I'm In It For... The Reason Why I Do What I Do

In his book Man’s Search for Meaning, Viktor Frankl a psychologist, and survivor of the holocaust, wrote about how he noticed that there was a difference between those who survived the holocaust and those who did not, and that was a sense of purpose.

Having a big why, a motivation for what I do that is bigger than me has always been pivotal for me to finding satisfaction and fulfilment in my work, giving me a sense of purpose. This sense of purpose for what I do has been what has kept me going during the difficult and challenging times. Times in which if I hadn’t had a sense of purpose, would have caused me to give up and throw in the towel.

As part of the LinkedIn series #InItTogether I am sharing why I do the work that I do, and here is what I am in it for: -

As a child I lacked confidence, and this was prevalent throughout my teens and my early 20s. It was on becoming a single mum when my son was 6 years old that I recognised that if I wanted him to grow up to be bold and confident, I needed to model that behaviour.

I then did a lot of work on my personal development and began to realise, it wasn’t that I lacked confidence, it was that I was an introvert. With the misconceptions that existed then about introversion (and still exist today), I had mistaken my quiet nature for a lack of confidence, which had caused me to lack self belief over the years. It was once I accepted myself as I was, and became introvert and proud, I actually saw my confidence levels soar.

I am in it to champion and encourage other women to break down both internal and external barriers

I am in it so that other women don’t have to go through the challenges that I had to go through, and to champion and encourage them on. Also, despite the advances that have been made in recent times, the pace of change in reaching gender parity is still far too slow. I am in it to make my contribution in speeding change along.

Through my writing, my talks, and my work as a coach, my mission is to break down the barriers (both external and internal), that prevent women achieving their full potential and excelling in their careers and businesses.

I do this through working with women on a one to one basis, as well as working with organisations and their internal women’s networks.

As an introvert and having faced many challenges as an introvert working in extroverted environments, I have a particular passion for coaching introverted women to lead with influence and impact in their own quiet, authentic way.

When I started writing articles about the challenges that introverted women leaders face, I was inundated with messages from both women and men from all over the world, sharing their experiences with me.

From being asked to justify why they should be given a role because they were an introvert, to being told they were not given a position just because they were introverted, some of the stories were horrendous. This made me determined to change the narrative and dispel the myths around introversion.

For me, it's ultimately about social justice, what about you?

My big why is what gives me the passion and the motivation to keep on going, knowing that my work is helping to make a difference in women transforming their careers and their lives.

This is my why for doing what I do. It is the motivation behind my work. And what I am ultimately in it for, is about social justice. I believe that if all women are achieving their full potential, and being their true, authentic selves, they will become spheres of influence in their respective fields, communities, and families, to bring about positive change for social justice for all. What about you? What are you in it for?

We all have different motivations, and what success means to me could be very different to what it means to you. It could be that you are in it so that you can provide your children with the best possible start in life. Or, it could be that you want to make an impact through your work. Whatever it is, I would love to know why you do what you do, so please let me know by commenting below.

Or, better still, write an article, record a video or put it in a post, using the hashtag #InItTogether, and add the link to it in the comments below. You never know, your contribution may help someone else who is seeking motivation themselves. 

#InItTogether

ABOUT ME:

I am The Coach for High Achieving Introverted Women, an Executive, Career, Business Coach, Writer, Speaker, LinkedIn Top Voice UK 2017 and the founder of Abounding Solutions . With over 25 years coaching and leadership experience, I help women (with a particular emphasis on introverted women) to be authentic, bold, confident leaders and excel in their careers and businesses.

I also help organisations develop the talent pipeline of female employees so that more women make it to senior management roles.

Are you a high achieving introverted woman who wants to thrive as a leader and learn how to deal with the challenges that introverted women face as leaders, and want to become your best possible authenic self? If so, join my Facebook community for high achieving introverted women here.

All high achieving women who want to be authentic, bold, confident leaders and excel in their careers and businesses are welcome to join my other, more general community of High Achieving Women here

If you are a senior introverted woman, and a member of a senior management team or executive team. Come and join the conversation here.