Spoiler alert – there was no champion in shining armor coming to rescue me from my self-imposed career purgatory.
And keeping my head down and letting my results speak for themselves? Turns out, that doesn’t work either.
I had a lot of questions, like:
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Why didn’t those around me understand the value I brought to the table?
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Why weren’t my ideas being taken seriously?
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What did those other newly-promoted people have that I didn’t?
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Do I really have to put in my time for 25+ years before I get a chance to do more?
I started to wonder if I just wasn’t meant to be exceptional.
If maybe that success and power I wanted was meant for someone else.
-Record Scratch-
Wait, what? Nope. If no champion was going to ride in on a white horse and promote me to a sexy new job where I could help to develop and influence others – I realized I’d have to figure it out on my own (white horse optional, thankfully).
After years of feeling overlooked and under-appreciated, I took my career growth and personal development into my own hands. I decided that I’d become my own champion, and I refused to accept the idea that my growth was something that would only happen with the permission of someone else.
I realized I did not need to wait for a promotion to show up in the workplace and in life as a confident leader who knew what she stood for and how valuable she was. I tackled my impostor syndrome by identifying what made me uniquely valuable and embraced my personal power.
I made myself into the leader I wanted to be & started to lead and support others BEFORE being invited to the leadership table.