Stalling in Your Career? Stop Confusing These Two Things.

What is the difference between

“that pitch was accepted by the client” and “that pitch went well”?

or

“we didn’t win that one” and “my choices cost us that pitch”?

In each case, one is an objective fact and the other is a subjective assessment, and while the difference may seem minor, confusing the two could be costing you.

When making decisions, we tend to lean on our assessments of ourselves, our situation, and others instead of considering the facts. Our assessments are heavily influenced by our own experience and perspective, and aren’t likely to match the assessments of others. Assessments aren’t true. If you confuse assessments with facts, you’ll make choices based on faulty conclusions, like keeping quiet in a meeting because you don’t think you’re qualified to speak or passing on an opportunity because you can’t see the potential value.

Let’s take a look a story about a coaching client of mine, Paul, whose assessments of himself held him back from greater professional achievement. Exploring his story will show why focusing on facts instead of assessments opens doors. 

Before we talk about Paul, let’s define the difference between facts and assessments. 

Facts are provable and immutable. That desk is three feet wide is a fact. I can measure it with a tape measure and so can you. My dog is four years old is a fact. I did not travel to the client for the pitch is a fact.

Assessments are subjective interpretations of the facts. My desk is wider than most. My dog is full-grown. That pitch was important. We lost it because I didn’t travel, and the team blames me.

If we carefully consider what we believe to be true about ourselves, our history, or our work, we find that most of that information is our own set of assessments. Very little of what we believe to be true is objectively provable.

Now let’s look at my client Paul and his assessments of himself. Paul is the CEO of one of the nation’s largest incident response companies. He built the company from the ground up, spending long days at his desk growing his organization and long nights at sites of dangerous chemical spills.

Paul is fifty-four years old, tall and fit, with bright blue eyes and a clean shave. Dressed sharply, in tailored suits and expensive shoes, Paul radiates energy. He picks up his cell phone each and every time it rings, speaks quickly and definitively, and acts fast. He is a power player, and his team and competitors feel it.

Over the years, Paul’s company has attracted the attention of several investor groups, which made offers to buy all or part of his business. The money would have been meaningful: enough for Paul to grow the company internationally, invest in ultramodern equipment, or retire to a small island and finally ignore his phone.

He’s never entertained an offer.

“How could I?” he asks, sitting behind his polished desk. “Without a college education, I’d never work again. I can’t lose this business.”

Paul assesses that his experience growing and leading his company is worth less than a college education. He believes that he can’t compete with other, more formally educated professionals in the workplace. And notice that Paul isn’t talking about competing as a CEO. He’s talking about competing on any level. 

His story is that without this specific role as CEO of the national company he built, he’d be unable to work at all. Because Paul views himself as less than those who are college-educated, he cannot see the enormous opportunity in front of him as anything but a threat.

People often view their personal differences as weaknesses, but our unique histories and paths can actually be our greatest sources of strength. 

Paul’s path to leadership is less conventional than most large-company CEOs, but there are many leaders with unconventional paths. The truth is as outsiders, we don’t care much about the paths leaders take to success. We revere the success itself instead of looking too closely at how they got there.

Your path has helped define who you are as a person and a business leader. Your path won’t hold you back in your career; it’s your assessment and the subsequent limitations you put on yourself that keep you from pursuing greater opportunities. Focus on the facts about your accomplishments and your abilities, and let those guide your ambitions to new heights.

For more advice on improving your professional performance, find Naked at Work on Amazon.  More coaching is available at Avenue 8 On-Demand, on the topics of The Power of Story, Shifting Your Leadership Perspective, and more.

Danessa Knaupp is an executive coach, CEO, and keynote speaker, shifting the global conversation on leadership. She has coached hundreds of executives across every major industry and has developed a reputation as a candid, compassionate and courageous leadership partner. She is the author of the leadership manual, Naked at Work: A Leader’s Guide to Fearless Authenticity. She regularly addresses C-suite audiences on how to harness the power of real authenticity (not #authenticity) to drive measurable business results. Danessa earned her executive coaching credentials from Georgetown University, is credentialed by the International Coach Federation, and holds a B.A. in Psychology and Sociology from the College of William and Mary. She spent more than 20 years as an entrepreneur and a senior executive, and ultimately, CEO, before founding her coaching practice. Connect with her at danessaknaupp.com.