Q&A: Working with people you admire

This month I received the following reader’s question about working with people you admire, which was, by the way, another interesting one – Thank you for sending it to me!

Do you ever get intimidated by people you admire or get to work with? If yes, how do you deal with that?

Thank you for sending in your question! Over the years, I’ve been in many rooms with people that I admired or looked up to, and I’d say that it always helps me to focus on the role I’m asked to fulfill and then try to figure out what it requires from me.

Therefore, when I’m invited to a meeting or board room with people I respect I try to see that as an invitation addressed to not just me, but to me because of the role I have. Because they hired me for the role, I belong in that room like everybody else. We are all hired to take a seat and deliver expertise and bring the best we have to the table. I always intend to serve the job as good as I possibly can and I seek to make improvements every single day. So that applies to the people we admire as well as to ourselves. We all have something to add, that’s what I believe.

For example, what would be the worth of a good idea or plan without a reality check? The feedback from the people that generally don’t spend much time in board rooms but know exactly what’s happening on the ground on a day-to-day basis is of tremendous value. So whenever I sense something like awe, I try to check in with myself and change course. That check-in is useful not only because it reminds me of the fact that my voice and all of our voices matter, but it also helps me not be taken off track. I want to make sure that I deliver the best I can. The opportunity to learn is better today than ever before. So let’s use our voices. Let’s make them count.

Thank you for reading. This reader’s question is part of the Ask Me Anything series. Feedback from you, the reader, is important to me. Want to ask me a question for next month? Send me yours team@lisanneswart.com

Here is a list of the last 3 readers’ questions I’ve answered:

• #3 Reader question: The number 1 skill everyone should master
• #2 Reader question: The drive behind my work
• #1 Reader question: The 3 pieces of advice I would give my younger self

» Explore more answers to readers’ questions