There’s always someone better than you
It’s true. Get over it.
It doesn’t matter who you are, what you do, where you work…there is always someone better than you.
“Why?”
Because we all have flaws. No one is perfect. As much as we’d sometimes like to think highly of ourselves, the reality is is that we can’t possibly be able to know or do everything and anything. Don’t get me wrong, you could be great, and you might be the go-to-person in a certain field of knowledge. But, you can’t possibly know it all.
“Hmm…”
Don’t worry, it’s not all that bad. In fact, it’s perfectly fine. It can even help you!
I work in an office for a small bank. It’s worked out relatively well for me as, due to the smaller workforce, I’ve been able to impress the top level management and been able to be recognised for my ‘talents’ far easier than if I were working for a major bank or other large organisation. Because of this, I was also placed on a two-year leadership programme to further boost my skills and enhance my natural leadership style. And I’ve learnt a lot of things along the way…
I don’t always have the answer
And that’s perfectly fine. I accept that I can’t possibly know everything otherwise I’d be CEO somewhere (maybe). So what do I do if I don’t know the answer to something? I just ask the person who knows. I know! Crazy right? Who’d of thought it would be so easy. Seriously though, a lot of us have trouble approaching others. I am the same at times as i’m an introvert and the less conversation the better for me sometimes. I really can’t stress though how good it is to approach other people for help. If you’re anything like me, you sit at your desk all day and get little exercise or interaction with other people. By seeking answers from others, you’re forced away from your desk, are able to socialise with peers on your way to the person, and importantly, once you get to that person you build a relationship and improve your networking.
Learn from watching and listening to others
I like to think that I am a good leader and the way I go about doing things is often the right way of doing things, or at least the most efficient and effective way for me to do things. The ‘me’ part is key, because i’m not the only one in the office working. Agood leader gets the most from his or her peers. In order to do that, you have to be flexible in your approach. I was certainly not flexible. On the leadership programme, I used to look at some of the others and think “What are they doing?”… The behaviours that some of them were demonstrating were alien to me, too soft at times and completely not my style at all. Halfway through the programme I realised that, actually, if I really want to succeed in life and work my way to the top, I too need to adapt my style to different individuals. So I watched the different styles my peers were demonstrating and copied them, applying them to certain situations as I saw fit. I also asked how they would deal with certain situations with the workplace. I learnt so much and I can genuinely say I don’t have a ‘me’ style anymore; it’s much more rounded.
Don’t be afraid to admit that you’re not the best
If you can’t do this, you can forget everything else you’ve just read. I’m a relatively confident person and like to think I can tackle any challenge that comes way. I also firmly believe that being confident is expressive visually and others feel confident around you if they can see that you’re confident. I was shocked when after marrying my wife, who had also been my work colleague of two years at the time, she revealed that she originally thought I was an arrogant f**k. There’s a fine line between confidence and cockiness… Don’t be that person who won’t seek help from others because they think it will dent their pride.