10 Secret Skills that Build Confidence and Engagement for Your Work…

Continuing on in our countdown of 10 Secret Skills that build confidence and engagement for your work…

 

Remember, they are a countdown because these are a progressive set of skills that can be developed and practiced in your daily work to connect you to a more vivid sense of personal power – of confidence that what you do makes a difference for others.

 

As we practice these skills we not only build our confidence, we simultaneously quiet the noise (the self-sabotaging comments) that produces naturally from our brain/ego in response to anything that is expressed from our spirit – our higher self.

 

So let’s get on with the countdown of  “Secret Skills” – and practice, practice, practice away at them!  Here’s #2 and #1…

 

Drum roll please….

 

Secret Skill #2 – You inspire others

 

This is about contributing from a place of passion, dedication, and doing what’s right for another.  If you have been practicing doing “your work”, inspiring others is a next step for sure.

 

With this level of skill, you constantly side with hope (a belief that something good could happen) over fear (a belief that something bad could happen) in any given situation.  What’s most important at this level of skill, is that nothing you do is done with YOU in mind – it is always done with another in mind.  That could be the customer, your peers, the company you work for, the industry you represent, the field you work in, etc.  You hold a sense of responsibility that what you do, say and how you behave affects others and you desire only to affect others in a positive way.

 

At this level, you are simply moved by something bigger than what’s in it for you alone.

 

Here are a few examples of operating at a level where you inspire others…

 

• You teach others in your given field or industry – this can be a paid or an unpaid gig.  This may be demonstrated in the form of lecturing, teaching a class at a certification level or at the college/university level, blogging, writing or having an interview published in a trade publication.
• Regularly volunteering – industry related or not.  Any type of on-going volunteer work counts and it doesn’t matter if you do it publicly or anonymously – in other words whether you get to interact face to face with those who benefit from your contributions or not.  Personally, I think the more your contributions do not put you in the direct spotlight the more selfless and powerful your contribution.  Volunteer work is making a contribution to the betterment of mankind – it’s about giving and every employer wants to hire people with a track record of demonstrating a “giving spirit”.  A giving spirit conveys compassion, energy, engagement, and a balanced life.
• You get others to recognize something they can do or contribute that can make a difference for others.
• You rally others to action maybe even collaborating/participating with them.
• You operate from a personal mission, vision and set of values (not just your company’s mission, vision or values) that considers how your behaviors and actions impact others.  This might also look like:  you “practice what you preach” despite the conditions or circumstances around you.
• You share your experiences with others so that others become motivated to “go and do” on their own and find their experience.
• Support others to get what they want for themselves.  As my mentor – best selling co-author of “The Passion Test” and “Your Hidden Riches” Janet Attwood says “I want for you what you want for you.”  Inspiring people never inspire others to what they want from/for others – that’s a different trait altogether – called persuasion (at it’s worst – manipulation).

 

 

Where in your career have you inspired others?  – and – What opportunity do you have to inspire others?

 

 

Secret Skill #1 – You’re creative

 

This is more than being “artsy” – at this level of skill you actually see yourself as a “creator” – no matter what your job is.  The truth is, we are all creative beings – unfortunately most of us have been brainwashed into believing that if we don’t have some TV-worthy trait or ability, we are not creative at all.  Many left-brained people out there (like me) can probably relate to identifying with the statement: “I’m not creative”.  But that’s just not true.

 

Creator is defined as “someone who brings something into existence”.  With this skill you see yourself as someone who actually manifests something from nothing – and it doesn’t mean just creating something tangible.  Actually, the most impactful thing “creativity” does is evoke emotion.  Sure an artist may paint a picture (the tangible thing) but what they really evoke is an emotion (the intangible thing)  within you that draws you in and connects you with the painting.  Have you ever cried while watching a movie, reading a book, looking at an incredible piece of art?  Then you get what I am saying here.

 

But can you see the possibility of how you are creative outside of the context of fine art skills?

 

No matter what your job – I don’t care if you clean floors in an airport, you create something (tangible – as in a clean floor – and intangible – an emotion or feeling in another – what do you think/feel when you enter a building that is clean vs. on that isn’t?).  YOU decide what is possible for another to feel or experience (which then enables them to be able to do or accomplish something you see as virtuous or valuable in the world) because of your contribution.  How you want them to feel is your intention for them.

 

People who are truly creative become clear about their intentions (the emotion or experience they want to enable for another) and they become that intention – themselves and through their work – as best as they can.  Once you decide what this is, and you hold this intention in your heart while you perform whatever tasks are required of your job – you become “a creator”.    Ultimately, you cannot control what another experiences or feels because of your contribution – all you can do is provide the opportunity for them.  When you strive to live from your intentions for others, you access an unending supply of personal power and fulfillment because your sense of power comes from what you do for others – it no longer becomes dependent on what others do for you.

 

Identifying with this “creator” energy then shifts how others react to you.  They will get that you have something of value to offer others beyond the tasks associated with your job – it’s what you have to offer to them as a person.  They get that you are not a person that’s just all about yourself.  This is the subtle (but more important), subjective (feeling) side of performing your job.

 

Creative energy holds value for the subject as well as the objective results of their contributions.

 

Creative skill is developed when you challenge yourself to take something someone asks of you to a new level of possibility – one that exceeds anything they ever initially imagined.  It’s about seeing possibility often between things that others may see as unrelated.  It’s about being able to think in a non-linear way.  It’s about recognizing opportunity to serve others beyond their request and the most creative types often see this see opportunity when faced with a sh*!tiest or most mundane requests.

 

Here are a few examples of operating with creativity…

 

• Notoriety as a top talent or “genius” in your field.  No one goes around saying “I’m a genius” – at least not without provoking other people to roll their eyes.  “Genius” is something that must be demonstrated in the examples you provide about the impact you have made or enabled for your field or for another person.  Of course if you are an actual Noble Laureate, you’ll put that on your resume – but then again, if you are a Noble Laureate, you’ll probably skip the interview process altogether ;-)
• You develop something new that stands the test of time.  Maybe you put in a process, a program or invented something that is still useful many years later.  Ever heard of The Beatles? E-mail? Girl Scouts? – Your contributions don’t have to be that popular but I’m sure they give you an example of what I mean by longevity and usefulness.
• You made something possible others did not see as possible before.  It’s demonstrated in stories that share how you saw an opportunity others did not see or you found a solution when others could not see one – and of course the results far exceeded the original goal/request.  This could be as dramatic as creating something others told you wasn’t possible – again, it’s about doing what you know or feel to be right despite others or adverse conditions.
• You manifested a hope, wish or dream – probably without fully knowing up front how it would all come together.
• You took a painful experience and found purpose from it – you turned some personal pain/tragedy into a purposeful experience.

 

 

What do you create (tangibly and intangibly) for others?

 

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Develop 2-3 examples (stories) to demonstrate how you operate from secret skills #’s 2 &/or 1.  And don’t forget – your story/example should demonstrate how operating from these skills made a difference FOR ANOTHER (never just for yourself).