Episode #143 When your best isn’t good enough

You’re working twice as hard. So why does someone else get the invitation to the client event?

You prepare more thoroughly than anyone on the team. You stay later, check the draft one more time, and deliver work you’re proud of. And still, the invitation goes to someone else. The high-profile matter lands on another desk. The recognition you’ve earned doesn’t follow.

It’s completely understandable to respond by working even harder. It’s what your parents told you, it’s what got you here, and it has served you well. But at this stage of your career, excellent work is the expectation, not what sets you apart. What moves you forward now is relationships and visibility.

That is exactly where being the only one makes things harder. When you don’t share the cultural references, when the conversation turns to ski trips and school networks, when you weren’t invited in the first place, it’s easy to decide you have nothing in common. It’s easy to retreat into the work, where you feel safe from being exposed, and to forget how much you bring to the room.

In this episode I explain why the answer is to be the first. Not first past the post. Being the first means having the confidence to be who you can’t see: to include yourself, to persevere, to add value to the room, to be highly visible, and to show up at your highest level.

That is what builds the know, like and trust that brings opportunities, work allocation, support and recognition. And that is how you progress to your full potential.

Your best has always been good enough. Now it needs to be seen.

🎧 Listen to Episode 143 now on iTunes or your favourite podcast player

P.S. Inside Be The First, being the first becomes measurable and actionable through the Identity Course and The Imposter Speech®. If you’re a Black lawyer ready to build the relationships and visibility that take you to your next level, enrolment opens on 27 October. Join the waitlist and be the first to know: Join the Waitlist here

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