“There are two main mindsets we can navigate life with: growth and fixed. Having a growth mindset is essential for success” ~ Professor Carol Dweck
This is the second post in the series to help you to be in the best position for pursuing your next leadership promotion. Last week I wrote about being intentional, this week it is about developing the right mindset.
For some introverted women, the more senior they get as a leader, the more likely they are to experience self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and other self-limiting beliefs. Whilst they may know they have the ability to do the role, they often doubt themselves.
Stepping into a new arena and taking on bigger responsibilities, can bring on that negative self-talk, particularly if you have been prone to it all your life. If you want to take your leadership career to the next level, managing your mindset is essential and here are some suggestions to help you do this.
Develop self-awareness
Managing yourself and your relationships is crucial to being a great leader. To do this effectively, requires self-awareness. I believe that self-awareness is the key to opening the door to effective leadership. It is the foundation to emotional and social intelligence.
Self-awareness helps you to better manage yourself and the relationships with the people you encounter. It helps you to understand how and why you respond the way that you do to different people and situations. It also helps you to understand why people respond to you the way that they do, so you can modify your behaviour accordingly if needed. As someone who is introverted, self-awareness helps you to know what your energy drainers are, and how to manage them.
You can develop your self-awareness through self-reflection, feedback and by observing your emotions and bodily sensations when in different situations, and learning from it.
Address self-limiting beliefs
Whilst your technical skills and knowledge and expertise for your area of work may be top notch, if you don’t have the confidence and self-belief to go with it, you won’t excel as a leader at the next level. And if you come across as if you doubt yourself and don’t appear confident, it won’t instil confidence in you by others.
The good thing is (contrary to what you may think), the self-limiting beliefs you have about yourself (that cause self-doubt, imposter syndrome, and a lack of confidence) are not set in stone, and with work, can be changed.
Many of us are very much led by our emotions, and the way that we think and what we believe about ourselves, our environments, what we need to do, the situations we find ourselves in etc, affects how we feel.
We then act and behave according to how we are feeling. If you’re doubting yourself or experiencing imposter syndrome, it can make you feel anxious, fearful, and lacking in confidence. This in turn may affect how you perform or prevent you from doing what you want to do and going after what it is that you want.
Challenge your beliefs because they are not helpful, and chances are, there is little substance to them. Develop a more helpful perspective. Doing so will help to change how you feel, and in turn, how you act and behave. This will help you to overcome self-doubt, believe in yourself, and feel more confident.
Utilise your strengths
Most of us are very much aware of our weaknesses and focus on them too much. Too much focus on them can be constraining. Because of the unfavourable bias towards introversion, some introverted people don’t see their introverted qualities as strengths, but they are.
There are many benefits to be gained from adopting a strengths-based leadership approach. When we utilise our strengths, we are naturally more confident, more motivated, and more likely to be in flow. When we are in flow, that is when we are at our best.
Identifying your strengths (what you are good at) can help you get the best from yourself and enable you to feel more energised and fulfilled. This doesn’t mean you totally ignore your weaknesses. It means putting the emphasis on your strengths as opposed to your weaknesses.
Self-regulate
How do you deal with the stressors and pressures that life and work throw at you? Are you able to self-regulate, or do you let your emotions get the better of you and let yourself be worn ragged? Does your thinking and behaviour switch from rational to irrational?
Being able to self-regulate helps you to stay calm and not let your emotions get the better of you in stressful situations. It also includes recognising the need for self-care and putting it into practice, so you look after your overall wellbeing.
Think before reacting. Practice mindfulness, and relaxation techniques. Learn when to say no and when to switch off.
Before you lead others, you have to be able to lead yourself, and self-leadership is key. Being able to manage your emotions and self-limiting beliefs are pivotal to your leadership success, particularly the further you progress in your leadership career.
Putting into practice the above, and managing your mindset will put you in a better position to confidently nail that promotion.
Next week I will cover presence... what it is, why it's important, and how to exude it.
First published on LinkedIn.
If you are an introverted woman and a senior leader and want to increase your confidence, influence and impact, take my free assessment and get a report identifying areas to develop. You can take the assessment here.