By Jenna Hughes
How to be more productive, prepared and secure in today’s shifting healthcare environment.
A great salesperson leaves their customers feeling not only heard but genuinely understood. They know their product inside and out, represent their brand with conviction, and that preparation shows. Their confidence feels earned rather than performative. By the end of the meeting, we are as confident in them and their product’s ability to meet our needs as they are.
This type of self-trust is often thought of as an innate trait, one that we are – or are not – naturally talented in. But lasting confidence is rarely built on personality alone. The most successful professionals understand that it grows from developing the right skills, building expertise and gaining experience over time. As professionals become more prepared and capable, they are able to communicate more effectively, make better decisions and collaborate with greater clarity.
Repertoire Magazine recently spoke with Therese Gopaul-Robinson, a leadership consultant, keynote speaker and former healthcare professional with more than 20 years of experience navigating complex healthcare systems, about how professionals build the skills, systems and expertise that create authority and how they can do less while achieving more.
After years of watching talented professionals hold themselves back because they didn’t feel fully prepared or secure in their role, Therese developed Security Stacking®, a framework that helps leaders build the skills, experiences and evidence that create lasting effectiveness and stronger decision-making.
Doing less, achieving more
In today’s competitive and fast-paced work environment, it can often feel as though to be successful at work, you must attend every meeting, answer every client’s request immediately and take on several additional responsibilities.
“In my experience, this overcommitment can happen because there’s an organizational breakdown in systems and operations,” said Therese. “In this case, sales reps may not have the playbooks or protocols in place that clearly dictate who should be doing what.”
When professionals feel unprepared, unclear or unsupported at work, it can often be a real challenge for them to feel secure and capable in their role.
“When you’re in a sales role and you’re focused on acquiring or onboarding new clients, if those protocols aren’t in place, you’re naturally going to feel responsible for making sure your client has the best possible experience,” said Therese.
When a clear framework outlining responsibilities is missing, professionals may fill in the blanks and assume that they personally need to own every task and be involved in everything. Often, when they take on more responsibility than they can handle at work, their effectiveness suffers and eventually, so does their self-trust.
“If you’re working in an environment that constantly reinforces the idea that you have to prove yourself, do more and continually demonstrate your value, then it’s natural for professionals to feel like they have to say yes to everything,” said Therese. “The advice I would give is this: before you say no to more responsibility, ask yourself why. Why am I getting this request? Does it align with my role? Does it make the best use of my skills? If the answer is no, then that’s an opportunity to discuss reallocating responsibilities.”
When beginning to prioritize more strategically in the workplace, reps must think beyond today’s to-do list. “To truly prioritize, we have to pull back the lens and look at the bigger picture,” said Therese. “What is the salesperson’s goal? What market are they responsible for? Do they have the tools they need to find the right prospects?”
Having the right tools is essential to setting clear goals and making sound decisions about where to focus. Equipped with the right resources, sales professionals can then direct their efforts on where they will have the greatest impact.
Therese has worked with numerous organizations where sales professionals are organized and divided by region, specialty or another area of focus. “Whatever the structure is, it’s important they have a clearly defined market that each person is responsible for,” said Therese. “Once they have that focus, they also need the tools to identify and find the right prospects.”
Clear policies, protocols and training give professionals the tools and information they need to make good decisions about what responsibilities they should be taking ownership of, and just as importantly, what they shouldn’t. “From there, sales reps can lean on their resources,” said Therese. “They can follow the sales process and understand what their sales funnel should look like, so they are able to consistently prioritize their core responsibilities.”
Building expertise that creates credibility
Feeling assured of your responsibilities is an important first step toward making better decisions and performing at a higher level. Achieving genuine security goes further – beyond feeling good about yourself or overcoming imposter syndrome – it’s built through preparation, experience and repeatedly demonstrating to yourself that you can do the work.
“If you don’t understand what you’re selling or believe in the value it provides, people are able to sense that immediately,” said Therese.
Therese says that building capability and sound judgement starts with ensuring that you are part of an organization that “values the need for tools, resources, development and training.”
From there, conviction grows as professionals develop the expertise to bring value to customer interactions and effectively address their needs.
“Credibility is earned from building your expertise in a particular space – from learning the task and truly understanding the roots of the sales process, the market and the clients,” said Therese. “From there, you naturally become more confident in your ability to create value.”
Leaders, too, play a role in building their team members’ capability by setting clear expectations, granting autonomy and acknowledging successes.
“As leaders managing team members, we can instill ownership in our teams by recognizing folks who want to build certain skillsets and giving them stretch assignments – ones that feel challenging and uncomfortable, but that help them develop new skills and build competence through experience,” said Therese.
Capability comes with continued efforts outside your comfort zone and grows with experience and repetition. Tackling an unfamiliar challenge helps build comfort with uncertainty – encouraging professionals to prove to themselves that they can handle more responsibility.
“Confidence is getting to a place where this skill set is high enough that you trust yourself to consistently deliver,” said Therese. “As you gain a better understanding of your role, your responsibilities and how your work fits into the bigger picture, your alignment naturally grows. Confidence becomes less about how you feel and more about what you know you’re capable of.”
Key Takeaways
- Organizations play a key role in empowering professionals to grow, succeed and build their capabilities.
- True self-trust and credibility come from developing expertise and consistently demonstrating your knowledge.
- Workplace confidence grows through experience and repetition, helping you prove to yourself that you are prepared and capable.