How Believing in Your Worth, Taking Risks, and Recovering from Mistakes Will Help You Get Ahead!    

A great benefit of attending professional conferences is the incredible speakers you get to hear and the amazing sessions and workshops you are able to attend. This year at SXSW Interactive conference, I attended almost 20 panels on topics ranging from version 2.0 of medical devices to the Elephant in the Valley, and I heard the leaders of Vox Media, Under Armour and SoulCycle tell their stories. Each panel featured inspired speakers detailing the challenges of their business, how they overcame them, and the insights they have gained as their businesses continue to thrive. Across business models, industries and demographics, one thread remained constant: confidence played a critical role in the heroes’ successes.

Confidence in Your Worth

On a panel about a popular topic, creating your own board of directors, the main takeaway was that successful people surround themselves with individuals who can provide professional guidance and offer diverse perspectives and skillsets to foster professional progress. The panelists, entrepreneur Jenni Hogan and VC investor Clara Sieg, advised the audience to identify their weaknesses, target mentors who can help fill those skill gaps, and leverage mentor feedback to think about challenges from a new perspective.

During the Q&A portion of the panel, an audience member inquired: “Why would an accomplished entrepreneur want to mentor me?” The answer provided a lesson in building confidence, as well as mentorship dynamics: mentoring is a two-way street, and you have something to offer the mentee as well! Mentorship should be a symbiotic relationship wherein both parties contribute. As the mentee, you should feel confident that you are worth the mentor’s time and knowledge — because you will learn from their guidance, while also providing them with the satisfaction of seeing the result of their wisdom be manifested via your success. So the takeaway was that you are worth it because you will bring new ideas to the table, and share with your mentor insights from your professional endeavors, including your unique perspective as a mentee forging your way in the business sphere.

Whether as a mentee seeking a mentor, an entrepreneur pitching investors, an employee seeking a raise, the message was that confidence in your worth will help you achieve your goals. The whole “fake it ‘til you make it” concept was raised in several SXSW discussions, most saliently by VP of global digital creative and content at Theory, Ryan Brockington, at a panel on innovative data-driven brand marketing. He suggested the Mean Girls approach to new endeavors – no one knows what you were like in your old school (or previous job/role), so be whoever you want to be — and believe in it!

Confidence in Taking Risks

Many of the panelists at SXSW had interesting success stories because they had required such incredible risk-taking initiative to get where they are today.

For example, Under Armour founder and CEO Kevin Plank, who is now described as “billionaire Kevin Plank,” launched Under Armour with his $16,000 life savings. When the business was cash-strapped in the early days, he attempted to fund his working capital deficit by gambling the company’s (and his) last $3,500 – and lost. Serendipitously, just as Plank was the most dejected and hopeless about the prospects for his startup, he received a check from a collegiate customer that provided a short-term resolution for the capital issues.

Ultimately, the risks he incurred (the personally-funded bootstrapped beginning) and mistakes he weathered (the blackjack loss, among others) resulted in a stronger resolve to grow the business and demonstrate confidence in his vision to become not just a sports giant, but a digital health innovator.

This ability to intelligently take risks is critical for leaders, and was fodder for discussion. At a panel on leadership strategies for male-dominated career paths, SapientNitro technologist Alison Walden discussed the challenges of “knowledge expectations” and the reluctance of twenty-first century workers to admit when they do not know the answer. A good leader, she explained, is not afraid to admit when they lack the answer or understanding, and they are willing to make mistakes. More importantly, good leaders have the confidence in their ability to recover from mistakes, and they are willing to give others the freedom to make mistakes so that they can learn as well.

Confidence in Recovering from Mistakes

UA’s Plank also discussed recovering from mistakes, and in particular, the importance of being able to adapt. He mentioned an adage from his board member Admiral Eric Olson: “When the map differs from the terrain, you’ve got to go with the terrain.” You can prepare as much as possible, then face an unexpected challenge, and the ability to adapt is paramount. You will be best suited to face these situations if armed with confidence in your ability to recover, relying on your ability to recognize patterns, leverage your experience, and trust your instincts.”

Similarly, the co-founders and chief creative officers of SoulCycle, Elizabeth Cutler and Julie Rice, discussed the culture that is inherent to their business, both for customers (riders are known as “legends,” “warriors,” “renegades” and “rock stars,” who speak a language of their own) and employees. The SoulCycle co-founders highlighted their effort to empower employees throughout the organization with the belief that 95% of issues can be adequately resolved by the employee, and the 5% that the employee cannot resolve can eventually be fixed. By trusting junior resources implicitly, the founders were able to focus on their broader vision for the business and delegate tasks that will enable their employees to be engaged and to grow professionally.

Taking risks and making mistakes are fundamentally uncomfortable, but they are critical factors for excelling professionally, as well as in life. Approach hard choices with the belief that you are adequately prepared, make sure to incorporate the necessary research into making a decision — and then confidently move forward. Mistakes are inevitable, but success will come from the ability to assess the situation with the confidence that you can learn, recover, and thrive.

Written by Mia Hegazy, Associate  at Catalyst Investors, @MiaHegazy