"Don’t
let yourself off the hook by deciding that something is out of your reach,
instead, ask yourself, What would I do if I weren’t afraid?"
- Sheryl Sandberg
We all have been guilty of playing small. We make one excuse
after the other to keep ourselves in our comfort zone:
“How can I move to sales; I don’t have any connections?”
“How can I do this job well, I don’t have prior experience?”
Sometimes, we internalize these fears:
“I don’t have the leadership skills.”
“I did not get the job because something is wrong with me.”
“No one will like me if I spoke my mind.”
“I need to follow the rules….”
All these are reasons that shackle us, prevent
us from being our best selves and growing into leaders we were meant to be.
So,
I want to challenge you to think about how YOU can break free of the fear,
truly be bold, and own your career.
Check out
Pinkcareers' Incubator Leadership Accelerator, our 6-months program for new (and aspiring) female managers who want to level up their leadership skills and own their career success.
NEXT COHORT STARTS 15 AUGUST, 2021.Discover your authentic leadership style, get comfortable with self-advocacy, enlist sponsors, and become a confident contributor to your career success.
Save your spot now before we get sold out!
If we want a fulfilling career, a career that gives us joy,
satisfaction, and pride, we have got to be bold. I don’t mean
be brash, or arrogant, or unrealistic. I also don’t mean taking career
sabotaging actions. Being bold means doing so with our mindset and how we
reflect it upon others.
Be bold, so we are:
1. Not afraid to dream big.
2. Not afraid of our big
ambition.
3. Not afraid to own it.
Three years into joining Schlumberger, I told my manager I
wanted to lead the business development group in 5 years. He humored me as this
was a bold ask, but he also felt the passion and conviction in my voice. Saying
why not, he helped me realign to a more realistic yet aggressive timeline and
guided me on what skills I needed to reach my career goals.
We cannot be afraid of the big dreams in our hearts. If we don’t
dream, we cannot see it. And unless we see it in fine detail, we cannot make it
real.
"You
get in life what you have the courage to ask for.” - Oprah Winfrey
One of my dear friends at work, who is also a mentor I deeply
respect, once told me she would not sacrifice family time until she makes
President of the company. I was taken aback by her confidence. She has a big
dream; she is not afraid to put it out there and is actively working her way up
by getting the skills and network needed to get the job. I think I fell in love
with her some more that day!
We
cannot be afraid of our big ambitions or sharing them with others. Remember, if others get
intimidated by our ambition, it is their problem and not ours.
"I
am totally unapologetic about being an ambitious woman, and you
should be too.” - Shinjini Das
For many years, I have been fascinated by the consulting
world. I think consultants get to work on intellectual business problems, in a
very dynamic environment, while enjoying the perks of traveling. What a life! Last
year, after turning down another consulting interview, I complained to my
friend that things would have so much easier if only I were not in the country
on a visa. I would have been a consultant by now if only I had that choice. My
friend, who was a patient listener to my frequent rants on this topic, asked,
“so why don’t you apply for a consulting job in India?”. At that point, I
realized that I was just using my temporary visa status as an excuse. In
reality, I did not want to live a consultant’s lifestyle while raising two
little kids. I did not want the job that bad after all, at least not now.
Being
bold means not being afraid to own it. We cannot blame it on others. We cannot
blame it on our boss, the HR, the visa situation, or the bad job market. There is always
a choice.
If we want it bad enough, we can learn a new
skill, go back to school, switch roles, make a lateral move, change countries,
change jobs, or even change industries. Sometimes it takes a bold move to make
our dreams a reality.
So, what bold move would you make for your career if you were
not afraid?
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Richa Bansal is a seasoned professional with a decade of experience in strategy, operations, engineering, supply chain, and management. Richa earned a Bachelor’s from IIT Delhi in India, a Master’s from Purdue University, and an MBA from Rice University.
Richa founded Pinkcareers so that women can get access to career development and coaching through a learning format that is flexible, effective, and meets the needs of modern working women.
When she is not working on Pinkcareers, she loves to travel the world with her husband and two little boys.
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Check out
Pinkcareers' Incubator Leadership Accelerator, our 6-months program for new (and aspiring) female managers who want to level up their leadership skills and own their career success.
NEXT COHORT STARTS 15 AUGUST, 2021.Discover your authentic leadership style, get comfortable with self-advocacy, enlist sponsors, and become a confident contributor to your career success.
Save your spot now before we get sold out!
