There are over 550 women in my immediate network who have raised money taking their businesses to the next level. Of course, we meet and speak on many topics, the most interesting to me is the topic of SUCCESS.
This week I attended the We Own It Summit surrounded by 200 of some of my most prized friends – women who had developed high scale businesses. Again the topic of success came up. But more importantly, the CONFIDENCE to garner that Success.
Don’t you have to pause when a group of people who have raised over $5B in capital, hired thousands of employees, and covered the globe with their products transition a conversation to confidence. The authors of “The Confidence Gap”, Claire Shipman and Katty Kay after interviewing some of the most influential women in the nation were also surprised to discover the extent to which even these women suffered from self-doubt.
A study in 2011 by the Institute of Leadership and Management in the United Kingdom, surveyed British managers about how confident they feel in their professions. Half the female respondents reported self-doubt about their job performance and careers, compared with fewer than a third of male respondents.
Even Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg said a year before her book, Lean In, was published: “There are still days I wake up feeling like a fraud, not sure I should be where I am.”
Here is THE KEY TO SUCCESS:
Confidence is more significant than competence in reaching your success.
The more self-assured you are, the more you will uplevel your success. How can you do that? By developing a Strategic Life Plan and gaining clarity on your 5 Human Equities. This process removes tendencies that crush self-doubt such as second guessing yourself, ruminating, perfectionism, and difficulty with decision-making. It gives you Guttural Confidence.
Image by SweetOnVeg (CC BY 2.0) via flickr