Episode #145 - Faking It Til You Make It

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Why do you need to change the way you think about career progression goals? Many of You HAVE no career progression goals at all.   You’re floating along  You have no intention or direction  Maybe it hasn’t occurred to you that you should.  A lot of you have this idea that career progression is only about getting a promotion.  Some of you do have a career progression goal, but it’s not the right one.  You have a career progression goal, it’s the right one, but the way you’re chasing after that goal is going to make it unsustainable when you get there. So you’re either  underestimating the IMPORTANCE of career progression and/or you’re taking such a narrow a view of it, (I.e. that career progression = promotion) that you are missing out on the VALUE of other forms of career progression.  This means you are denying yourself the opportunity to create the results of: Being in a better place in your career today than you were yesterday Or at the end of this year than you were last year  And to have as your future goal: the ambition of being in a better place in your career at the end of 2023 than you are the beginning.   In this last episode of the Caroline Flanagan Podcast, we cover:  Why you should ALWAYS have a career progression goal. Why it’s really important to make sure that your goal is the RIGHT goal.  How to choose the right goal by focusing on the 4 Pillars of Career Progression, the concept we teach in Imposter Syndrome Coaching. What the 4 Pillars of Career Progression are and how to use them. In my Imposter Syndrome Coaching programme, you do a Progression Audit to work out which of the 4 pillars needs the most immediate attention, and we spend 6 months progressing that pillar first.  When you do the work to progress one pillar,  this has a knock on effect of progressing the other pillars too. You can get started RIGHT NOW with identifying your progression goal for the next 6 months. I’m giving you FREE ACCESS to the Progression Audit Form (the exact same one we use when you join in Imposter Syndrome Coaching) to everyone who joins my Waitlist. .    To access your audit now, join the Waitlist. Add your details there, and a link to the Progression Audit will be sent straight to your inbox.   And make a note! Enrolment for Imposter Syndrome Coaching opens on 6th December. So head over to the waitlist and get your Progression Audit. This is your opportunity to be ready for when doors open on enrolment.  This is the last episode of The Caroline Flanagan podcast and we’re excited to have recently introduced a brand new podcast, Legal Imposters, which is super tailored especially for lawyers with Imposter Syndrome. You can listen to it here, and head on over to LinkedIn to subscribe to the Imposter Syndrome in Law newsletter. 

This week we’re launching a brand new podcast exclusively for lawyers. Welcome to Legal Imposters! The podcast will have all the helpful Imposter Syndrome advice and information you have been used to if you have been following the Caroline Flanagan podcast over the last couple of years, but will be tailored to be even more specific to lawyers, going deeper and serving you better.  This introductory episode is to welcome fellow legal imposters into the fold, and to explain to you how the key to tackling your Imposter Syndrome lies in turning it into your strength and using it to your advantage in your career. We bust the three Imposter Syndrome myths:  That it’s ‘just you’ and that everyone else is confident and capable.  That Imposter Syndrome is a problem that you need to fix. That Imposter Syndrome is a sign of weakness.   And we explain how rather than ‘fixing’ your Imposter Syndrome, you need to change: The way you think about your Imposter Syndrome. The way you think about YOURSELF as a person with Imposter Syndrome. The way you think about what it means to succeed in the legal industry. We’ll explore all of this in detail over the coming episodes. But if you're a lawyer, you want more, your negative thoughts about belonging and deserving are holding you back, you’re ready to stop doing that, and you’re now ready to see what you’re capable of, you’re in the right place!   Welcome to Legal Imposters. We’re so excited you’re here.  SUBSCRIBE and tell ALL your fellow lawyers – everyone needs to know how to feel good about their Imposter Syndrome! In Imposter Syndrome Coaching we follow a simple practical process for progressing your career when you have Imposter Syndrome. Enrolment for the next programme opens soon. Join the waitlist so that you’ll be the first to know! 

With all this talk of a cost of living crisis and recession, it’s tempting to hunker down and play it small.  But if you want to keep your career on track during difficult times you need to do the opposite.   It’s more important than ever that you take control of your career, by: Being visible  Adding value, and  Building relationships.  I’m not here to scaremonger or to try to make you worried. But in turbulent times, when there are so many things in the world that are out of your control, one thing you can have power over is the direction and progression of your own career.  In this episode, I explain: How to think about uncertainty so that you do not panic, or ignore coming change, and What to do to bolster your career so that you are in a position of strength to weather the prospective storm. The episode covers all you need to do to ‘double down’ on your career so that you make yourself the most visible, valuable and well-connected lawyer you can be. I explain how you should do this, even, and in fact, especially, when you suffer from Imposter Syndrome.  Because it’s your Imposter Syndrome that is holding you back.  It’s what stands between you and doubling down. And doubling down is how you make your career more resilient and ensure it’s sustainable in troubled times.  In Imposter Syndrome Coaching we follow a simple practical process for progressing your career when you have Imposter Syndrome. You get everything you need to double down and recession-proof your career.  Enrolment for the next programme opens soon. Join the waitlist so that you’ll be the first to know! 

