THERE! I said it! Had a hard time mustering enough courage to get that out in the public. Not anymore. What changed? A shift in perspective.
I had a realization this afternoon — the way I introduce myself usually suck! I start with my organization, what it does (and a minute and a half have already passed by this time) and how (or at what capacity) I serve. I’ve tried to flip the format so that I start with my title/responsibility only to see if bomb as well!
And here’s the worst part — none of my family members (including my wife!) know what exactly I do at work! Yes, I have communicated this in the past but it seems what I do doesn’t seem to register well with anyone! Why? Because I’m a freaking do-it-all! There are at least a dozen things I do at the workplace and a dozen others I do outside of it. How the heck would anyone remember? Or even care to remember?
In fact, a few weeks back my sister-in-law told me about a conversation she’s had with one of my ex-bosses (who was all praises by the way!). This person asked her what am I up to these days. The response? “I don’t know really. He’s into so many things but he’s super busy at all times!” Embarrassing would be an understatement. But the only person to be blamed for this is ME!
I’m at a point in life where I need to (want to and have to!) find business for myself (more coaching clients) and figure out ways to market and promote (without being sleazy, salesy or shamelessly branding) myself — I have no clue where to go from here! Except one little change — positioning or rather re-positioning myself for who I really am.
An executive coach! That’s who I am. And since I’m super-proud of who I am, I plan to spend the next 15 days to tell everyone I know about what I do. No kidding! In fact, I plan to rework on my introduction and create two versions — one strictly for work and one for my life (or outside the workplace).
I’ve had enough of hiding behind the title handed to me by my employers. It’s time to own up who I really am. I can understand if this sounds silly but you have no clue how liberating it is to finally “feel” what it is like to be some.