I was talking to a girlfriend who got a new job. It was offered to her by someone who saw what she was capable of a while back. In this new role her boss told her that she was…. an amazing woman. My friend was kind of surprised and super pleased at the same time. Of course I knew she was amazing. So let me ask you this big yet simple question: are you the only one not to know about your greatness? Do you know your own value?
If I asked you to rate your value in a work context on a scale from 1 to 10, what would you give yourself? If you said 1-4, where does this come from? Is it from reality or from some interpretation of a long line of situations? Maybe your true value hasn’t been able to shine for a while due to circumstances, or your own beliefs. You are no doubt above 5, but need to convince yourself.
If you rated yourself anywhere from 5 to 8 (which I reckon most of us would do), what do you lack for you to feel like a 9 or a 10? More experience? More qualifications? A better job title? More praise? Some social recognition? Let me ask you this: “honestly?”. If I give you permission and nobody hears you, does this change anything? Maybe you just lack a little push to believe in your own value. And if you rated yourself a 9 or 10, lady you just rock and you get it. You fully embrace everything you bring to the table, even your quirks. Well done, it’s time for you to inspire other women to join the high value club.
We all have our innate value to start with: our character, our talents and qualities – admitted or not – since our childhood. Then we have overlayed those with lots of varied experiences, from our student years to our professional lives. All the people we have worked with, all our setbacks, our successes, the places we have been and the things we designed. If you add other life experiences such as parenthood, travels, volunteering, community work etc. you get even more layers. So we all are a true blend of incredible and unique value.
We tend to think of our ‘professional’ value purely in relation to skills and direct experience. But we are missing the mark. We bring so much more to be brilliant at our jobs, and make a strong contribution. To name a few: our skills in organisation, negotiation, creativity, leadership, relationship building, resilience, empathy. So our value isn’t the linear sum of what’s on our CV. It’s who we are as a whole person, full stop. Any employer who does not care about that whole isn’t worth a minute of your time.
The issue with women is that we have never been encouraged to spruik for ourselves. Well time’s up, as Oprah says. It’s time we admit our greatness and call it, at least to ourselves. How can we be considered equal in the workforce if we totally underplay our value? Appreciation of your value does not come magically from outside, like a mirror back at you. It starts with your self-awareness and own beliefs. So when you go for a job, describe your genuine value and see if it’s a fit for both parties.
How are you using your value in your job right now? Is it recognised? How can you unearth it and leverage it more? You know, all those ‘other bits’ you know, live and breathe, that most people don’t know about you. Some things you can do as a starting point: take a strength test on-line or ask 20 of your peers the three things you are great at (NB: it feels very good too). Replay the last 10 years and look at all the experiences, insights and behaviours you have developed. Then look at the stories you are telling yourself to bring that value down: “oh but anyone could have done this”, “I just did this because I had to”, “nobody would take me seriously about that because….”. Get honest with yourself, and replace those with your own truth. No buts, ifs or I shouldn’t.
It’s a new year, a great time to realise your amazing value and put it to good use this year. So start picturing yourself as a 9 or a 10. And follow where it takes you. We can all do it, it’s just time we start seeing ourselves at our own value.
