Are You Already Good Enough?

'Simon' came to me with a goal I hear often from high performers: “𝘐 𝘸𝘢𝘯𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦, 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘢𝘤𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐 𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘬, 𝘦𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘤𝘪𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘯 𝘐'𝘮 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘱𝘰𝘵.”*

He had no trouble communicating when he had time to prepare. But in situations where he was caught off guard, he felt that the wheels started to wobble.

We agreed to test it, and that I would give him objective, honest feedback in real time. So I asked him a few curveball questions about topics he hadn’t prepared for, outside his zone of expertise.

He told me he’d probably say “um” a lot, fiddle with his hair, go blank under pressure.

But what I saw was very different. Clear. Articulate. Composed. Not a single “um.” No nervous tic. Just strong, fluid, thoughtful responses, on the fly.

Simon wasn’t struggling with communication. He wasn't even struggling with confidence. His desire for continuous improvement had tipped into hyper-awareness. He was looking for flaws that didn’t exist.

Most interestingly, when I asked a question that required a less comfortable answer, that's when he really showed up.

Now he wasn't as polished, but more himself. His face softened, he smiled lightly and I was drawn in by his responses as they become much more real and interesting. I got to know him a little more.

𝗞𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗶𝗻𝗴 = 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 = 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴. You may not need to do more, prep harder, or perform better at all. You may need to just show up as yourself, because the real version of you is the one people connect with, trust and ultimately listen to.

If you want to have more influence and impact, it might be that you just need to bring a little more of yourself, rather than a polished super-human.

Sometimes, the work isn’t in building a new skill, it’s in recognising the strength that’s already there. You might just discover that you're good enough already.

*Name changed for confidentiality