Two weeks ago, I had the pleasure of attending an #IAmRemarkable session hosted by Akua Nyame-Mensah. The hour and a half flew past like it was nothing, and filled me with the hope that one day, too, I will not be filled with dread when it comes to talking about my own achievements.
(Even typing that! “My own achievements”…)
Why I attended this
More than just for personal growth though, I definitely want the ladies and other marginalized members of my team to be able to have the confidence and competence to talk about what they have done and achieved.
I’ve never been someone who likes talking about myself, and I used to prefer sticking to the background and “doing the work” — just like a good little worker should, I thought. It served me well for a few years early in my career, because I had bosses who noticed the good work done, and I was rewarded appropriately.
When I moved to a consultancy, that changed. It was a culture shock in that area, being given the agency to chart your own career and having that be the norm. It wasn’t the greatest of workplaces though, and there were a lot of factors going into an appraisal beyond “work” done, like utilization hours… and how well you knew your leaders.
Now, though, where I work? There has been a giant shift to ‘owning’ your career, and the biggest change is having to put your own promotion package together and deciding when you’re ready to take the leap, instead of passively waiting for your manager to tell you that you’re ready. I went through that whole process earlier this year, and it was nerve-wracking and filled me up with so much imposter syndrome.
Moving from criticizing to self-love
There was definitely a lot of emphasis on shifting our mindsets, and moving yourself from one end of this spectrum to the other:
Criticizing → Constructive criticism → Self promotion → Self-love
#IAmRemarkable, because:
The workshop also included some time for us to think about our own #IAmRemarkable statements, both writing them down and speaking out loud (or typing it in the chat).
I’m not gonna lie, I had to google for some inspiration because I needed a starting point, but here are my statements just in case I come up in your search, and you needed something to guide you too
- #IAmRemarkable, because I am always looking out for my team’s well-being
- #IAmRemarkable, because I always want to do better and be better
- #IAmRemarkable, because I am resilient through life changes and revelations
- #IAmRemarkable, because I pay attention to the small details
- #IAmRemarkable, because I try to live through my core values and using them to guide my decisions