What are you good at?

It’s probably not what you think. It’s even less likely to be what you’d answer if you were asked.

You’d probably either waffle a stream of meaningless buzzword bingo or completely undersell yourself.

Not that you’re all British, but not selling ourselves is a very British phenomenon. As well as a very corporate one.

The problem is it’s another reason we can feel trapped by what we do.

In my experience of talking to hundreds of corporate people who have left and have not (it’s a certainty, like death and taxes) – we are often painfully un-self-aware.

All too often we define ourselves by what we are seen to do. The job title, a few bullets from our job description, sometimes even by the people who work for us. Someone last week described themselves as “running the strategy and portfolio team” – oh my days.

But I can’t speak. For 16 years, I defined myself by my company name.

My point is that what we’re really good at is often a lot bigger and better – and more valuable - than what we think.

Other people see this. Like the really brilliant boss that appeared once or twice in your career. Or the really thoughtful colleague (just before they left or publicly plateaued).

But you can’t rely on anyone else. It’s on you.

You have to properly audit yourself to see the real you.

Did I mention I have a book available for pre-order on Amazon?

Inside Corporate Escapology there’s a series of exercises I’ve developed to help you audit yourself. It’s a series because sometimes we have to really drag the good things out of us. Our self-deprecation is a brake on our self-awareness.

It’s called Six Prisms. Its purpose is to help identify many of the things we do brilliantly but often quite unconsciously; the things we assume are instinctive but are actually learned behaviours.

Like how we look at everything strategically, appreciating context, how we assess risk, how we sustain and scale what works, how we consider stakeholders, how we deliver high quality products, how we look for, and measure, impact.

You don’t need to have worked in strategy or risk to have picked up skills in these areas: nothing gets funded if it doesn’t align with strategy or demonstrates a manageable level of risk (with mitigations). You don’t get far without having appreciated different stakeholder agenda and power dynamics, or without being able to explain next steps and how you plan to manage change.

When I did the exercise on myself I realised that almost everything I wrote down I used almost every day at BP – and now, more or less, with every client I’ve worked with since. It’s built-in. It means I screw up less and deliver more, usually faster. That’s good for me and it’s good for my clients.

It’s a huge part of the reason why corporates like me.

I’m like them.

And yet, stuck in my old job, I’d never recognised how valuable those things were. Because everyone (mostly) had them too.

Now I see how valuable they are. People who haven’t had our training, who haven’t learnt to thrive in the (explicit and implicit) cultures, who haven’t had the carrots and faced the sticks - they can’t create value in the same way.

So, if you’re thinking this Easter weekend that you might not want to be in the same place next Easter, take a long, hard Paddington stare at yourself.

Give yourself full credit for who you’ve become and what you really offer.

If you can’t wait for Corporate Escapology (and who can?), you can download the Six Prisms exercise on the Corporate Escapology website. I’m happy to take a look and give you a bit of feedback and critique.

I’m here for you.