of water.
Why isn’t that so? It’s simple; they know their value, play to their God-given talents and stay in their lane. So why is it so difficult for us? There’s a lesson that we humans can learn, and it is to recognize and embrace what we offer to this world.
To do so, we must truly own our individual talents and articulate our “Why” (value, purpose, mission or whatever you want to call it.)
Knowing and articulating your “Why” is becoming a movement; and that’s a great thing. In fact, Will Smith even highlighted its importance in the movie Collateral Beauty. He states that the love, time, death abstractions connect us and drive our decisions and our motivations — whether we are the seller OR the buyer.
I speak from experience when I state that before I did the work — including a lot of time, resource and financial investment in self-reflection and naval gazing — I was very much frustrated and was frustrating to those around me. Trust me, I’m nowhere near where I am going to be (as I am a work in progress.) However, I am also eons from where I started. Simon Sinek really started the inertia of the “Why” movement in 2009 with his Ted Talk. It rose to become one of the most watched TED talks of all time,
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with over 43 million views and subtitled in 48 languages. His unconventional and innovative views on business and leadership have attracted international attention. From American Airlines to Disney and MARS, from big business to entrepreneurs to police forces, Simon has been invited to meet with an array of leaders and organizations in nearly every industry. He is also a Best-Selling Author and lives by the philosophy: “Imagine a world in which the vast majority of us wake up inspired, feel safe at work and return home fulfilled at the end of the day.” I believe in it so deeply that I participated and invested in a Sinek workshop to refine my “Why” in October of 2017. (Course link here.)
I soon learned that what I thought was my “Why” was really one of my “How’s” and that my “Why” was something completely different.
Sinek teaches that for a “Why” to be a good why, it has to resonate within your
audience’s limbic part of their brain. It’s not the analytical side; it’s the feeling side. It’s that reason why we make decisions and when asked to justify, we say “I don’t know; it just ‘felt’ right.”
When you develop your “Why” there are various parameters. However, the foundation must be in service to others and it must be in the present tense and it must be inspirational, not aspirational.
My “Why” is:• To Inspire, Ignite and Activate the Greatness in Others and Myself.
My “How’s” are:• To Invest in Others• To Be a Resource• To Identify and Articulate Value to Others and Myself• To Collect/Deliver the Right Info and People at the Right Time• To Live a Life of Independence & Excellence• To Move Forward and Surrender to the Possibilities of the Future• To Stay Disciplined & Continue to Work Hard
These have become my North Star. When I feel that I am getting off track or trying to decide the next step, I reflect on these and ensure that the options are in alignment with my “Strengths”,
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as well as my “Why”. Otherwise, what’s the point? Recently, I was reminded of a story from my past in which I leaned into my innate talents to lead our team. I was a young, business development manager with a large, general commercial contracting firm in Houston. The leadership told me not to sell anymore for a period as we were full up and didn’t have any additional team members to assign based upon our current workload.
Rather than sitting around for months, I volunteered to assist our division with its goal of accrediting more LEED professionals locally. (For those who don’t know, I have a liberal arts degree and at that time had only two years of construction experience.) Leadership said sure, what do we have to lose. (I’m pretty sure that they thought that I would fail.) I joke that it was the blonde leading the blind!
However, I used my network and customized an eight-week training program for my colleagues. As I taught the program, I learned the materials. No one wanted to be the first to volunteer to take the test, so I did. I passed it on the first try, so others felt the peer pressure to study hard and do the same. We went from five LEED Accredited Professionals locally to 54!
As I look back, my “Why” was woven throughout that accomplishment. It drove me to help my colleagues achieve something that many had longed for; it helped our division AND it helped us in the long run to win more work.
Do you know your value? What successes can you reflect upon that demonstrate your “Why” in action? It’s your SUPER POWER; use it for good!
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THE TEST YOU CAN NEVER FAIL
This headline likely spoke to you because most people indicate that they don’t like and aren’t so great at test taking. (No matter how good they actually are at it!)
