When fake it ‘til you make it actually works

The saying “fake it ‘til you make it” might be more relevant than you had thought. Not that I would ever advise somebody to be fake, but in the sense that often it’s in your favor to do the job before you have it. It’s like the old “dress for the job you want, not the job you have” saying.

Here, I’ll focus more on how this relates in a professional setting because that’s mainly how I’ve applied this in my life, however, it can be true with any goal you’re working toward.

I’ve learned that when you aren’t reaching a goal, sometimes it’s because the people between you and that goal haven’t seen you in it yet. This isn’t necessarily your fault, by the way. But it can help to just assume the position, even before you have it. When you start showing up and contributing as someone at that level, people will begin to see you that light.

People often need to be able to visualize you in a position before they’ll place you there. This is particularly true for women. It’s been proven that men are typically hired or promoted for their potential, while women are hired or promoted for their past accomplishments. This doesn’t mean that as a woman you won’t stand a chance until we’re 100% qualified and proven, it just means we have to understand the playing field in order to level it. Turn your potential into something tangible. Show your potential in a way that enables your leaders to truly see and notice it. Have ideas? Speak up. Have a plan? Outline it. Have a recommendation? Pitch it. Your ideas, plans, and recommendations don’t all have to come to fruition in order for you to start getting noticed, but it’s the fact that you have them that will get people’s attention.

Yes, this means you have to get over the impostor syndrome that plagues our workplaces. Don’t get me wrong, this can require some guts and isn’t always easy. It might mean requesting to be in meetings you historically haven’t been in, or presenting to a group that you haven’t stood in front of before. Taking this plunge is an important step, though.

Not only will other people start to see you in the position you want to be in, but it will also give you the confidence you need to get there. We often second-guess ourselves until we’ve proven that we’ll be successful at something. Taking a few initial steps will help you build the confidence you need to fully dive into the deep end. It’ll empower you to speak with more authority and be more sure of yourself when you go to ask for the promotion or interview for the job. Sure, maybe you didn’t have the title before, but you did X, Y, and Z, which are all responsibilities of the role you know you’d be successful in. Further, those around you will see that you’re capable of those things as well and they’ll extend their trust in you, giving you more responsibilities and opportunities.