The Power of Career Confidence

Welcome to Navigating Your Career, the only podcast that blends personal development, professional skills, and psychology to help you get happy at work and live the life you want. If you want to stop feeling stuck and start feeling better, this is the place for you. I’m your host, Melissa Lawrence. Let’s get started.

Hello, and welcome to this week’s episode of the podcast. I am so happy to be with you here today. At the time that I’m recording this, my daughter is about to debut in her middle school spring musical Frozen. And I’m so excited for her. She has been studying for months and this is her first play.

And even though she is well prepared, she has those nervous feelings, a little bit of excitement and insecurity that comes with something new, which ties a bit to what we’re going to talk about today. It’s interesting to watch children and how their confidence changes over time and what they do as their confidence changes. So my daughter, she used to be really shy around other people, and it would take her a long time to warm up to people she didn’t know. But over the years, talking like she’s an adult, but she’s only twelve. But I would say since she’s nine or ten, she has really started to flourish.

So she plays the TELO is in the musical. She signed up for French. She’s getting out there and trying new things, seeing what she likes. So she wants to be a veterinarian and actor. And I just love seeing her try new things, her resiliency of overcoming when she’s nervous and not letting it stop her.

She speaks up when she has something to say. She doesn’t do anything she doesn’t want to do. She has a strong sense of self with her peers. Okay, I promise this isn’t all about my daughter, but thinking about her play and how far she’s come from her gymnastics days a few years ago when she refused to do her competition. And then when she did, she wouldn’t smile or look up and was miserable because she was uncomfortable.

And believe me, we have some very interesting photos of her during that time. We always have to tell the story of why she looks like she was forced into the situation. She looks so unhappy. She’s pouting with all of her trophies. It’s just so different.

She’s had so much growth. And that can come from trying new things, from trusting yourself that you will be okay even if you fail, being okay with failing and not letting your fear stop you from what you really want to do. Because if you listen to my podcast regularly, you will easily be able to spot the theme of what I do is help you be more you in your career, in your life, really owning your own life and your decisions, knowing how to let go of what society has taught you, what your parents have taught you, everything that you’ve learned before, your fear of failure, your fear of the past, all of the things that keep you stuck so that you can really make decisions that are empowering and are aligned with what you want for your life. So let’s get into what we’re really here to talk about today, and that is the power of career confidence, of being confident in your career and what you do and in your future. So let me share some stats with you.

Indeed did a study and found that 98% of employees said they perform at a higher rate when they’re feeling confident in their career. I’ve talked about this before. That when you aren’t happy in your career, when you’re questioning what else you might want to do, or if you’re even in the right role, your performance suffers. Even for you high performers listening that are resistant to the idea that you would ever let this impact your performance. It does.

There is so much power in the way that you think about yourself and your work. And 100% if you are questioning yourself or your career, that is showing up how you engage with people, your relationships, how you approach challenges and your work deliverables. You may still be a high performer, but imagine what you would contribute and accomplish if you loved what you did if you were 100% engaged. That is where the difference is. Another statistic is 94% of employees are happier in their life when they’re confident in their career.

Is that surprising? You spend so much time at work. So even if it’s a great job on paper and you don’t hate it if you don’t love it, if you aren’t feeling your best at work, enjoying the meetings you go to? Yes, you can enjoy meetings you go to feeling productive and that your work is meaningful. You’re going to spill it into your home life.

You’re going to be more impatient at home with your family, and you’re going to want to Netflix more, wind down more indulge more because you’re looking for a reprieve from the sacrifices that you’re making on your career side of your life. It’s kind of like the performance suffering piece. Just like your work performance won’t be as good or the impact you could have won’t be as high because you’re not confident in your career. Your performance in your personal life won’t be as good either. And that has a ripple effect with your family, with your friends, with your health, with your sleep.

I tell you that when my clients work with me and figure out exactly what they want that work that they are destined for and prioritize themselves and find their path to happiness at work. It improves their marriages and the way that they parent, too, without us ever even talking about those things. I’m going to give you one more stat. 96% of employees are more likely to stay with their company when they are confident in their career. And that is no surprise, right?

But think about it. People you know. Or maybe you’ve done this. Hopping around to other jobs, wasting your time scrolling online to see what else is out there. It’s so inefficient.

Not knowing what you want or not feeling confident in your career is a huge time suck. It has you spending so much time wondering if you should stay or go, comparing yourself to others, looking to all of the DIY methods out there, trying to find the answer. If you’re not confident in your career but you’re hesitant to move companies or make a change, let me tell you why. It’s because deep down you don’t know what you want. So you aren’t confident that if you make the change in your circumstances, such as your job title or company or Department, that you’ll actually be any happier.

And that is what I want you to know too. When you are confident in your career, the fulfillment and happiness spills over. It feeds into productivity, creativity, to ambition, job performance, higher pay, promotions. And it’s infectious. When you’re at work and your work besties or colleagues are always complaining about how awful things are.

