5 Signs You’re Good Enough to Lead at Senior Level (And Always Have Been)

Lucy (00:01)
Have you ever sat before a board or a big presentation or a leadership team meeting and thought, do they really think I have all the answers? What if this is the moment that everyone realizes that I’m winging it? What if I blow this opportunity? Because if you’ve ever had those thoughts, I need you to hear this. After coaching hundreds of women in senior leadership over the past five years, I have realized something important.

Which is that the women who doubt themselves the most are often the women who are most capable and are actually operating at the next level already. They’re leading teams, they’re influencing strategy, they’re delivering results, they’re influencing decisions and they’re creating impact. Yet they are missing some critical steps to get visible, to really own their worth, and they’re still waiting for somebody to tell them that they’re ready. So in today’s episode of the Lucy Gernon Show, I am sharing

Five signs that you are already good enough to lead at senior leadership level and perhaps you always have been.

Hello there and welcome back to the Lucy Garnan Show. I cannot believe we are here already. Today we are wrapping up season two. And honestly, I couldn’t think of a more important episode to finish on because this season has been all about confidence. We’ve explored why high achievers become addicted to stress with Dr. Brian Penny. We’ve talked about imposter syndrome and

Why leadership can feel dangerous at times, and my good pal Katie McPhee reminded us that confidence and self-worth are not luxuries. They are necessities if you want to achieve in your career without burnout. We’ve explored self-doubt. We’ve explored waiting for permission, silencing your inner critic. And last week, my gorgeous friend and client Suzanne Sheridan reminded us that success should never, ever come at the expense of your well-being, and it doesn’t have to.

So if you’ve missed any of those episodes, I invite you to, wherever you’re listening to this, just go back to start season two and really listen from the start because I have been reflecting a lot on the gold that’s in these conversations. So definitely go back and listen to the others. And we’ll link Brian’s in the show notes and Suzanne’s and Katie’s as well. And you know, as I reflected on the conversations, one thought kept on coming back to me, which is most women that I work with, right? They are

In STEM or financial services or a high-pace corporate or commercial environment. And they’re often in you know pharmaceutical industry, med tech, tech, financial services, professional services. I’ve lots of accountants, I’ve lots of VPs, I’ve lots of directors in all different functions from HR to quality to operations to sales, you name it. And

You know, when I worked in the pharmaceutical industry, I only had a very limited view of the culture within that particular industry. And as I broadened, I suppose, my reach in terms of the people that I work with, I’ve really got to see that no matter what industry that you are in, I have noticed the same themes across the most incredible, accomplished, high-achieving women, which is in

99% of cases, most women that I work with, they absolutely do not have a capability problem or an intelligence problem or a smarts problem or any of that. What they have is a belief problem. They’re already doing the work, they’re already creating impact, and they’re already delivering results. But it’s just sometimes they struggle to see what everybody else can see, or you know, they have listened to feedback from

Previous bosses, current bosses, colleagues that make them feel small, which has knocked their confidence in some way. And so that’s exactly what I love to do in the work that I do in 360 Leaders Club is really to remind you of who the fuck you really are. Right. And I say those words as a partner interrupt because you have to remember who the fuck you are. Because deep within you, you know, you have, you have put in the time, you have done the qualifications, you have.

Played the game, even though you didn’t want to. You have listened to all of that corporate BS and you have dedicated so much of your identity and who you are to your organization’s success. And yet somehow there’s still this belief that maybe I’m not good enough. And today we have got to get rid of that. So today I’d like to give you five signs.

That you were already good enough to lead at senior level, and perhaps you’re actually good enough to lead at even a higher level than you are right now, and you probably always have been. So, before we get into today, I just want to say I have a little bit of a sore throat, as you can probably hear, and it’s absolutely boiling outside. So I’m in my office right now and I’m recording this at home. I have my trusty fan. So if you see me doing this because of the hot flushes or just because I’m roasting.

You understand because the perimenopause is real, girls. It is absolutely real. but anyway, if you’re listening on and you’re like what she’s talking about, I have like a little pink fan at my side just so I don’t absolutely collapse with the heat in this office. So anyway, back to the episode. I wanna tell you a story about a moment when I realized that I was, you know, good enough and how I was feeling in myself. So I remember

God, it was probably I remember I was sitting in my black Audi A4 in my company car park that I was working in at the time. So it must be

fifteen years ago now. And I’m thinking back to that Audi. I loved that car. It was my first like car that I really, really, really loved. D do you remember like one of your first cars where it was my first like good car, if you know what I mean, where I felt like I made it, like I had an Audi. I wasn’t driving my little Nissan micro that I had for years, and what’s I had before that? I owned a coupe.