But what if you could take a test that ensures that there are no wrong answers; something that queries your innate inclinations to reveal the strengths that you most naturally gravitate towards?
In fact, what I reference is not truly a test, but an assessment called Gallup CliftonStrengths Finder. Its author and creator of the CliftonStrengths, former Gallup chairman Don Clifton (1924-2003), was honored by the American Psychological Association with a Presidential Commendation as the Father of Strengths-Based Psychology.
With more than 20+ million people
from 160 countries who have thus far participated, this assessment leverages the foundational research, analytics and management consulting that Gallup was built upon since its inception in 1935.
The strengths movement began when Clifton famously asked, “What would happen if we studied what was right with people versus what’s wrong with people?”
However, that’s not how most of us are typically programmed, especially in the work environment. We have been trained to focus on our weaknesses and even to point out our colleagues’ and employees’ weaknesses thinking that we’re doing them a favor and that these helpful hints will make them stronger. It’s a very negative, glass half empty philosophy that hinders relationships, even more so with one’s self.
“What would happen if we studied
what was right with people versus what’s wrong with people?”
- Don Clifton
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To support this concept, in the Harvard Business Review’s (HBR) recently released article, The Feedback Fallacy, details: “…the research is clear: Telling people what we think of their performance doesn’t help them thrive and excel, and telling people how we think they should improve actually hinders learning.”
The HBR article continues by dispelling theories such that when we “… take our own expertise and what we are sure is our colleagues’ inexpertise as givens; they (the theories) assume that my way is necessarily your way. But as it turns out, in extrapolating from what creates our own performance to what might create performance in others, we overreach.”
It surmises that “We excel only when people who know us and care about us tell us what they experience and what they feel, and in particular when they see something within us that really works.”
But as anyone who has sat through a one hour meeting with five of their colleagues, there will be five different opinions of what happened in that 60 minute span of time. We all bring our own different talents, experiences, values, perspectives to each and every
situation. But how many times do we walk away from a meeting frustrated from a colleagues’ opinion rather than celebrating their particular perspective because its intent will drive us to go from great to greater?
What I appreciate about leveraging a tool such as Gallup CliftonStrengths Finder within an organization is that it not only reveals the talents of our colleagues amongst one another; it also uncovers the meaning and gives insight of those talents individually to one’s self.
It’s only when we can witness, claim and truly own our own talents internally that we are able to develop them into stronger muscles unique to us. Do you take your own strengths for granted by thinking that anyone can do what you do? Do you not see how others value you for those talents and how they compliment the team?
Here are a few tips you might consider:1. Make sure to take the Gallup
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CliftonStrengths Finder assessment. The easiest, and lowest cost of entry is to purchase the StrengthsFinder 2.0 book by Tom Rath on Amazon. It comes with a code that allows you to take the assessment for your Top 5 in the back. Your results will be immediate, along with a summary of their meaning. The book will provide additional insight specific to your strengths.
2. If you can, hire a Gallup CliftonStrengths Finder Coach to help you define the meaning of your strengths and how best to leverage them.
3. If you can’t afford to hire a Coach, then spend some quiet time thinking about your Top 5. Catch yourself and truly appreciate the times when you are using your strengths — we do it more than we think. Gallup tells us that there are Five Clues to a talent revealing itself as a strength:
a. Yearning – we are naturally drawn to it.b. Rapid Learning – we pick it up quickly.c. Flow – we automatically know it.d. Glimpses of Excellence – we surprise ourselves.e. Satisfaction – we are excited to repeat it.
4. Ask a trusted colleague which of your strengths that he/she values the most in you. Give them permission to become a Strengths Scout for you (i.e., identify when you are in your strengths zone and compliment you on it.) Do the same for them if they’re interested!
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DOUBLE DOWN ON YOUR STRENGTHS
Imagine if we lived in a world where everyone is fully engaged and passionate about not only their work but their day to day lives because they are operating from their strengths zone.
