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Sep 18Liked by Scott Monty

The best example I have of this is when I worked in IT at a big ad agency in Chicago. There was a IT director at the New York office that I worked with who consulted with us about any big software decisions or implementations we were going to do. Some of these projects—and the problems they caused—were crazy complex. I had to figure a lot of things out on the fly and blaze a lot of new trails.

Anytime this person was in my space, I felt like I could do ANYTHING. And I did crazy things I shouldn't have been able to do, like draft the inaugural IT policies and tests for S/Ox (then NY used my draft as a springboard for theirs). Sometimes, in the middle of the project, I would call him up just to get that confidence infusion. It was that powerful.

When vetting clients now I pay close attention to how they make me feel. If I'm on the phone with someone and I'm stuttering and stammering when explaining things I know cold, I pay attention to that. That is (usually) not me. Usually, it starts after they say something that signals they don't really believe in the value of what I (or anyone else in this role) offer. Typically, they don't call back, but if they do, I'll explain that I don't think we're a fit and wish them the best.

I will say this: if you are a leader, you are sitting on a lot more capability than you realize. You also are the one that has the power to unlock it, if you look for the greatness in people, communicate your assumption they are amazing, and then believe it for them, hard.

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I love that story, Helena! You're so right about the power you wield as a leader. You may not feel any different inside, but to people who look at you differently, it's a big deal.

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