This is such a weird statement to write, ‘the data tells you nothing’. We like data, right? We like to know what the scientists say and what the experts tell us. We are led by people greater and smarter than us.
Don’t worry, I’m not about to go all flat earth or climate change is fake news on you.
I’m a former lawyer and I love a spreadsheet. Love them. I have spreadsheets as DIY CRM systems. I have a spreadsheet of every piece of feedback from my corporate trainings, with scores calculated to the second decimal place and aggregated. When I worked as a personal injury lawyer I set up my own spreadsheet with each of my cases, broken down by stage, estimated case value, calculated predicted costs and projected settlement dates. That spreadsheet was how I managed to continue with my ridiculous caseload whilst working only 4 hours a day in that department, the other half of my day spent in a different department, in a different building, working in a completely different area of law that I had never done before, all so I could qualify as a solicitor.
(and it’s when I share things like that that I wonder how the hell I lasted the best part of a decade before I burned out)
I love data.
I also know just how easily it can be manipulated. See ‘lawyer’ above.
My job was to see things from as many perspectives as possible; to hear my client’s story, the other side’s story, to read the story the independent evidence and the witnesses told me, throw it all in a cauldron and brew up the best and worst case scenarios and switch between the two, advancing the best case to the other side whilst managing my client’s expectations with the worst case and dancing along a tightrope for each of them.
I know all too well how data can be manipulated. How words can be twisted, how ‘facts’ can become ‘fake news’ by throwing a little shade on them.
Do you feel exhausted just reading this? Because I kind of do.
Whether you are a lawyer or a teacher, a medical professional or a marketeer, our lives are never lived in straight and easy lines. We are near-constantly dancing on a tightrope that’s a little too slack, spinning plates all around us until we no longer know which way is up.
So we look to the data.
Whether it’s the sheer volume of unread emails sitting in your inbox or the pile of paperwork in the in-tray, or the way that senior management do or don’t behave towards you. We think of these as data that tell us the story, but we forget the most important part in the equation. It’s what we believe that’s true.
Our flawed, subjective, personal perspective colours everything that we see and creates a frame and a context to the so-called hard data we see.
We import meaning in to things that have none; our salaries, our hours worked, our debt or wealth, our job titles, all become indicators of our worthiness or lack, how good we are as people, how effective we are at our jobs.
It frustrates me because, when a new client comes to me, they are often dealing with a combination of systemic issues (high volume workloads, lack of requisite systems, a don’t ask don’t tell office environment, highly stressed clients or patients) together with their own individual makeup (highly driven family members who set the bar high, low self confidence or shaky self-worth, highly empathetic and people pleasing drivers)
They come to me because their external challenges have impacted who they think they are, who they want to be.
The chronically overworked lawyer comes to me thinking that they are a failure because they can’t keep up. The teacher lacks career satisfaction because the game changed from teaching to an overwhelming focus on results.
It’s frustrating because they come to me with the data; their to do lists, their fears and they don’t see.
They don’t see all the brilliant things that they are doing and just how much of an impact they are having, because they are focused on the to do list that just can’t slip below 150 or the email inbox that never seems to clear.
No-one burned out whilst believing they are brilliant. Oh you may know you’re damned good at your job, but, there is always a but. I’m good but I could be better, or I know I could be great but I’m doing the best I can to keep going.
And the data? Well the data tells you nothing, it’s what you believe that’s true.
So if you don’t believe that you are good enough, your stress will be something that shows your weakness, instead of being a new challenge to climb.
If you think that you don’t deserve where you are and that they are all going to find out your don’t belong, then every sideways glance will become a threat and send you into a panic.
If you don’t believe in yourself, in your abilities and your worth, then every challenge becomes a sign of failure.
Change what you believe and the data will tell you a whole new story. Believe in your brilliance, your potential, your capabilities, your unlimited capacity to learn and grow.
And suddenly that data will mean nothing at all.
PS I have spent the past 4 years helping professionals just like you to figure out what is and is not meaningful, how to change the approach and course correct so that you can stop wallowing in fear and guilt and worry and doubt and regain your confidence, your brilliance, your resilience and life and career that you deserve and love.
If you are struggling under your to do list, feeling exhausted and overworked, struggling to step into the role that you know you truly deserve and feeling like you are always one foot out the door ready to run, then it’s time we talk.
I have a couple of spaces for new 1:1 clients to start with me over the Christmas period and early January; my mentoring services are completely confidential, taking place by telephone or video call at times convenient to you (including evenings and weekends).
With flexibility, support and someone finally in your corner, from someone who has truly walked the talk, 2020 can truly become your best year yet.
To find out more about working with me 1:1 click here or message me directly by email, on linkedin or facebook to discuss the next steps