That was the dream of Don Clifton. According to Wikipedia, Donald O. Clifton (February 5, 1924 – September 14, 2003) was an American psychologist, educator, author, researcher, and entrepreneur. He founded Selection Research, Inc., which later acquired Gallup Inc., where he became chairman, and developed CliftonStrengths, Gallup’s online psychological assessment. Clifton was recognized with a presidential commendation from the American Psychological Association as “the father of strengths-based psychology and the grandfather of positive psychology”.
As mentioned previously, very early in his career, Don pondered the question: “What would happen if we actually studied what is right with people?”
Forget about bettering your so-called weaknesses. Forget about wishing that you were more of this or were better at
that by comparing yourself to “John or Betty.” There are other people who love to do what you absolutely abhor or don’t gravitate to, so why should you beat yourself up about it? When you’re in a place where you know that you know that you know, then everything just flows out of you with ease. That’s the strengths zone; it’s a place where your uniqueness exists because it is derived from the way that we were hardwired at birth.
When you can “Name, Claim and Aim” (a Gallup phrase) your talents and truly double down on them by building them up through intentional use each day as you encounter the smallest and largest of tasks, then you can appreciate that they are as unique to you as your
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thumbprint and only then can they be called strengths. (Similar to a muscle, if a talent is unused then it weakens and actually can work against you.)
According to Gallup’s Web site, the CliftonStrengths Finder assessment has been taken by 20,071,323 worldwide. People who know and use their CliftonStrengths are:
• 6X more likely to be engaged at work.
• 7.8% more productive in their role• 3X more likely to have an excellent
quality of life• 6X more likely to do what they do
best every day
Having personally utilized the Strengths Finder assessment for nearly seven years, I have seen the benefit that it brings to an organization in creating a common language, empathy and awareness of the worth of each team member’s talents.
Rather than concentrating on our weaknesses, it asks us to embrace who we are and operate from the areas in which we are strongest and most engaged. It sees our strengths as our super powers and encourages us to proactively and positively lean on our fellow team members to advance our mission/vision.
Prior to my enlightening by Strengths Finder, I was under the assumption that everyone thought the way that I did or could strategically see the things that I can. I was impossible to be with in a meeting because of those assumptions. It took me forever to figure out that it takes some people a while to grasp the concepts that I vocalize so I need to wait a while for them to catch up while it soaks in.
You see, my Top 5 Talent Themes include:
• Input• Competition• Significance• Ideation• Individualization
My Strengths at Work (Positively as Super Powers) manifest as such:
Input – Always a resource; I’m hardwired as a collector of information, people, things to help someone in the future.
Competition – I’m a self-proclaimed deal junkie. There’s no better high in the world than winning.
“ It sees our strengths as
our super powers.”
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Significance – I want to leave a legacy; I want to be remembered for doing something good when I’m gone.
Ideation – Ideas are like popcorn for me. If you don’t like this idea, then there will be another one right around the corner.Individualization – I intuitively match people’s talents and value that they bring to the table to assignments/other people.
My Strengths can get in the way as Watch Out’s in this manner:
Input – My craving to know more can sometimes be misinterpreted as “the Spanish Inquisition” (a term used by my husband.) I’m just naturally curious.
Competition – If I didn’t think that we could win, then I didn’t want to pursue. This awareness was one of the largest enlightenments of my career.
Significance – I used to overcommit
because (with my #6 Talent: Command) I can’t just be a member of an organization, I have to be President!
Ideation – Because I have so many ideas going in my head, I have had to pay attention to the best times that work for me to be creative and not distracted. For whatever reason, 4:30/5:00 am is a peak time-slot for maximizing my productivity.
Individualization – I used to get frustrated if someone didn’t appreciate the vision that I see when customizing teams for talents. Now, I give them the information and patiently wait until they catch up.
