I have coached many people over the last 20 years and today it still astonishes me how many people don’t know how to value themselves up.
We all have a level of knowledge which we can add to at will. We can google just about anything or learn how to do things on YouTube. I bought an iPhone and 20 minutes later thanks to YouTube I am an expert … easy.
There is something more important than knowledge and that is INSIGHT. Insight is earned by doing the yards, having experiences and hanging out with really smart people.
Insight comes from being observant. Observation skills are paramount in creating success.
Great leaders are keen observers with their eyes and ears. They are always scanning and taking in valuable data about the quality of work, the interaction of workers with each other and customers. They are observing closely in important negotiations for cues as to how to make their next comment or decision.
My experience with clients is they don’t bring enough of their insight to new business opportunities or work changes. They have a great CV with a history of what they have achieved to hopefully excite the potential new employer.
I am often asked by clients if I will meet with a new recruit to see what I think about them joining the team.
One of the very first questions I ask them is “give me some insight into your previous job or business, something I would not know”?
Most take some time to think about their answer because they have never been asked this question before. They struggle to think beyond the role they played.
Insight is a valuable commodity to an employer or a business set up.
I get my clients who are preparing for promotions and or/job changes to do this very essential exercise.
I call it the Value up List Exercise.
I ask them to write down a list of as many things as possible that they have learned in their career. I ask them to take a guess at how big their list might be. A typical answer is usually 50 to 100 things for some ambitious people they will say 200 to 300 items.
I ask for 1000 over a period of two to three weeks. People gulp and ask me “are you serious”?
When that list is done I ask them to write two things down about each item on the list. I then get them to do it this one more time.
This creates a list of 7000 things they know. This is their insight and the excitement is extraordinary. My client’s confidence goes through the roof. They have a new level of self-belief.
Tapping into your insight is a great exercise to do – after you complete your list you will value yourself up more than you have in the past. I know this to be true, because my clients all tell me so.
Create your list and value yourself up.
You should take your insight with you wherever you go!