If you’ve just been promoted to a higher leadership position, congrats! This is a huge opportunity, and you should take full advantage of it.
However, as you onboard your new role, there is something that you should keep in mind. It may seem hard to believe, but at this level, comfort with your own power is an assumed competency.
Let that sink in for a minute.
Essentially, it means that you are expected to show up as a powerful person who can get things done. But that’s not all. Your success will be measured beyond whatever you can accomplish with your own team(s). As a high-level Executive leader, you’ll also be judged by how much impact you have across the entire organization. That requires genuine power.
Again, this is an exciting opportunity, and all of it should feel like good news. Yet whenever I work with a client who is about to take on a high-level role, something strange happens.
I know what you’re thinking: Impostor Syndrome strikes again. That’s a logical assumption, because work systems, especially corporate systems, were not designed by women for women to succeed. So when women do succeed inside those systems, they usually have some degree of imposter syndrome. This even happens to women at the highest levels of FAANG and Mag 7 companies (just this month I’ve coached 2 women who were promoted to the C-Suite of their companies after 20 years of hard work, and still questioning whether or not they can handle it!).
There is also the issue of the distinctly-gendered "status shield” that high-level men enjoy. Their gender protects them from the extra scrutiny and judgement that women in power have to endure. This is a lived reality for Executive women, and they are aware that it scales with them as they climb higher in their career.
But the weird phenomenon I’m talking about goes beyond that.
Women often tell me that they are afraid to embrace their full power, because somehow that would mean that they’re no longer “authentic.” They worry that they “won’t feel like themselves” or that they’ll have to “become someone else” once they enter their new, powerful role.
If you have this anxiety, understand that it’s not your fault. Our society (and our world) doesn’t have nearly enough examples of women in high positions of power compared to men. We are all affected by this lopsided ratio, and it can become deeply internalized within us. Without clear examples of how we can be your most powerful self, it can feel overwhelming and exhausting to try and make that leap.
The advice I give to clients is to start with small habits that have a big impact. Here are three ways to cultivate your most powerful Executive self:
Choose an image that represents your idea of personal power, and keep it by your desk. Some examples from my clients include a lightning strike, a picture of boxer Laila Ali, a river flowing into the sea and a large golden crown. One of my clients uses a picture of her golden retriever, because the money that her big new role provides will help buy some land where she can take her dog to run around freely. Frame the image and hold it in your hands before big meetings and presentations. Remind yourself that you don’t have to be anything except comfortable in your own skin.
Schedule a few long weekends over the next 6 months. This is a chance to acknowledge your power and the responsibility it carries. Your big new role is going to tax every part of your body and mind, and if you push too hard you could burn out! Studies show that shorter vacations spread over time offer more relief than a big 2-week chunk in the middle of the year.
When communicating with your team about a project, make sure to set expectations before you offer support. Many Executive women hold on to people-pleasing behaviors that they should have outgrown already. You don’t have to please your team, they have to please you. Make it clear that you expect them to work at their highest level of excellence (and be specific about what that looks like), then let them know you’ll be there to offer guidance as needed.
These are just some of the skills I work on with clients in my private coaching packages and group trainings. DM me for more info.