I had a Renault McGann. I do like cars, I have to say. But anyway, so I remember sitting in this car because I loved it, because it had like black leather seats, and I felt like I had made it in this car. And it was one of those grey Irish mornings where the rain really wasn’t rain. You know what I’m talking about? If anyone is in Ireland, you’ll know. And if you’re not in Ireland, if you just think about what they say Ireland looks like, it was that. so it was like tiny droplets, just grey and misty. And

I remember I had come out of a performance review and I remember sitting there in the car with the engine off. And I remember I was like just sitting with my hands like on the steering wheel, like just staring. If you’re watching on YouTube, I just like staring into kind of space and I could see the dust on that I hadn’t dusted on the on the top of the what do you call that? The console. And the funny thing is, is that review had gone really well. My team was performing. We were delivering on

multiple like projects and regulatory filings and we were doing like loads of transfers and like there was so much going on and I was trusted and objectively everything was fine but I wasn’t thinking about any of that. I wasn’t thinking the fact that I was told I was doing all of these great things. I was replaying that one piece of developmental feedback. One piece it was like constructive feedback as we would say.

I didn’t focus on the 20 things that I was told that I had done well. I focused on the one thing that I could improve. And that was around how I was showing up. It was how I was communicating, it was how I was being perceived by people in more senior positions. And as somebody who craves external validation, right? I have done for years. I’m much better now. Like I don’t need validation the way I used to at all. But I back then I really, really did.

And I remember feeling so deflated because when your identity is so wrapped up in your work, and I know what it’s like when you’re in corporate, right? You you become part of the culture. You you want to be respected. You want to feel like you’re adding value. And, you know, I felt very expo exposed. And I remember feeling super deflated and questioning myself, thinking, like, okay, maybe I am not good enough. Maybe I need more experience.

They they actually know that I haven’t a clue what I’m doing here. I’m just winging it. And looking back now, as I think about that moment fifteen years ago.

What really strikes me now that I’m kind of able to look at things more objectively is how little credit I gave myself. Because while I was sitting there questioning whether I was capable of leading, whether I should have, you know, pushed for a promotion, I was already doing it. And for so many years I was acting above my title. When I look back at the scope of responsibility I had versus my job title and what I was being compensated for.

Like it’s ridiculous. And if any of my clients came to me today with what I was doing back then, we would we would have a whole plan to make sure that that role got re restructured because it it should have been and and it was after I left. But you know, what I see every single day with women in senior in senior leadership is I see women like you who are already operating at an incredibly strong level. They’re already creating impact. They have a proven track record, they’re leading.

But they don’t often believe it. They often feel like they’re on a wing in a prayer, that they’re gonna be found out, that people don’t like them. And I was like that too. Like I just wanted people to like me, right? And if you feel like that and you’re like, my God, I feel like that way too, I get it. Like, and it’s it’s hard when you’re a people pleaser and you need that validation. It’s hard then if you get that feedback. But I am here today to remind you that of the five signs of why you’re ready. So

Let’s get into sign number one.

Okay, sign number one, you’re already delivering results. Now, this was a game changer for me. And every time now, even I struggle with imposter syndrome and all those things, like that voice that still pops up in my head. I go back to this one time and time again. It’s so simple. You’re already delivering results. You’re not, it’s not about potential or promising. It’s actually results. You’re actually proving by the results that you create for your organization that you are.

delivering, right? You’re capable of doing it. And I spent years believing I wasn’t ready for more, yet I was there managing complex portfolios, complex projects, leading teams, forecasting capacity, budgets, headcount, you know, dealing with global stakeholders all around the world, like, you know, crazy stuff when I think back to what I the scope of what I was doing. And at the time actually, I was like a a la laboratory manager was my job title.

But like I was literally running that department, like completely running the department from from head count to capacity planning, like absolutely everything. I was on global forums, I was, you know, involved in stuff in the the manufacturer side of the house, the tech transfer side the house. I was absolutely not like and I I would it did change after a while, but for a long time I accepted the title and the responsibility because I loved feeling important and I loved the fact that I was the expert and I loved the fact that you know I was able to make an impact. but at the time I just thought

