Check Out Hannah Kissel's LinkedIn Stats (Last 30 Days)

If you are in a sales role, being compared is part of the job. You are often fighting to be in the top 5-10% to be globally recognized for President's Club or to receive praise and validation that you are the best. High-comparison environments measure output. But they also activate the oldest questions we carry about worthiness. If you are having a challenging quarter, you may be asking, "Is someone more worthy if they are performing better than I am?" I explore this question and the antidote to it in last week's podcast. Have you listened yet? Listen here: https://lnkd.in/gyz32HCe

Being told you have low confidence or a lack of executive presence can eat at you for months, and sometimes years. When low confidence is framed as a personal flaw rather than a skill we can build, it can chip away at self-esteem instead of strengthening it. Sometimes, confidence isn’t built by knowing more. It’s built by repairing the internal stories that tell you you’re not enough. I explore all of this and more in my free Career Confidence Course, which was built to help you create more self-esteem as we navigate the murkiness and complexity of our careers. Have you joined it yet? Get access here: https://lnkd.in/gEmF_McG

In this week's podcast, I discuss perfectionism and why it feels protective, but it can often be exhausting, lead to longer-term stress, and actually hold you back in your career. Have you listened to it yet? Listen now: https://lnkd.in/gJt3MqhC

One of the things I love about Brené Brown's new book “Strong Ground” is her take-down of the term executive presence. Usually, I see executive presence as a term weaponized against women, often cited as a reason not to promote highly competent female talent. This is what a typical coaching session looks like when a client gets feedback about executive presence: Client: “My boss told me I need more executive presence to be promoted.”  Me: “What does that mean?”  Client: “They said I need to be more confident.”  Me: “Did they give you specific behaviors?’”  Client: “No.”  Me: “Did they define what executive presence actually is?”  Client: “No”  Me: “……so what are you supposed to improve?”  Client: “I’m not sure.” “Executive presence” is slippery because there is no agreed-upon definition, traits, or behaviors. Therefore, I see women usually grasping at straws, trying to fit into a box, but they don’t know what the box looks or feels like…they are just told to be more confident. If you have ever received this type of feedback and you feel frustrated by it, my free Career Confidence Course walks you through how to respond to this feedback and advocate for yourself in a way that still feels authentic to you. Access it here: https://shorturl.at/zcwPx

In the last few months, I’ve watched so many of my clients take bold and courageous action toward living their ideal lives: →Katie Clinch is stepping into her new role as Head of Vendor Strategy at LinkedIn. →Jacqui Duncan moderating the Explosive Growth panel at the Forbes Australia Business Summit. →Sheena B. shifting into the femmetech space and launching her fireyfemmes podcast. →Samantha D'Souza is preparing to speak on the Women Leading the Future of Sport panel. →Subana Paramuthevar is launching her start-up(s) with so much conviction. →Alannah Turner for being an ambassador for the National Breast Cancer Foundation →Dr. Monica Shah is launching her new show, Living, with Dr. Monica Shah. →Sarah Martin starting SM Consulting to help more women thrive financially. Some of the wins are less public, but just as meaningful, because they often require a large amount of courage and bravery: • Leaving a toxic job and stepping into a new role with a $70K salary increase. • Reclaiming their well-being by prioritizing 8 hours of sleep after years of surviving on 4–5. • Resigning from corporate to finally launch the business they’ve been dreaming about for years. • Choosing to take a smaller role to prioritize health, peace, and sustainability. • Buying a house and marrying a supportive, loving partner. I am so grateful to be supporting all of these clients in living their ideal lives. It’s easy to look at these big shiny achievements and think they happen overnight. But they happen by showing up week after week, looking at the hard sh*t, and making small but mighty decisions a day at a time to actualize their ideal lives.

“Go big or go home” is a phrase that I loathe. It’s the type of all-or-nothing thinking that often causes people (especially susceptible high performers) to set very extreme goals. When these goals aren’t met, it often triggers a shame spiral and a sense of not being good enough.  Small, repeatable goals aren’t very sexy. But that’s where real change comes in. My advice to clients is to always start SMALLER than they think. And only work on one single goal (for example: sleeping 8 hours consistently). Then, begin to add more. If you want to improve your healthy habits and love discussing the processes behind it, I break this down in the latest episode of the BFD podcast. 🎧 Listen here: https://rebrand.ly/252d08