Client result: From insecurity to becoming indispensable

A recent client hired me from a place of genuine insecurity: she worked for an engineering company in a role that is under risk from becoming obsolete thanks to AI.

She was leading on AI adoption and implementation within her team, and her words of despair in our first conversation were, “I feel like I’m cutting off the very branch that I sit on.”

Her managers could provide little reassurance or certainty on what the future would hold, and she struggled with calming her own team through the chaos of it all.

So she wanted me to coach her on preparing for a future that she could no longer imagine.

But I helped her see that, given the uncertainty her entire team were facing, her energy and focus would be better spent on increasing her value to her team, rather than in trying to predict her way into keeping her job.

Because I could see that her greatest challenge came not from the outside, but in who she was being: she was shouldering the burden of handling this situation by herself, not asking for help because she held the identity of being the person who made life easy for everyone else.

She thought she was doing the right things to add value to her team, but she hadn’t seen how:

• Her leadership style was steeped in people pleasing, so she was burning out from handling a team member who undermined her leadership

• Her direct reports were being disempowered when she solved all their problems

• As the person who quietly, reliably, promptly got things done, her accomplishments were not visible to the wider team who were likely decide on her future within the company

  
  

But she immediately got to work to transform herself with a determination that makes me proud to be her coach.

Because it’s not easy to unlearn ways of being and doing that you have relied on throughout your career. 

Through our coaching sessions she set boundaries that protect her wellbeing and set right her relationship with the difficult team member; she now communicates clearly and assertively to get the results she wants from her team and the help she needs from her manager; she is building her visibility and influence in her organisation so that they acknowledge the impact she is having on her colleagues.

Personally, I would say that her biggest result was taking her power back from a future that she has no control or influence over.

Now her focus is back where it needs to be - on the present, and on what she can control - becoming her best self and an indispensable asset to any team.

Given that appraisal season is fast approaching, do you need support with increasing the value you bring to your team? Let's have a chat.

Three ways I can support you in increasing your value to your team: 

• Leadership Lab: Gain your first role in leadership.

• Power Pose: Overcome your long-term issues with imposter syndrome that are holding you back.

• Director's Cut: Helping you navigate leadership challenges better and quicker