CHAPTER 1

iTrust

Meet Stephanie. Stephanie is a talented professional who has beenin her career 15 years. Her career has encompassed several leadershippositions, but she is continually passed over for the next "big" step in hercareer. From the outside, she is competent, achieves what is asked of her,and is respected among senior leadership as well as her peers. Internally,she worries that she will not meet the expectations of others. She wantsto advance, but is frustrated that no one selects her for the next position.She questions what she needs to do to move forward.

Stephanie exhibits leadership skills. These include effectivecommunication, managing her time, and creating positive accountability.Yet, she worries and lacks confidence in what she does. Until she dealswith her worry and self-doubt, her leadership skills will not be enoughto advance her career. The potential joy she would have in achieving hergoals will be lost.

Let's join Stephanie as she faces one of her leadership scenarios....

Stephanie's meeting with her boss, Steve, is at 11:00 AM. He hadrequested the meeting with no indication of an agenda. She wants tobe early so she leaves her office, makes the short trip to his office, andnervously waits outside his door.

Steve greets her as he notices her waiting, "Hi, Steph! Come on in."

Stephanie enters his office, holding her notepad tightly to her chest.She sits at the table and puts her blank notepad on the table. He asks ifshe would like coffee and she says "no." Had she done something wrong?She worries. Why does he want to meet with me? I must have done somethingwrong on the Holcolm project, but after last night's lost sleep over worryingwhat it could be, I still have no idea.

Steve begins, "Steph, you have done such an incredible job on theHolcolm project. We've decided to pull you from that project and assignyou to our newest project, the City of Albany."

Steph replies, "Oh, I really didn't do anything special on theHolcolm project. It was my team who really delivered. The City ofAlbany is such a new effort. I've never done anything like that before.Are you sure I'm ready?"

Steve quickly responds, "Stephanie, this is a huge opportunity foryou. I really want you on this project. No matter what you say, we knowyou were the driving force on the Holcolm project. You have things soorganized that we are confident we can turn things over to Tom. CanI count you in on Albany?"

"I ... I ... I ... suppose ..." Stephanie stammers as she tries to understandwhat is being offered. Her thoughts spin. Can I do it? Will this be theproject that is too much for me? How will I know if this is the right move?

"Great!" replies Steve. "Our first meeting will be next Monday at2:00. See you there."

Stephanie picks up her empty notepad and leaves the office. Asshe walks back to her desk, she continues to worry. Am I ready for this?I've wanted to move forward in my career and now is the chance but ... amI really ready?

Stephanie's story describes a common theme among leaders desiringnew opportunities while, at the same time, questioning their ability tosucceed. Where does this questioning come from and more importantly,how does she shift to stepping up with greater confidence?

The Leadership Competencies

Let's start with leadership competencies. Competencies are expectedbehaviors displayed by a leader. There are sixty-seven competencies asdefined by Lominger Institutes Career Architect. The two most relevantto iTrust energy are Self-Knowledge and Action Oriented. Let's lookat each competency and the impact on leadership behaviors from twoperspectives: open iTrust energy and closed iTrust energy.

The leader with open iTrust energy will be skilled in the area of Self-Knowledge.They know their personal strengths, opportunities, andlimitations. They seek feedback and gain insights from mistakes. Theylook forward to balanced performance reviews and career discussionsaddressing both the positive and negative aspects. The leader with closediTrust energy may be too self-critical. They do not know themselveswell and are hesitant to receive feedback, whether positive or negative.They may often avoid conversations about their career, assuming it willbe negative in nature.

The Action Oriented competency is observed in the open iTrustleader as someone who enjoys his or her work. They are full of energyand willing to be challenged. They do not fear taking action, even with aminimum of planning or information. The closed iTrust energy impactsaction orientation through a hesitancy to act or in resisting challenginggoals. Others may see leaders with closed iTrust energy as lackingconfidence and unwilling to take risks.

While the leadership competencies seem fairly straightforward, theunderlying energy dynamic carries the secrets to your effectiveness. Let'stalk further about the energy ingredient.

The Energy Ingredient

The iTrust statement is "I am successful because I am here." Theimplication of this statement is that we are able to trust our abilityto find solutions. In the bio-energy world this comes from a belief inourselves. Fear is the block that inhibits the energy river from flowing.Fear is like a dam built by a beaver. Energy does not flow if we arefearful. If we believe we need to perform to be successful or that we arenot capable to solve the problems we face, we lack trust in ourselves.This translates into lack of trust in others. How can we possibly believethat others see us as successful when we secretly believe we are not? Toothers, our reactions portray a lack of confidence. And it's true! If weare questioning...