Help others help you

 What? 

Keith Ferrazzi’s Leading Without Authority rule six describes his descriptions and how you should celebrate, support, and praise your team members. In the book, the point that stood out to me the most was the ability to take an unreasonable stand for your employees or group members. According to Ferrazzi, some people are unsure of their capabilities and lack confidence when they possess the knowledge and skills to complete their work (Ferrazzi, 2020). Ferrazzi continues that by saying “We need to champion these people for whatever reason aren’t great at championing themselves.” It is hard for some people to change and those people who believe they aren't capable of their duties even believe it is harder to undergo transformative change to better their confidence and believe in themselves. To get people to understand that they can change and improve their knowledge and expertise is essential to always be transforming your skillset for the future. 

So What?

So why is it important to be a champion and be a champion for others if they aren’t for themselves? Well according to a Linkedin article from 2019 being a champion for someone can mean anything from helping develop skills with a coworker to being a full-on mentor to someone to help encourage and open doors for you in your profession (Gibson, 2019). Gibson references the old saying every great man is a great woman and I think represents something larger saying that for whenever there is a successful person, behind the scenes there is someone who supports them and encourages them to always grow and be better at whatever they do. In a Harvard Business Review article in 2018, Rebecca Knight analyzes how people with less confidence operate in the workplace and how they change that and one point she made is that they should reflect on their past work. When someone says they are insecure about their work or have imposter syndrome in their workplace Knight argues they should ask themselves, “What evidence am I basing this on?” This way the employee can hopefully look back and see how much they have accomplished and how they can keep succeeding and improving on their work. Knight explores other ways to help a colleague build confidence in themselves so they can become their own champion including building trust, clarifying expectations, and give specific feedback so they are able to improve on their work and skillset.

Now What?

I believe becoming a champion for yourself is important but also equally as important to be a champion for others whether that is in the workplace or in your life in general. In either consulting or upper-level management it is important to have your group thinking highly of themselves and their work as it increases your performance and overall attitude toward your work. I believe it is important to co-elevate those around you for a couple reasons. First, when you are trying to improve others around you, you will also improve with them. Second, I believe in what goes around comes around and if you are trying to help those around you eventually when you need help on a project or need help, in general, those people will know that you helped them and return the favor to you. Finally, it is always important to be constantly changing your skillset and make sure you are keeping up with new ideas and innovations to help you and others succeed.

Ferrazzi, Keith, and Weyrich, Noel. (2020). Currency. Leading without Authority: How the New Power of Co-Elevation Can Break down Silos, Transform Teams, and Reinvent Collaboration.

Gibson, S. (2019, November 15). Be a champion for others. LinkedIn. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/champion-others-sarah-gibson-executive-coach-and-speaker/ 

Knight, R. (2018, April 30). How to manage an insecure employee. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved October 18, 2022, from https://hbr.org/2018/04/how-to-manage-an-insecure-employee