That is where you will focus your time and energy too. And your thoughts when you’re around people who are focused on their growth, investing in their development, owning their career, feeling confident about themselves and their work. That is infectious for you too. So many times I have people come to me from other people that I’ve coached because they have seen the shift, the change, not just in their promotion or growth externally, but in how their energy is and how they’re approaching their work. So career confidence is everything.

Knowing what you want, that you’re in the right place, that you’re uniquely qualified and positioned for what you do, that you can achieve anything, and you’re having the impact you want to have, making the difference you want to make. It’s everything. So let’s talk about what changes for you when you achieve career confidence. I’m going to share with you some feedback from some clients that I’ve helped with this so first client, she says, having little job satisfaction to now where I love my job has been a huge transformation. My confidence has grown exponentially.

Having a professional, unbiased and fearless coach to guide me left me better prepared and confident to advocate for myself and start showing up for myself and my team. Working with Melissa has been the best money I have ever spent on myself. This client had earned two promotions and positioned herself to have a new role created for her. Now here’s another one. I’m able to ask for what I need, make any decision, and build any boundary I wish to.

It’s okay to listen to myself. It’s okay to not want to move up the management track to CEO of someone else’s company. I want to help people in my way and believe I can. If you’re unsure if you should try coaching with Melissa, just do it. The best investment you can make is in yourself and the return is incredible.

Now, this client advanced in her current role, achieved her highest performance rating while working less hours, and she started a side business. Here’s another one. Prior to working with Melissa, I felt completely run over by other people’s agendas to the point where I didn’t even know who I really was or what I stood for anymore. I now feel more confident and empowered to speak up and to make decisions. I have achieved clarity in terms of a path forward for a next career and achieved more balance and overall happiness in my life.

This client started her own business and also advanced in her current role at the same time. Here’s another. In early 2021, I took a Sabbatical without having a clue what I was doing. Lucky for me, I started working with Melissa. I thought she just helped me figure out the next chapter in my career.

I quickly realized she’s much more than a career coach because to reassess my career goals, I had to assess all of me. I grew so much. I’m more empowered, focused, and confident. I recommend coaching with Melissa to anyone who wants to see a change, a change in their career, their current role, their company, or their relationships. Coaching with Melissa will change your life from day one.

Now this client, she started a new higher level leadership role with a new company and she was able to negotiate and influence that job description. Here’s another one. I’m reading all of these to you. I’m sharing these with you so that you can see what is possible, that these are just regular, ordinary people and going through the same path as you. And the only change they made was to build career confidence was to take the action to figure out what they wanted so that they could feel confident about their path forward.

So this one, my feelings about my career have completely turned around. I was unhappy, frustrated, burnt out, ready to walk away. And through this coaching process, I have found my way again. I now have work life balance, spending time on new hobbies and feel like the what ifs and shoulds have been cleared away. Investing in ourselves is so important and this process proves why not only does it have an impact on you, but on everyone in your life.

Now, this client was promoted. She’s a people leader now and she loves her job again. After she was ready to walk away. Like she said, I have a couple more. Before working with Melissa, I felt like my life was out of control.

Now I feel passionate about what I do. I’m happier, stronger, and fully empowered. This client went on to a higher level role, a promoted role with another company. Here’s the last one I want to share with you. Coaching with Melissa has given me clarity in my career path.

It helped me realize what makes me happy at work and gave me the confidence to pursue it. Now this client positioned herself for a tailor made role to be created for her, doing exactly what she wanted in a big pay raise to do it. So when you hear this, the theme is clear. Each of these people achieved career confidence. They went from feeling frustrated, stuck, not sure what their next career move should be to knowing exactly what they wanted.

And that confidence resulted in new roles, new businesses, higher pay, happiness, higher performance reviews, and more time doing the things they love. This is the power of career confidence. So I urge you that if you aren’t feeling confident in your career, if you don’t know what you want, if you feel something is missing, to do something about it, to take action even when it’s uncomfortable, because there’s the discomfort of staying the same, of never knowing what’s possible for you, of never figuring this out, of always settling. Or there’s the discomfort of figuring it out and getting to the other side and finally achieving confidence in your career and happiness and fulfillment. Don’t let your career happened to you.

Own it. You are in charge, even if you don’t feel empowered. Now, that can change. If you don’t know what you want, that can change. This is a 100% solvable problem.

Now, if you want help and to guarantee that you get confidence in your career, there is one thing you can do right now and that is to join us in Career Path Navigator. This is my signature program. It’s open right now, but only until April 15. I will help you. You will get everything you need to take you from where you are now to knowing exactly what you want and making it happen.

I guarantee it. You can get all of the details and sign up at my website, melissamlorence. Comnavigator. And for those of you that are fast action takers that are saying, I’m ready to do this now. I have a bonus for you when you join by Friday.

