Client Question: “I know that I am only 1 month into this new role, but I just feel overwhelmed with all that I have to learn. I think I may be in over my head when I compare myself to everyone else who seems to know so much.”
It is very common to have self-doubt at the beginning of a new role. Everyone goes through this same feeling. You knew so much in your old role and people came to you as the expert. Now you are starting over again and having to learn all kind of new things. It takes time to really be able to be productive in a new role. You have new relationships to build, new content to learn and if you have a team, new direct reports to manage. You feel a bit like you under the spotlight trying to learn all of this quickly.
Self-doubt comes from comparing yourself to everyone else. This is not a fair comparison. They have probably been there much longer and have had time to learn everything. Give yourself a break. Put together a 30-60-90 day plan of what you need to learn, who you need to build relationships with and what you want to execute. If you have a 30-60-90 day plan continue to focus on it. Evaluate if you have the right things on the plan and if you need to make adjustments. Find people on the team that can help you get up to speed faster. Don’t feel like you have to do all of this by yourself. Look for a mentor who can give you objective feedback on how you are progressing and give you guidance on how to navigate your organization in your new role.
Going through a change like this helps you learn how to do it more quickly. You will follow a similar process each time you move to a new role and it will become easier. Evaluate what worked and what didn’t so you can be ready for the next time. Do what needs to be done to set yourself up for success and trust that you are doing the right things. If you feel yourself doing a comparison, remember that you can’t measure yourself as a new person in the role with someone who is more experienced. You will get there very soon. Although you may feel doubts from time to time, recognize that you are in this role for the skills and capabilities you bring. Recognize that you are becoming more productive and building confidence in this new role every day. Keep moving forward and ask for help if you need it.
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