By seeing firsthand the impact of Strengths Finder on me personally as well as experiencing the utilization within my prior organization, I became Gallup CliftonStrengths Finder Certified in 2018. I believe that an organization’s foundation must be healthy (starting from the top with the alignment of the leadership team) before any true and sustained growth may be realized for advancement.
By embedding a tool such as CliftonStrengths Finder into an organization, there becomes a shared language amongst colleagues as well
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as more empathy and appreciation for diversity of thought and experience. That ultimately leads to more engaged, content and passionate employees because their super powers are in maximum overdrive.
Gallup’s classic question has always been: “Do you have the opportunity to do what you do best every day?”
Just imagine what this world would be like if we all did…
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WOMAN IN A MAN’S WORLD
In recent years, there has been a real movement to increase the number of women successfully working in the commercial construction / corporate real estate industry. As a woman who has had a successful 26+ year career in this and its supporting fields, I am frequently asked “So how did you do it; how did you not only excel but thrive in a very, male-dominated world?”
For the record, I despise that saying.First and foremost, I never thought of it that way. In my opinion, if you allow yourself to think that way, you’re coming at it from a negative mindset before you even walk in the door to get started.
Reflecting back, I never saw myself as any different than anyone else. As I mentioned in the previous article, Double Down on Your Strengths Individualization is a talent theme in my Top 5 Gallup CliftonStrengths.
Intuitively, I have always leveraged this talent because I don’t see gender, race, creed, etc. I see people and I’m naturally curious and want to be a resource to them. Because of this, I didn’t become intimidated if I was the only woman in
the room. That’s because I never even noticed that I was the only woman in the room, and if I had, I’m pretty sure that it wouldn’t have made a difference to me.
As an example, I remember when I was working in economic development for the Greater Houston Partnership nearly 15 years ago and managed the site visit of an Italian-based aviation manufacturer. The delegation was 20 people, including eight or so city leaders/executives. After a full day of events (including a five-course dinner at an upscale Houston restaurant), one of our guests congratulated me on a great day. He also boldly mentioned “and you were the only woman the whole day.” Amazed, I thanked him for this odd compliment and then realized that I had spent 14 hours with this group and hadn’t even noticed that I was the only woman.
There is always an opportunity for us to change our thinking once and for all
“I see people and I’m naturally curious and want to be a
resource to them.”
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and stop thinking in terms of gender. If we apply ourselves tenaciously to the task and consistently to do a fantastic job, we will be rewarded. My career is a testimony to that.
I am not delusional; I know that (in many cases) women still must outwork and outshine our male peers. That old saying that “Ginger Rogers did everything that Fred Astaire did, but backwards and high heels” is unfortunately still a little true today.
However, I’ve seen great strides in the business and technical professional world each year since I entered the workforce with my first part-time job in 1986. Companies (many of them now led by women) know and appreciate the value that diversity of thought has on the advancement of their organizations’ visions. For those companies who don’t realize or appreciate it, they will soon become dinosaurs because intelligent, talented, creative women are here to stay!
In fact, statistics from the University of New Hampshire indicate that the number of female entrepreneurs is growing steadily in the U.S. In 2018, 23% of entrepreneurs seeking angel investing were female — up from 19% in 2014. And even more encouraging — since 1972, female-owned businesses in the U.S. have surged 3,000%. The list of states best for female entrepreneurs is featured here with Texas ranked as #1:Best States for Female Entrepreneurs
It is incumbent upon those of us who have achieved success to mentor and invest in the next generations of emerging women and men to move this forward. Why young men you may ask? Because if we only focus on young women, then we will continue to perpetuate the silos.
We all need each another to thrive. Men need to welcome us as their allies and their colleagues; they should not walk on eggshells around us; otherwise,
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we will not truly be able to collaborate and advance our organizations and ourselves.
In the end, we are all still just people and we all have choices. Will you choose to walk into a room with a positive, empowered mindset or with one of weakness? Best Selling Author, University of Houston Research Professor and Accomplished Motivational Speaker, Brene’ Brown puts it so succinctly: “Don’t walk through the world looking for evidence that you don’t belong because you will always find it.”