If you think progressing your career when you have Imposter Syndrome is all about the action, think again.   It's the emotions that drive your actions that count. Why? Because emotion lies behind everything we do.  Because FEAR is the emotion behind your Imposter Syndrome, driving overworking, overthinking, playing small and self sabotage – which are the behaviours keeping you stuck and stopping you progressing the way you want or need to.  Because if you want to progress, you need to a) be AWARE of the emotions that don’t serve you and b) learn how to TURN ON those that do.   And the good news is, you only need to master 5 of them!  In this podcast episode, I describe the 5 emotions that you need to choose to feel, and then explain how to feel them consistently and intentionally, if you are going to progress your career.   NB - confidence is not on the list!  Tune in now to find out what these 5 emotions are. And If you're a lawyer with Imposter Syndrome seeking better balance, more recognition, more confidence or you just want to do your day job with a lot more ease, check out Imposter Syndrome Coaching for lawyers. Enrolment opens soon. Join the waitlist so that you’ll be the first to know! 

You can’t short cut your way to confidence.   Faking it ‘til you make it may help you out when you need a quick fix, but it is not a long term strategy for building confidence.  It’s often one of the ‘tricks’ you’re advised to use to help you ’overcome’ your Imposter Syndrome - a mindset tactic that encourages you to do something you’re terrified or reluctant to do. It works on the premise that if you ‘pretend’ to be able to do something often enough, or for long enough, you grow the capability to actually do it.  Sounds good, right? The problem with faking it though is that your relationship with yourself doesn’t change. It gives you a mask to wear, it makes you well-practised - but you are still practising being someone you are not. The best way to ‘make it’ is by gaining confidence in who you really ARE.  In this episode, I cover all the downsides to the faking it approach and describe what you need to do instead. I explain how you need to put in the work to discover who you really are, and learn to take action from a place of trusting that you are enough. This is the method I teach in Imposter Syndrome Coaching. Enrolment for the next coaching programme is coming soon. Make sure you’re on the waitlist so that you’re the first to. know. We’re also excited to be launching a new podcast on 1 November - ‘Lawyers with Imposter Syndrome’. It will have lots of client case studies, interviews, and will revisit key issues about Imposter Syndrome in the Legal industry. It will also support you through Imposter Syndrome Coaching. 

I had lots of questions about Imposter Syndrome Coaching at the end of the Masterclass on Monday. Here are the answers I delivered live for you on LinkedIn and Facebook earlier this week.  The deadline for applications to ISC for lawyers is Monday 3rd. If you're a lawyer and you think Imposter Syndrome may be holding you back in your career, this programme is for YOU. For details on how to apply, head to carolineflanagan.com/imposter-syndrome-coaching.  Remember, doors close at midnight on Monday 3rd October so don’t delay. Get your application over to me asap.   APPLY HERE:  P.S. If you still have unanswered questions, email me here  or you can DM in all the usual places on social.  Can’t wait to see you in the program! 

Monday’s Masterclass really was a masterclass! I covered everything you need to know about progressing your career – from the 4 step simple process, to the skills and the tools you need to succeed.  If you were there, this episode will be a useful reminder of all the reasons why you should drop what you’re doing right now and rush to apply for Imposter Syndrome Coaching.  If you missed Monday’s class, today’s you’re lucky day. Listen, learn, then get yourself over to the application page asap.   Remember, doors close at midnight on Monday 3rd October so don’t delay. Get your application over to me asap.   APPLY HERE:  P.S. If you still have unanswered questions, email me here  or you can DM in all the usual places on social.  Can’t wait to see you in the program! 

The doors to Imposter Syndrome Coaching for lawyers are now open!   Tune into this special announcement to find out everything you need to know to apply, including details of the money back guarantee.  Don’t delay! Doors close at midnight on Monday 3rd October so get your application into me asap.   If you still have unanswered questions, email me here or you can DM in all the usual places on social.   Can’t wait to see you in the program!  APPLY HERE: 

If you are given praise or positive feedback for your work, do you enthusiastically accept it?  Or do you find yourself attributing your success to someone or something else? Or perhaps keep your wins to yourself? Do you, in effect, refuse to take credit for your achievements? When you have Imposter Syndrome, you feel compelled to avoid being exposed as the fraud you think you are. This means you indulge in Self-Sabotage, one of the 4 negative behaviours (or 4 Horsemen as I call them) that characterise Imposter Syndrome. Refusing to take credit for, or capitalise on, your successes, is a sure-fire way to sabotage or undermine your career progression. In this week’s podcast episode, I show you how to look more compassionately and proactively at your achievements, and, something typically overlooked, the other ways in which you have made clear and measurable progress to date. What I talk about here will help you become more confident and level up the way you think about yourself. The episode covers: How to identify the circumstances where you are currently not taking credit for things that you should be. The common mistakes you are making in dealing with success or praise. The ways in which discounting your achievements is undermining your progress. What you can say or do instead to take credit for your achievements and internalise your successes. Having Imposter Syndrome means your brain will resist these changes. One of the biggest values of my Imposter Syndrome programme is that I coach you through this discomfort. Sign up to my FREE MASTERCLASS on MONDAY 26TH SEPTEMBER 18.00 PM UK “How to Progress Your Legal Career (when you struggle with Imposter Syndrome) to hear more.