We all have a defining moment somewhere in our personal and professional DNA. However, how many of us understand how to capture and articulate it?
Our defining moments combine our words, actions and values into something valuable, tangible and compelling. Yet often, they are so subtle and completely natural, that we take them for granted. We assume everyone in the workplace knows how to do what we seem to do, so effortlessly.
However, from our colleagues’ and clients’ perspectives, no one knows how to deliver quite the way we deliver, time and time again. All due to the moment or moments which define who we are as leaders of worth. Even if we do not quite see ourselves as leaders. Just yet.
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However, when I ask audiences about their defining moments, they tend to describe their backstories. And one thing your defining moment is NOT, is your backstory.
Our backstories are what we think makes us credible to others. So, these backstories are full of the stuff we put on our resumes, our certifications and awards, our educational background. Our backstories include all of those titles and acronyms we list, as well. Most people do not understand what all those acronyms stand for, but we figure the more of them we list, the better we look. To others.
Often, we tend to read our professional resumes to give ourselves a pep talk before presentations or networking events. However, when we read our resumes, we are not thinking about those titles. We are thinking about our experiences within the context of those titles. Not only that, we are remembering the painful experiences more so than the positive ones.
As a result, our backstories tend to represent a lot of historical baggage and bias that we continue to drag around. Isn’t it time to turn these backstories into something else that inspires us every day?
Professional change is uncomfortable, but it doesn’t need to be at all unpleasant. After all, we are building something greater! Read on.
Discovering our defining moment initially is uncomfortable, yet tremendously liberating.
We are not truly able to move ourselves one millimeter beyond our current professional comfort level by languishing in yesterday’s self-definition. Professional definition involves a pivot, a professional innovation.
Professional innovation is not an angst-ridden journey. In fact, it is rather enjoyable! When we retool and recalibrate, we start to see the same things, differently. As though for the first time, again. We revisit habits and mindset. Isn’t it time to deploy what we already do so very well in a new direction for even more remarkable outcomes on behalf of clients?
Start moving one millimeter forward, today.
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Babette Ten Haken, Founder & President of One Millimeter Mindset™ serves organizations as a corporate catalyst and innovative speaker, strategist, coach and storyteller. Babette’s One Millimeter Mindset™ Workshops and Speaking programs leverage collaboration to catalyze professional innovation, workforce engagement and customer retention, especially in challenging Industrial Internet of Things environments. Babette’s playbook of IIoT team collaboration hacks, Do YOU Mean Business? is available on Amazon. She is a member of SME, ASQ, SHRM and the National Speakers Association.
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