The power lies in your thinking — it is also fueled by putting action behind that thinking.
This video was created more than 4 years ago. As discussed in this blog, my viewpoint on this topic shone through then…
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HERE’S A LITTLE SECRET; WE ALL HAVE IMPOSTER THOUGHTS
Have you ever wondered “How did I get here? Did I oversell my capabilities? What if they find out that I’m not all that great and they take it all back?”
If you have, then guess what? You’re not alone.
According to a review article published in the International Journal of Behavioral Science, an estimated 70% of people experience these Impostor Thoughts at some point in their lives.
And it’s not just us “mere mortals”. Well-known, very accomplished people (from Albert Einstein to Tom Hanks, Tina Fey and Neil Armstrong) who we admire (and who seem to have confidence to spare) have expressed their own battles with taming the Imposter Thinking in their brains.
First identified in 1978 by psychologists Dr. Pauline Rose Clance and Dr. Suzanne Imes, the Impostor Phenomenon is the idea that you’ve only succeeded due to luck, and not because of your talent or qualifications. In fact, Dr. Clance has a free assessment tool to help you identify at which level of the Imposter Phenomenon you are currently experiencing.
For the record, I had a score of 65, which indicates that I frequently experience Imposter Thoughts.
As I reflect on the past 26+ years, I will say that my Imposter Thoughts were much more rampant earlier in my career. The more I became experienced (and comfortable) in my role with trusted colleagues, the more confident I became to express my ideas and opinions.
However, age doesn’t necessarily make the Imposter Thoughts disappear. Each time that I jump off the deep end into unfamiliar territory with new people or new projects, I get a little precursor to anxiety.
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I’m more self-aware now. That precursor is just a twinge rather than a full-blown, internal anxiety attack. I’ve taught myself to use that twinge as a reminder that I’m pushing myself to greatness and climbing to a new frontier that I have yet to discover.
Because that’s all it is, right. Thoughts of being an Imposter are just thoughts until we give them power and energy. The Harvard Professor and Social Psychologist, Amy Cuddy, uses the phrase: “Fake it until you become it.” Her words are so much more proactive and engaging than “Fake it until you make it.”
Either way, the ball is in your court. How will you leverage your thoughts to further become all that you were put on this great planet to be?
NOTE: Here are other links if you’d like to learn more about the Imposter Experience (Syndrome or Phenomenon, as others have called it.)
• The Imposter Phenomenon Test
• The Imposter Phenomenon
• Yes, Impostor Syndrome Is Real. Here’s How to Deal With It
• The Five Types Of Impostor Syndrome And How To Beat Them
• Dr. Pauline Rose Clance
• Impostor Syndrome Affects Men and Women Differently
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COURAGE TO TRY
had told me for several years to start my own consulting business. I would counter with: “Who would hire me?” and “I’ve never wanted to own my own business.” I had seen the struggles that my parents had as business owners.
On February 21 st , 2019, Authentizity celebrated its two-year anniversary. It’s a reflective time for me as I’ve grown and evolved in alignment with the expansion and evolution of Authentizity and its service offering.
No longer can I say, “I’m figuring this out” or “I’m the Forest Gump of entrepreneurs.” However, one thing has remained a constant throughout these past months, I wake each morning with a steadfast appreciation and sincere servitude mission; I also have this deep desire to try exploring areas that I’ve
While on vacation, I was reminded of a time nearly five years ago when our 13 year old niece traveled with us on a cruise. My husband kept nudging her to try the Flowrider® Surfing Simulator each day of our seven day voyage; this included at least two visits per day (all requested by her) to watch others on it. Some were naturals at it; others fell but kept at it. Heck, at least they tried.
