#127 | Turning Fears Into Superpowers With Morra Aarons-Mele

Pursuing new opportunities can be exciting and daunting, especially in our careers. It’s normal to feel anxious about the unknown and the pressure to succeed but how do we make sure this doesn’t stop us from achieving all that we’ve set out to? Good leaders learn how to channel anxiety into something productive which is easier said than done (I know!)

Morra Aarons-Mele, author of The Anxious Achiever, had coffee with us to share some helpful tips on how to navigate anxiety and improve on this skill that separates good leaders from great leaders. One of the key takeaways from our conversation was the importance of rehearsal. Whether you’re preparing for a meeting or a presentation, rehearsing can help you feel more confident and trick your body into believing this isn’t the first time you’re presenting on this new topic or speaking with this new colleague.

Embracing your anxiety and using it as a tool to motivate yourself towards positive change is key. Morra shared some actionable tips with us on how to receive feedback as a leader, how to deliver tough news to your team and strategies to fight off the imposter syndrome we all feel from time to time. I hope you enjoy the conversation as much as I did and can’t wait to see you live next Wednesday!

Want To Skip Around? Timestamps:

14:24 Steps for accepting anxiety

17:25 Tips for leaders who don’t have the answers

23:48 Receiving bad feedback well

27:50 Developing self awareness as a leader

29:30 Tips for delivering tough news

34:39 Strategies for imposter syndrome

Links Mentioned:

Morra’s Website:

https://morraam.com/

Morra’s latest book:

www.theanxiousachiever.com

Morra’s article we refrenced:

https://hbr.org/2023/03/how-high-achievers-overcome-their-anxiety

Morra’s Podcast:

Anxious Acheiver https://morraam.com/podcast

Resources Morra recommends:

Podcast: Coaching Real Leaders https://coachingrealleaderscommunity.com/

Podcast: After Hours https://harvardafterhours.com/

Robert Glazers Newsletter: Friday Forward https://robertglazer.com/fridayfwd/

Liz Kislik’s Newsletter: https://lizkislik.com/

Homework: Pay more attention and listen to your body. Where are you holding tension? Where can you relax a bit more?

If You Loved Today’s Episode:

1.) You should check out this episode Overcoming Social Anxiety With Mark Metry

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