This week’s Thursday Thought is linked with some advice that was given by Natalie Duvall (Red Bull & March Muses) during The Ladder Club‘s* One Year celebration in October, 2024.
*The Ladder Club are building the most impactful community for Black women navigating the journey to senior leadership through the power of connection.
What Do You Have in Your Hand?
In a previous blog post and I’m sure, at some point, a Thursday Thought, I encouraged us to ‘Use What You Have’. You can probably infer the essence of its message.
- Question: Do we consider the connections we have (personal & professional), the networks and circles we are a part of, the training we have been on (work/leisure/interest) as some of what we ‘have in our hand’?
Stop thinking about what you don’t have
Parallel to this, we can often think about what we don’t have i.e funds/other resources, a specific qualification, certain skill set etc., instead of focusing on and maximising (+ monetising where possible) what we do have.
This will be due, in part, to our socialisation to not brag or be boastful—which depending on your cultural background may have extra layers/nuances. Our personality type, gender and other factors will also likely play a part.
Count your skills and name them one by one
I attended a careers webinar today where the facilitator, Sonia Benjamin-Leach of Global Solutions Services, mentioned that each of us has a repertoire of 700 skills.
Pause and ponder that.
Yet some of us, myself included, haven’t identified our key 5-10 skills, much less how to effectively shout about them aka celebrate ourselves and achievements, thus far.
So what do we have/can we leverage?
I’m going to leave you with these thoughts and let you decide. Feel free to take, leave and/or leverage.
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