That’s just my job. and now I realize that I was like a leader. Like I was, I was demonstrating a lot of behaviors above my pay grade. And one of my clients came to me recently in 360 and she was saying, like, I really want my executive leadership team to see me. I want to feel like I’m part of the team because she could see these little clicks forming with the boys’ club, and she didn’t feel like she was taken as seriously, and she didn’t feel

like she was involved as much and like that’s really isolating at senior level. And I remember probing her on this and she was really telling me that she didn’t feel like that she was adding value. And so when I obviously, as I do in 360, I’m one thing I’m kind of known for is shifting your thinking. So I obviously am a qualified coach and I’m trained to look for body language and powerful questioning and really to help you

to see yourself how others do. And so I asked them, I asked her, I said, Well, what evidence have you given them? I was like, what have you, what results if you look at it? And she literally at the end, she’s, I remember she we both started, like I was smiling. I wasn’t laughing, but I was smiling because I could see the light bulbs go off as I challenged her thinking and asked her questions. And she’s like, well, I did this, I did this project, I, you know, solved this problem. I actually, you know, she had a, I remember she had a

board meeting where she had done some recommendations around increasing their client base like the board loved her idea and like she actually got the credit for that idea and they they implemented her strategy as well and I think it I think it was like an 18% increase in revenue in one of their product streams. And so when she started listing it and I was like probing her like to kind of really lift it, she she realized at the end of it and she was like I was reflecting back to her what she was saying so she could kind of hear it.

And I remember she was like, I could see her face as I was reflecting back, and she was like, my God, I’ve actually done quite a lot, haven’t I? And I was like, Exactly. So the issue is that she hadn’t, it’s not it’s nothing to do with her capability. It was that she had normalized excellence. And maybe you’ve done the same. So here’s my invitation for you is that there’s I recommend that you start what I call an achievements archive.

Some people call it a kudos folder. I had a client recently, she’s she called it something diary, a credit diary or something. It doesn’t matter what you call it. But essentially what you’re doing is you are building a book of evidence, tangible logical evidence of how freaking amazing you are. So you’re gonna list out the the results that you’ve delivered on, the impact you’ve made, tangibly, positive feedback you’ve got. So anytime that that inner critic comes back, and which it will.

Right, your inner critic never goes away, news news flash, you’re gonna have that list there for the days where you feel like, my god, I’m gonna be found out to actually show you that you’re amazing. Okay. Sign number two is that people already trust you. So do people come to you for advice, for guidance, for support? Do they ask your opinion? and perhaps because you’re so busy and overwhelmed half the time, if you’re anything like

ladies that I work with before they go through the the trainings and the coaching in 360, they really have never really stopped to think about it, right? To actually pause, to take a step off the hamster wheel and to reflect, which is why I love providing space for reflection in 360, because it’s like it’s so strategic when you’re able to take a step off the hamster wheel, think strategically, and then leave feeling more confident, more energized so that you you’re clear on where you’re going.

So I really recommend that you you’re taking those time to like self-reflect. Okay. You’re taking the time to to work through questions to help you to reflect. And I remember like for me personally in my corporate career, like I said, like I was operating at a definitely at a director level for sure. And I didn’t have the title. and people were coming by, not just in my site, I worked in a big organization. The last one I worked in, like huge one, well known.

like I was the expert, not just for the site, but I was being like pulled into discussions globally as well as part of, you know, global teams and things as well. And I was asked a lot, even by I remember one lady who was a technical expert, like everyone, like she was amazing. Like she was one of these really, really knowledgeable people. She knew all the technical knowledge. And I remember like together we were such a good team because I’m really strategic and I’m because of I I’ve ADHD as well. I can spot patterns like like that.

And so together, like people would call the two of us in. And I used to feel like, okay, maybe, maybe I’m I I don’t have the same articulation as she does. I’m not as smart as she is, like in a sense of I’m not I wouldn’t call myself what’s the word, intelligent or intellectual. I’m not an in intellect, I’m not, but I’m I’m very I’m very smart, you know, I’m quite streetwise and I can see patterns. So like I think that’s the thing for you as well, as kind of side note is

Sometimes like I work with women who talk to me a lot about not being articulate enough and not being able to communicate effectively. Whereas I recommend that you you just own who you are. Like if you’re not if you’re a natural intellect and you don’t have great communication skills, well that’s a that’s a s a a bridge that you can gap, you can you can bridge, right? ‘Cause like actually being able communicate and have an intellect, you know, it’s it’s no good having intellect if you can’t communicate. But for me, I always felt like I

You know, I have certain knowledge in in you know my area of expertise, but I wouldn’t have seen myself as like a philosopher. Do you know what I mean? Whereas this lady was more like philosophical and I used to listen to her all day. You know, one of those people. So I think it’s just about you reminding yourself that you have a skill set, you have unique skills and talents, you have a value to add. And you know, if people are asking you for your opinions, well then of course, like you’ve you’ve got to really, really think about that. Like think about the people who do trust you, okay?

