Week 27: Fear of Sounding Stupid- #AlphaFemaleFriday

Week 27: Fear of Sounding Stupid- #AlphaFemaleFriday

“ WEEK 27 / 133 – 133 WEEKS TO SUCCESS ”

I started reading Think Like a Freak by the same gentlemen who wrote Freakonomics and Super Freakonomics. One of the first premises of the book is admitting to what we don’t know, and how often we are afraid to admit what we do not know for fear of looking ignorant or simply downright stupid. This week, I am also thinking about what it means to sound stupid.

We will always meet someone else who knows less than we do in a certain topic, and conversely, more than we do about something else. A fish knows how to swim and a bird knows how to fly. There are different skills for different kinds of folks, but we forget this from time to time. I think we often forget this in the workplace.

I’m constantly learning in the office. I’m learning what I don’t know from people who have more years in the business than I’ve been alive. I’m honing in on skills that I have a natural talent for, but have room for improvement. I’m leaning about others’ likes and dislikes, and most importantly, I’m learning about myself. At the ripe age of twenty-two going on twenty-three, there is so much room for growth: emotionally, spiritually, and mentally.

The takeaway from this week is: ask. If someone makes you feel bad for asking a question, or seems to correct you in a snarky manner, then that says more about who they are as a person than it does about your intelligence. Even if you think you may know something, it never hurts to confirm and clarify. If someone gives you a request or relays information to you, do not be afraid to mirror what they say (not necessarily word-for-word, but you can always paraphrase what they have said in your own way of saying it). This lets the information stick to your head and leads to less confusion, and therefore, eliminates miscommunication. Speak up and ask, even if you voice shakes.

Cheers,

Kelly

@AlphaFemSociety tweets by @KellyRGonzales                                                                                

About:

Each week, I take a tip from Lois P. Frankel’s book, Nice Girls Still Don’t Get the Corner Office, and explore how each of these tips affect myself and other women in similar positions on the road to becoming the women we want to be. There are far and few between who are a few steps behind me, and many more who are far advanced. I found that Lois P. Frankel’s advice applied to novice, intermediates, and experts alike. It helped me see that I was already doing right, served as a reminder to keep on doing what I was doing and how to keep that momentum going. The book also showed me areas where I could improve, and gave realistic tips to jump on board. There are a total of 133 tips, and explore one tip per week in a program I call: 133 Weeks to Success.

Join the movement using the hashtag #133WeeksToSuccess with posts which are posted every #AlphaFemaleFriday.