16 Apr When to Say When
As a life coach to career-driven women battling self-doubt and fear to achieve their professional goals, I often help my clients learn when to say when. Many are concerned about allowing their managers or co-workers to see them without their superwoman cape. This figurative cape means they must continually prove they can do any task anytime, jumping on projects with a single bound as if they can defy the effects of stress and running out of bandwidth. Instead, they must consistently jump on the bandwagon of “Yes, I can do that.”
There is an obvious insecurity about being honest about our humanness as women and using our voice to speak up and share when we are elbow deep in our current assignments and would do a disservice to take on more at the moment.
As women, especially in the workplace, we are used to feeling like we can never express our need for assistance or redistribution of work because we always have to prove our worth due to gender bias in these spaces. However, being honest does not mean you are incapable of working hard. But what happens when you dont use your voice and your production is less than praiseworthy?
This inability to know when to say when is a mixture of imposter syndrome and superwoman complex. It’s that feeling of if I can’t do it, no one can, but what is this attitude costing you personally and professionally? It’s also the reinforcement of thought, “If they think I can’t do everything to the point of burning myself out and creating excessive stress, they will be onto me and know I am an imposter.”
Sometimes it’s not focusing on what you can’t do but reframing unrealistic expectations to what you can do and sorting out a plan for the rest of the work with reason and accountability.
Are you overwhelmed because you tremble at the thought of expressing yourself at work or in your personal life?
My eight-week, Confidently Me and Stress-Free coaching program will help you in this area. Schedule your coaching consultation today.
-M
