Episode Transcript
You’ve probably heard the phrase “If you see it, you can be it.”
And as a woman engineer you know it’s so true.
If you were lucky enough to have known women engineers before you – to have seen women working in technical roles as you were growing up – that definitely had an impact on you.
It made your decision to be an engineer much easier.
Because you already knew someone like you could do that job. You could already see that it was a viable choice for you.
If you’ve never seen it, it’s hard to imagine you can be it.
It might not even occur to you that you could be it.
That’s how it was for me.
If You Never See a Woman in Engineering, It’s Hard to Imagine You Can Be One
I never saw examples of women working as engineers or scientists.
In fact, as a girl I was never exposed to engineering, much less women who were engineers.
So I always felt I was out of place. Like I didn’t belong there.
If you can’t visualize yourself in the role, it’s much harder to take it on.
And you know what? That’s still true for you right now.
You are an engineer. You’ve got the credentials to prove it. You’re doing the work of an engineer.
But you have yet to realize your vision of becoming the engineer and leader you want to be. You have yet to be that successful engineer.
And if you want to become a successful engineer, you must first see yourself as one.
It’s a very simple – but not easy – concept.
And because it’s not easy, it’s important that you develop this practice for your career. The practice of seeing yourself as successful.
So you accomplish what you want to accomplish. Become who you want to become.
So you can give that unique gift of yours that makes ripples throughout the universe.
3 Steps to See Yourself as a Successful Engineer
To see yourself as a successful engineer means 1) envisioning your career, 2) identifying with success and 3) believing in yourself.
Here are some general ideas for what I mean by each of these 3 steps:
I’m not including all the details. Because there are so many. And because it depends on your situation.
But I can work with you one-on-one and walk the steps with you.
When you’re ready for this in your career – which could be at any time – and multiple times – sign up for a strategy session with me and let’s talk about a coaching program for you.
Step 1: Envision Your Career
To envision your career, I want you to:
- Imagine what it’ll be like when you’re successful. Imagine the things you’ll be doing then.
- Feel what it feels like.
- Know yourself. Find ways to know yourself better. Define your energy. Define where your energetic center is. Then align your work with yourself.
- Imitate others you consider to be successful. Find the ways and the styles that resonate with you.
- Find the portals to your pathway, and make your way through them.
Step 2: Identify with Success
To identify with success, I want you to:
- Write your success story. Create your vision and focus on it.
- Connect with your trailblazers. Hang out with the people you want to be around.
- Find where you want to be and imagine being there – or actually go there – as much as possible.
- Be relentless in your pursuit.
Step 3: Believe in Yourself
Believing in yourself is so important. I want you to:
- Believe in your talent and your potential, and dispel any limiting beliefs.
- Tell your success story and share your career message.
- Ask for what you need and want to lead you down your path.
- Offer your ideas and talents to projects and initiatives that’ll get you there.
Your Limiting Beliefs About Becoming a Successful Engineer
You might be thinking you don’t know how to imagine yourself as a successful engineer.
Which I can totally understand.
But knowing exactly what this will be like is less important than knowing how you want to feel in that role.
Focus on that.
Your picture will become clearer as time goes on.
You might be thinking that focusing on some dream of the future is a little hokey and pointless.
But it’s actually a legit way to significantly increase the chances of you realizing that dream.
There’s even science behind it.
You might be thinking that I’m assuming (unrealistically) that there aren’t any roadblocks and that you have complete control of how things pan out.
Well, not entirely. But I am assuming you’ll cross those bridges as you come to them.
And you have more power than you think.
And you might be thinking you’re not experienced enough or you don’t have the right training to start this journey.
Which is not true. You can start now.
That you’re not ready for the challenging roles you’ll be taking along the way to your dream.
Also not true. You’ll never be more ready.
That you don’t know how to do what you need to do to be successful.
Which is true.
But it’s not what you know how to do, it’s what you can learn.
The more you practice the 3 steps to seeing yourself as a successful engineer, the weaker these limiting beliefs will become.
They probably won’t dissipate altogether. Because, you know, inner critic.
But you’ll worry less about them and they’ll have less ability to keep you from your vision of success in your engineering career.
Next time on Her Engineering Career Podcast we’ll explore portals to your pathway to engineering career success.
I hope you’ll join me for Episode 155.