By end of day, April 1, you will get a one on one session with me to use at any time in the program. You will also get hard copy materials sent to your door. I want to make it clear for you my process always works and it will work for you. I don’t say that lately, but in the coaching industry, my success rate is 100%, which is hard to find. All of my clients achieve their goals.

I know you probably haven’t invested in yourself before, so I wanted to take away the risk and the guilt that you might feel for doing this, for investing in yourself, for prioritizing your time on you. So when you join, if you do the work and you don’t identify your next best career move that you’re happy and confident in and make a plan to actually make it happen. I will give you your full investment back. I got you. Career Path Navigator is the process that is going to get you knowing your next career move and having the confidence to pursue it.

Just like my clients have said, I’ve thought of everything for you. All you have to do is show up. You’re going to know why you’re not happy now. You’re going to know what is missing for you. You’re going to know exactly what you want.

You’re going to learn to make confident decisions based on what you want. No more scrolling aimlessly or comparing your career to other people. No more recruiters reaching out or job openings, showing up and being confused about whether or not to pursue it. It’s all going to be Crystal clear for you. This is designed to follow your typical work development plan one year so you get one year access.

You’re not only going to know what you want and have that process on demand, but I’m going to help you get it. Which means you’re going to have my brain and expertise with you guiding you as you interview, negotiate, manage, up, know what decision to make. Every step into your role that is going to leave you energized and confident and looking forward to work each day. So for those of you that are ready to go, you get immediate access. When you join, you dive into your member portal and you get to work.

There are coaching calls every single week. You can hop on the next one and binge all of the ones from before. You can absorb as quickly as you want. If you want to take your time, you can do that too. There are worksheets and bite sized lessons.

Everything you need is taken care of for you and it is backed by my philosophy, my expertise and in neuroscience and career psychology, there’s a private LinkedIn community to get on demand support and coaching in between calls. You are never stuck for those that are hopeful and used to settling. I know this might be new for you, but you don’t have to worry. You can be as visible as you want or you can take it slow. You can watch others get coached before ever raising your hand.

That just happened today. I just coached people today in Career Path Navigator and there were people that raised their hand and I coached them and they didn’t know what decision to make. They were being offered this new opportunity and they wanted to make sure it aligned with what they discovered in the process. I coached them until they were confident on their decision and they felt great about it and they weren’t stuck anymore. Other people listened in and commented in the chat.

Some were quiet and just listened. The choice is yours, but you’re all going through the same thing and there’s so much power in hearing the strategy and hearing people in your same industry going through the same things and seeing the customized personalized support that they get. And you getting that for yourself too. So you get the strategy that you need and you’re never stuck. You’re always confident in what you want to do, and you’re always aligned with who you really are.

Never going to those external sources to tell you what to do for you. There’s a members only podcast that you can listen to instead of watching the video as well. For those of you that want to take it on the go and remember, I 100% guarantee your results so you will know your next career move. You will get what you need. You will get happy and confident in your career.

You’re going to change your perspective on yourself and your work. Your experience at work is going to feel so much better right when you join. It doesn’t take long to get results. But once you make this decision and you know you’re going all in on you and you’re focusing on one thing, one solution. You’re going to skyrocket your career.

No matter where you are. Now is the time. It’s time to stop waiting, to stop hoping it works out. To stop waiting to see what happens in your organization. It’s time to put yourself first, prioritize your career and your happiness.

You don’t have to wait to feel ready, because ready is a decision. It’s a decision you can make right now. That’s a big thought error that we have as humans is waiting for this feeling of readiness. It doesn’t exist. You can wait and wait and wait, and it can never show up.

You decide that you’re ready. You decide you’re going to own your career. You can start to experience the power of career confidence right now. So join us in Career Path Navigator. It’s officially open until April 15, and as a recap when you join before the end of Friday, April 1, you will get two bonuses.

You will get a one on one session with me to use at any time during the one year program, which is very special because it’s 1 hour custom to you and I don’t offer ad hoc sessions. You have to work with me for six months. That’s how long my one on one program is. So that is special in itself that you get an ad hoc one on one session to use at any time during that program. You also get hard copy materials sent to your door.

And when you join between April 2 to the 8th, you will still get hard copy materials. But you won’t get that one on one session. And if you wait to join until that last week, the 9th to the 15th, that is the last call before doors close until the summer. But when you join now, you will already know what you want by then. By the time you’re in the summer and the next time this program opens up again you will already be well on your way.

You will already be happy and confident work so head to www.melissamlawrence.com/navigator to join us now. I will see you inside and I can’t wait to welcome you in have a wonderful week.

Thank you so much for listening to today’s episode. I truly hope you enjoyed it. If this episode resonated with you or helped you in any way please share it on your social media and tag me. I love seeing what you’re up to. Please make sure to subscribe and leave a review and until next time have fun navigating your career knowing the life you want is totally possible.