Our niece has always been naturally, super athletic, so there was no doubt (in our minds) that she would easily pick it up. However, we could visibly see the struggles that she was enduring to rally and sign up. Finally, on the last day of our trip, she got in line to give it a go. We could see her wanting to retreat and back out with each person ahead of her advancing the line. She sucked it up and courageously went for it. Of course, she did great (even better than many twice her age) and loved it. In fact, she had so much fun that we couldn’t get her off of it and she regretted not trying it sooner.
As I recalled that story to my husband, we identified the parallel similarities that it has with me and my current work. Prior to starting my business, he
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never worked in before and challenge myself to new heights.
I am truly thankful to my clients, allies, family and friends who have embarked on this journey with me. I am especially appreciative of my Project Coordinator, Reagan Simon, who makes each day fun for me as she pushes me to greatness. I also can’t do what I do without the love and support of my husband, Daran Landry. Daran has always believed that I could conquer the world; through his eyes, I rally myself to do all of the things he tells me that I can do!
For all of my readers who are toying with the idea of going it on your own, please allow me to get my pom poms out. It’s the hardest work that I’ve ever done, but it’s also the most rewarding and creative time that I’ve ever experienced in my career. It does take courage to put yourself out there in this manner, but YOU CAN DO IT!
“I have grown and evolved...with...the evolution of Authentizity.”
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HOW ZIPLINING CHANGED MY PERSPECTIVE
Well, we were on an Alaskan cruise in 2016, and all my rules were fulfilled. It wasn’t like he made me do it. It was something that I just knew I had to do to advance myself to the next level in this great game we call life.
Believe me, I wasn’t a brave and courageous warrior as we geared up; I caught myself several times trying to talk myself out of doing it. Recognizing this as just fear of the unknown, I consciously put aside these thoughts and leapt off the platform, and I’m so glad that I did! Like so many other new experience in my life, ziplining was exhilarating and fun. I felt an endorphin rush that left me wanting more. AND since I was so successful the first time, I went ziplining with no reservation when we traveled to Costa Rica the following year.
What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail? For the controller/drill sergeant/perfectionist that used to be the driver of me, I was hesitant to try something new if I wasn’t absolutely certain that I would succeed.
However, I now know that those are just thoughts designed to hold me back from my true potential, and I have learned to release and/or harness them. One example symbolic of letting go is ziplining—in my mind, the opposite of control. That topic was proposed by my husband several years ago. He wanted to zipline; Chicken Little here (ie, me) didn’t, so I set about creating a variety of rules that must be adhered to if I were ever to try this activity. For instance, if we were ever to zipline, the venue 1) must be in the United States, 2) must abide by a variety of safety precautions, 3) needed to be managed by a reputable company, etc.
“What would you do if you knew
you wouldn’t fail?”
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The moral of the story is that I would have missed out on wonderful memories if I had listened to my doubt. The experience reminded me to be on the lookout for other areas where I may be holding myself back.
The challenges that take us out of our comfort zones bubble up as opportunities to catapult (pun intended) us to a new level and a new chapter that further enriches our lives.What would you do if you knew you wouldn’t fail? Now’s the time.
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MY CAREER BY THE NUMBERS
learn valuable lessons of responsibility and accountability prior to taking on a professional career position. In an age of the “Me Too” movement, I remember a time during the Justice Clarence Thomas/Anita Hill trial in which I was put in a compromising situation. Luckily, I did not succumb to peer pressure and getting ahead; rather, I stood my ground and they backed down. I am saddened that predatory environments still exist in some form today, but I am hopeful that more time and attention will make it safer for the future women of the workforce.
TwentiesRestless is the only word that truly describes how I felt during my 20’s. I was always a dreamer with a curious spirit and a desire to travel. Luckily, I met my match in a spouse who (rather than squelching my big thinking like others had) encouraged me to leave the small town that I had known and be more. It wasn’t easy; at times, we didn’t have two nickels to rub together but we had one another. I wouldn’t trade those days for anything because it made me so appreciative of how far that we’ve come and how much we’ve accomplished.
As I enter into my third decade since graduating from high school, I am reflective of my career through the years.
