Harriet Waley-Cohen

View Original

The impact of low self-worth on leadership

Low self-worth stops you from becoming the kind of leader you could be in your life and career.

You might hold yourself back in a variety of ways:

1) Sabotage your health (drinking, smoking, unhealthy eating, lack of sleep) so that you lack energy and enthusiasm.

2) Not put yourself forward, so that others don't notice your brilliance.

3) Get stuck in unhealthy relationships that undermine your confidence further.

4) Stay in jobs too long without pushing your career forwards because you aren't sure that you'll get a yes at the next level.

5) Not delegate, believing that by doing it all yourself, you will be seen more favourably, when instead you are seen as unable to manage others or boundary roles.

6) Wait for opportunities to be offered rather than seeking them out.

7) Adopt the physical posture of someone who doesn't believe in themselves all the time, which can give others the impression that you aren't as brilliant as you really are. Uncertainty is contagious.

8) Put your energy in the wrong place as your try to fix all the ways in which you don't think you're good enough ( extreme diets, people pleasing etc), which leaves no space for you to invest in yourself and actually progress.

My talks and coaching are specifically designed to banish self-sabotage and it's underlying cause which is almost always low self-belief once and for all, by getting people on their own side and helping them truly believe in and reach their potential.