Sign number three, then, is you are solving problems that are way bigger than your job description. And now this one is huge. And honestly, it’s something that I see all the time. I remember myself, I was sitting in a boardroom in Cork in Ireland, and I was reviewing plans for a multi-million dollar facility. And there were engineers that have flown in from the US, we had consultants, there was financial leaders there. There was the whole shoot and shebang. It was like a

I remember like there was like maybe twenty of us in the room, there’s blueprints right all across the table. I had a lovely cup of Barry’s tea beside me and one of those nature valley granola bars. And because I’d skip breakfast actually that morning. But anyway, everyone was focused on the engineering, right? Everyone was focused on the engineering. But I was thinking about the workflows and the people and the cost and future, future, like future proofing the building. So that was we weren’t just designing for now, we were designing for the future.

And when I I remember I looked at the plans for the building and they had been approved like by the senior seniors. And I realized that there was no natural light in any of the rooms where people would spend the most time. So there was no windows, there was no consideration at all for the human beings who had spent most of their waking lives in there. And everyone told me it wasn’t feasible, that I was totally overthinking it. but I I just knew I was right. Okay. So I built the business case.

I presented the evidence, I did my research on high performance in in humans, which is what I love to talk about as well. And I eventually was able to influence the decision. And they changed it, right? They changed the whole design because I was very firm on the fact that we weren’t just designing a building to tick a project off of a box to meet some you know, tier whatever, tier seven metric that they were looking at.

It was more I was thinking about the business. I was really genuinely thinking about the business and future proofing and not just saving face for being late on a project, which is something that I absolutely can’t avoid. Like get it right and do it right now for the future. And at the time I thought I was just contributing, but looking back now, I know that was leadership. And one of my clients in 360, she was a director and she was really frustrated because she she should have been a senior director.

she was like mentoring other directors, right, who were her peers. They would come to her for advice. One of them was actually reporting into her. So she had a director reporting into her and she was a director. She was presenting to the executive leadership team. She was influencing strategy. she was doing all of those things and her title just hadn’t caught up to her reality. And so maybe that’s true for you too. So if you think about your own case, is is there something there in that space?

Sign number four, then, is you are holding yourself to a higher standard than everyone else. Now, this one hurts because I absolutely see myself in it as well, and maybe you will too. A lot of the women that I work with, and perhaps you’re the same, you are perfectionist. You want it to be right, and you’re terrified of being wrong because perhaps when you were wrong in the past and made a bad call,

something bad happened. So you’ve tried to play small and keep safe so you don’t make a mistake. And then it’s like you have one foot on the gas and one foot on the brake. And you know, I’m thinking about and one of my like a few of my clients, but one in particular, procrastination can be a big challenge, you know, where you know you need to start something important because it’s a strategic move and you need to get this project done, this big thing, but you’re so terrified of making a wrong call or a wrong decision that you procrastinate.

And then maybe you hide and then it’s just this whole vicious circle. And I know what that feels like when you have standards, when you have high standards. And actually I’ve just run a a session in 360 on this whole thing around unhelpful beliefs and rules and assumptions. because when you have perfectionism, you think it’s amazing. of course I’m perfect. Perfectionism is not necessarily a good thing, it’s definitely not in a business. So it’s about, you know, coming up with your

making sure your standards are not unrealistic. And so for you, like I remember thinking myself around those those standards. I had such, such high ha standards. I was performing flawlessly. And this lady was too actually that I was talking about, she was doing unbelievable. But she had got an unbelievable 360 review. I remember she had pages of positive feedback. She actually sent me screenshots saying she was told she was a bridge builder. She was a trusted leader. She was,

An excellent communicator, really good at managing stakeholders. And again, what does she focus on? The one constructive criticism, just one. And it’s so amazing how women often ignore evidence to support the fact that you’re amazing and focus on the one thing that you need to improve on, right? And here’s the thing, lovely lady, is that the standard that you’re holding yourself to is most likely.

far higher than anyone else expects. And those standards prove that you care about the business. And, you know, as a business owner myself now, you know, I have a team all around the world. I have a team of like there, I have probably about, I think about 14, including like fractional people who come in and deliver training and stuff for me as well. And like one thing I know for sure as a business owner is that

If you have somebody, if I have somebody on my team and you’re the same, think about this for you, who cares about your business and who really strives for excellence. Not everybody is like that. And so any business owner, any CEO will be only delighted to have somebody like you on their team. So please, please remind yourself of that. And so then number five, the final sign is you care deeply about yourself doing a good job.

