I’m going to say something controversial: Covid is a positive opportunity to increase your confidence as a female manager.
I know there isn’t much about the Covid crisis that could be called positive. Sombre statistics, endangered livelihoods and even, sadly, death are absolutely not causes for celebration. I’m not making light of any of that for a single moment.
But I do believe that this period of change represents a golden opportunity for all women who want to be confident leaders.
Why? Because Covid has forced us to be honest about our working environments.
I don’t mean the physical spaces we work in. Far from it. If anything, knowing our colleagues are peering inside our homes on Zoom calls has sent many of us into a panic. Across the world, DIY stores are seeing huge spending increases thanks to webcam-friendly redecorations. But that isn’t where this opportunity lies.
It’s all in your mind
The working environment I’m talking about is the one in your mind.
Many leaders in general, and thus also many women in leadership positions still suffer from deep feelings of inadequacy. And lots of us are discovering that working from home is not actually helping to increase our self-confidence.
Female managers often find that speaking their mind in meetings is difficult, particularly if they are challenging or even disagreeing with their superiors. Add in a Zoom call, where gauging non-verbal communication is much harder, and that reluctance to speak out can be worse than ever.
Here’s a simple way to find out if this issue affects you…
“Sorry, what was that?”
Have you ever found yourself not listening to a colleague because you were planning what to say next?
If you said yes, I’ve got bad news for you. Every moment you spend thinking about what to say is a moment you’re not listening to what others need. For a leader, that’s a problem.
This is hard to hear
I’m going to tell you the truth. People with towering self-confidence don’t retreat into their own head and worry about using the right words. They say what they need to say; they ask the right questions; they get the clarity that will help them to move forward.
It doesn’t feel like it now, but you can be that person.
A lack of confident, efficient leadership can pull a team apart. If you feel like you’re a failure or an impostor, you’re going to be no use to the people who rely on you. So you owe it to yourself and your team to be the leader you can be.
Make the first move and the others will follow
Every step you take to becoming a more effective leader, and every moment you spend developing towering self-confidence is of benefit not only to you, but to those around you, both at work and at home.
The current upheaval is a unique chance to increase your self-confidence. As a female manager you already have the power to identify all the improvement opportunities in your life. You just need to find the key to unlock that power.
I’d love to help you with that journey. I have decades of experience in bringing out the best in people, and I want to share my knowledge with you. I’ve created a very special video masterclass that I urge you to watch right now. When you do, you’ll be taking the first step to increasing your self-confidence as a female manager.
And you’ll thank yourself for taking that step every single day.