A Vote of Confidence

A client of mine has been speaking this phrase quite a bit over the past week, owing to the fact that her company has been on the receiving end of much praise and multiple accolades.

She says it (or a variation of the phrase) to advisors, judging panels, her team, friends and pa

rtners that congratulate her on social media, text messages and in person - and even to me. She is the success, yet she is thanking us all.

Let’s just get this straight, what made me stop and glow is the fact that her uttering this phrase isn’t a part of the ‘toxic’ LinkedIn or social media personas that definitely do exist. She says this because in every step of the way, she recognises the part that every single person plays in supporting the success of her pretty damn amazing company.

So this made me stop and think. Multiple times.

At the end of May 2022, when I made the decision to strike out on my own instead of joining a PR agency or going for an in-house role (which for a long time was my goal) I was very much afraid but excited.

In that moment, the amount of friends, ex-colleagues and family members that expressed their confidence in me was undoubtedly important. Even a throwaway line from a jilted prospective employer came as a vote of confidence. Of course, there were individuals that told me it was a mistake, or made snide comments about my motivations - but let’s not dwell on that today - or any day.

Giving others your vote of confidence no matter how quiet or loud is important as we navigate career changes or challenges.

When we were younger it came in the simplest forms:

• Your mum saying “good girl” because you cleared the dishes

• Your teacher saying “keep it up” on an essay you didn’t feel too good about

• A friend inviting you along for a group outing and knowing your presence mattered

When we got older, it seemed to get more scarce. Waiting for affirmation or praise from our bosses, maybe doing up a pitch deck and getting rejected. The corporate world seems to be a colder and harsher environment - we’ve all experienced it in some form.

Back to the original subject of this story. This client of mine, she runs a tremendously successful business, and leads a tight-knit and highly collaborative team. Credit and acknowledgement is in no short supply at her company, and I can see the impact it has on everyone - including her. It’s not an easy job that they do, but their accomplishments, efforts and talents don’t go unnoticed.

The moral of the story?

Be that vote of confidence for someone else, and allow the people around you to cast that for you too.