Mid-to-Late TeensI began working in retail at 16 years old and held this job while I was a dance instructor to children (ages 2 to 17) and a DJ at a local radio station — all while taking a full load my freshman year of college.
While others may not consider those jobs relevant, I fully claim all of those years and experiences. I often describe them as a quilt with each patch enhancing the final product ever more. I am thankful that I had to work in high school and through college as it prepared me to make many of the mistakes that I made and
Age 27. Lafayette, LA.
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ThirtiesAh, my 30’s. Those were great years.
I’ve had the opportunity to speak with other women as they are about to reach the 30-year mark and are dreading it. I encourage them from experience that “I didn’t own my voice until I was 30.”
“What does that mean?” you may ask. It means that I wasn’t fully confident in my opinion; that I waivered and could be easily swayed. I feared everything. As I traversed through my 30’s, I leveraged every experience that I could and learned continuously so that I would be seen as a credible, educated professional. I was ambitious, determined, and wanted to grow and be better with each passing year. In fact, I even created special rules for myself (such as always wearing pants suits) to be taken as seriously as possible. Thinking on it now, I’m pretty sure that I would’ve gotten to this same point if I would’ve worn skirts; however, it is a good demonstration of how I crafted the outcome in my head before I ever was able to achieve it.
FortiesI read somewhere a long time ago that your years in and after 40’s are your money-making years. They are the years where all of your hard work culminates, and you are appreciated
for the value that you bring to the table. What many emerging leaders coming up through the ranks right now don’t realize is that you must dredge through the tough years to achieve this point. THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS.
For instance, I can tell you all about being laid off or even about laying someone else off; but until you live through it, there is no way that you can appreciate it. (For the record, I would much prefer to be laid off myself rather than to have to experience laying someone else off ever again…) Additionally, the great thing about your 40’s is the freedom that it gives you to create your future fearlessly.
I read the book The Surrender Experiment by Michael Singer in the past three years no fewer than five times. To say that it had a profound impact on me is an understatement. I am grateful for where I am right here and now. By the way, I am still a hungry learner and strive to Dream a Bigger Dream for the future.
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HAIL TO THE KING MAKERS
Are you a king or a king maker? I remember that question just like it was yesterday — even though it was more than 29 years ago. I was a freshman in college, and the question was posed by my instructor in Public Relations 101. The instructor explained. “If you are a king, then public relations is the wrong field for you. Truly great public relation’s professionals are king makers.” Through the years, I’ve had some slight dabbles in the spotlight.
However, I’ve never wanted to be king. I am definitely a king maker. In my current position, I work with teams to identify, hone, and articulate the value that they offer to their organizations and their clients. We discuss their strengths zones and how to leverage them for maximum energy and effectiveness.
Below is the advice that has meant the most to me in building my career, and that I most frequently share with young professionals just starting out.
Careful Who You Hitch Your Wagon To:It’s funny how the simplest forms of advice seem to stick with you for a lifetime. This message was delivered to me early in my career by one of the crustiest of construction professionals that I’ve ever come across. In regular terms, it means be careful with whom you align because others will judge you with that broad brush stroke. The advice was delivered as a gentle warning, and I’ve used it ever since as my true north compass to make sure that the direction I’m going is right for me.
Your Name is Your Identity — For a Lifetime: There is one constant piece of advice that I give to young professionals starting out in their career. Guard your name and reputation like gold. You can never get it back. It’s amazing to me how small a metropolitan city of six million
“Are you a king or a king maker? ”
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people ultimately is. Word travels fast—good and bad. If you have a solid name and reputation, it’s the foundation to build your career.
You Never Have a Second Chance to Make a First Impression: This quote has been attributed to both Oscar Wilde and Will Rogers. Whoever said it, nailed it. When you have appointments, be on time and dress for the occasion. If you don’t know how to dress for the occasion, ask someone. If you are attending a banquet, dining etiquette is important. If you are attending an evening event with clients, stick to a two drink maximum. There are rules of the road if you want to get ahead in business. With the exception of the two drink maximum, it’s basically all the stuff your mom fussed at you about when you were growing up. Heed her advice and you’ll be fine.