And this is probably the most important. So, like I said a minute ago, you really do care. I know you care. You you care about making the impact. You want to add value. You probably lie awake at night thinking about your team, worrying about difficult decisions, wondering and beating yourself up, did you say this right? Did you look stupid? Did you did you make the right call? Like, and it’s just this churn in your head, questioning if you’ve done enough. And

You might think that this means that you lack confidence in yourself, but actually I think it’s more that you’re terrified of failure. I think failure is something that you equate as being a negative thing and that you will try to avoid failure at all costs. However, in the science of positive psychology, which is the science of human flourishing, which feeds into high performing high performing organizations, is you have to adopt a growth mindset.

Every single entrepreneur, CEO that I know in business, business is all an experiment. Business is all about making a tough call, you know, going forward, and then analyzing did it work or not, and then iterating. And anybody who thinks who has expectations that you will make the right call every single time is delusional because it is not possible, right? You cannot read a crystal ball.

Don’t know all the variables around a decision that you’re going to make. Like there’s so many things you’re in control of. And so I actually have a really cool framework that I love myself. I use it all the time called the do-it model for decision making that I developed. And my clients love it as well because it gives you a structure around, you know, you need to look at your data, you need to look at the options you have, you need to impact assess each of those options, positive and negative. And then you finally have to just trust and take action because you’re not going to know if your decision was right until you make the decision.

Till you look at the data that supports that and then iterate. And I think if you can stop putting yourself under so much pressure to get things right and actually give yourself permission to, you know, try your best based on the information that you had, do your due diligence. You know this, like you know this. And stop allowing your brain to totally take over, okay? Because you’re not gonna let people down. It’s just about when you make a mistake.

It’s about owning that you’ve made the mistake and and owning it with confidence, right? And confidence is just fundamental for all of it. So

That is it really for today’s episode and for the series. I want to just recap on the five signs for you because I I want to just remind you first of all that you really didn’t get here by accident and you didn’t build your career through luck. You didn’t earn respect by chance. You didn’t survive all of those difficult leaders and people and complex projects and all of the pressure that you’re under and all of those challenges that come with leading.

at a senior level in a commercial environment because you are lucky, the evidence has been there all along. And maybe, just maybe, you have been looking for what’s missing so much that you haven’t already seen what’s there. Maybe your confidence, building your confidence isn’t about becoming somebody new, but about remembering who the F you are, okay? Remembering who the F you absolutely are, okay? So

That is it for this season. I really would invite you to reflect on those signs. Like, are you operating at the next level? Are you already seen as the expert? Do you have a proven track record of results? Have you got that achievements archive ready so that the days when the inner critic shows up, you’re there, like you can look at it. Are you, do you care about your organization? Do you care about making an impact?

Because if you are saying yes to those things, you’re already halfway there. Okay. You are already halfway there. Now I know imposter syndrome can be a real thing, which is why I love sharing my belief boost method with you. Achievements archive is one of the steps in the method. And you can grab that if you go to lucygarn.com forward slash imposter. It is my guide for imposter syndrome, for building your confidence. It’s all foundational mindset stuff. So go and grab that guide for sure. And

Make sure that you are not allowing that inner critic to absolutely take over. Okay. So that is it for season two. Thank you so much for being here with me. Thank you so much for listening. Thank you for investing the time in yourself and for allowing me to be in your ears as part of your leadership journey. And final note from me, if you

Are you interested in joining 360 Leaders Club, which is my professional development membership, where I support you personally with my team of coaches and mentors who are also amazing, so you can really lead with confidence, so you can remember who you are. So you have the tools for conflict management to get over those confidence knocks and really achieve your potential, show them what you’re made of, make the impact you know you’re capable of, all without sacrificing everything else in your life.

Please, please, please go check it out. I would love to hear from you. So just go to 360 or sorry, lucygarnan.com forward slash 360. So it’s lucygarner.com forward 360, and you can join our wait list. everybody who joins the club, it is a curated group of women. I screen every single application, I speak to every single person because I want to make sure that you know it’s a space that you can share freely and that it’s psychologically safe and

that you’re able to really come in and grow and learn as a leader, but also more than that as a woman. So if you are interested, go to LucyGarndon.com forward slash three sixty. And I’ll leave you with this. Remember, success, balance and happiness are possible with the right mindset, the right tools, the right strategies and the right support, and when you lead with confidence. Bye for now.