Read This If You Have No Idea What You're Doing
Hint: the answer ISN'T: "no one knows what they're doing, so you're justified. Just keep going."
Well, for starters; congrats.
This is the part where I go on and on about how no one knows what they're doing.
Like this kid in the picture. Get real. He doesn't know how to read that book.
I'll then go on to conclude one of a few platitudes:
- No one knows what they're doing, so you're justified. Just keep going.
- No one knows what they're doing at first, so you're justified. Just monitor yourself until you get there.
- Some people know what they're doing but that's because they worked really hard and now they know things.
- We each have our unique "thing" that we know how to do and life is about finding that thing and sharing it with the world.
Oh, man. I feel like I could keep going, but I'll just stop at 4.
All I want to do is ask you to pay attention to how you're feeling about this.
Where does this feeling of "not knowing what you're doing" come from?
- Is it literally a lack of expertise?
- Is it because you've never done anything like this before?
- Is it imposter syndrome?
None of these questions are impossible to answer.
And none of the answers are impossible to reconcile.
These feelings are just indicators. They're kind of like the check engine light in your car.
They tell you something is wrong, but then you have to actually run a diagnostic check to figure out what's going on. You might be able to do this at home, but you may have to enlist help.
2 Minute Action:
The point I'm making is that I'm not going to tell you "keep trying!"
I'm telling you to identify the feeling and go after it.
Understanding the indicator will help you chase the solution.
If you're afraid, follow the fear.
If you're confident, follow the confidence.
Your 2-minute action might be literally taking 2 minutes to reflect.
It might also be taking 2 minutes to schedule a phone call with a mentor or close friend to talk through this feeling and help you identify it.
Whatever you're doing, it can take just 2 minutes to get the ball rolling.
Why You Should Learn To Micromanage
Somehow, somewhere, the term “micromanage” got a bad name.If you have a team or confident experts, yeah, sure, micromanagement is a poor strategy, but what about the opposite?
How can micromanagement make sense?
If your new hire is low in skill and also low in confidence, you may need to use micromanagement to get them to proficiency.They need job knowledge first, which can require hand holding and frequent check-ins. A high level of accountability and transparency will also help make expectations clear and failures/successes visible.Gaining job knowledge will lead to successful completions of tasks and projects which will lead to opportunities for praise which will lead to increased confidence.To be clear: I’m NOT saying micromanagement is the answer to all management issues, it’s just a tool in the tool-belt of a competent manager.
2 Minute Action
Who is someone on your team or in your life who needs support, coaching, or feedback?Categorize them, here. Are they high or low in confidence? Are they high or low in skill/job knowledge?If they are high in both, consider using a hands-off approach.If they are low in both, consider using a micromanagement approach.