Pay It Forward: In my career, I’ve been the beneficiary of several great mentors who have generously helped guide my career. I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve been given, and I mentor and volunteer as a way to pay it forward to the next generations of women and men in the workforce.
Whether you are destined to be a king or a king maker, it’s important to connect
with others and learn from them. Collect the pieces of advice that you can make your own, build friendships that will last a lifetime, and enjoy the journey.
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30 PIECES OF ADVICE I’D GIVE TO MY 30-YEAR-OLD SELF
most brilliant person in the room isn’t necessarily the one who speaks the most or the loudest. Listen intently and only when you have something great to say, then speak.
4. Your career is like a quilt with each experience adding to the pattern. Use every job (no matter how menial in your mind) to learn something from and bring with you to the next position.
5. Time invested is time well spent. Whether it’s in learning a new task or mourning a loved one, THERE ARE NO SHORTCUTS.
6. Make a list. This works when both seeking a mate or looking for that great job. Until you can visualize it and put that vision out into the Universe, then you’ll never realize it. Also, that goal may be right under your nose and you never noticed it.
7. Don’t settle — for a life partner, career, whatever. Know when to walk away.
As I’ve indicated in the previous article, I don’t feel like I “owned my own voice” until I was 30. When I hit 30, I became confident in my own skin. It didn’t happen overnight but was a gradual feeling of just knowing from an internal, guided source.
I still have so many experiences to have and lessons to learn, but here are a few of my own colloquialisms as pieces of advice that I would give to my 30-Year-Old Self based upon my own stories so far.
1. Don’t live a victim’s life. Your genetics can be overcome; your destiny lies in your hands alone.
2. Find your own voice and use it.
3. Remember, though, that the
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8. When interviewing for a job, interview them as much as they’re interviewing you. Make sure that it’s the right match for you or you’ll never be content/fulfilled.
9. Continue to invest in yourself with new skills, no matter your age or rank.
10. Support your colleagues; help even if it’s not “part of your job”.
11. Never pay a contractor 100% upfront. It gives you no leverage to negotiate and meet your standards for quality.
12. Careful what you put in writing --- it will follow you.
13. Protect your social media postings/taggings; those don’t go away either.
14. Presence versus presents.
15. Travel gives you empathy, experience and energy. It’s also the best medicine for a wounded soul.
16. Surround yourself with people who get you. Limit your time with judgmental people who want to pick you apart and who
you’ll never please.
17. Laugh at yourself as much as possible. Life is too short to take yourself so seriously.
18. Be kind.
19. Guard your name as if it’s an endless amount of gold, because it is. It’s the only one you have.
20. Leave a legacy.
21. Volunteer, volunteer, volunteer.
22. Don’t give to get; give to give --- for you. Be a resource; be a mentor; just be there. Whether the favor comes from that direct source or not, you will get rewarded for your investment.
23. Take your ego out of your day to day routine and wake each morning with a servant attitude. When you do that, the Universe stands at attention and the great opportunities will chase you down.
24. Jealousy and coveting of others’ lives is a waste of time and energy. Yours is the only life you should visualize/reflect upon.
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25. Aim for next year at this time to be a better version of yourself than you are right now.
26. Double down on your strengths rather than focusing on the areas that don’t give you passion and engagement. They are as much a part of you as your thumbprint.
27. Embrace your quirks - they set you apart.
28. Make quiet time to listen to the still, small voice inside of you that guides you.
29. Happiness is different than contentment. Contentment is a choice that you can decide on ahead of time.
30. Don’t put limits on yourself. Dream the Great Big Dream and GO FOR IT.
NOTE: These are in no particular order.Stay tuned for more; the journey is only just beginning…
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THANK YOU!
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