Written by: Lauren Hirsch Williams, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
You enter a meeting knowing the people in it are far more successful than you (or at least most of them). That success leads to the assumption that they're all more intelligent than you, and you may not be able to keep up or impress them. That's intimidating on every level for most people.
It's hard enough to be nervous about sharing an idea or business proposal without the added pressure of feeling inferior mentally.
We all feel the effects of imposter syndrome at some point in our lives... if not at many times! So, how do we get past a potentially debilitating mindset when the curtain is about to go up in an important meeting?
After decades of business experience and attending thousands of meetings in all shapes and sizes, I've found a critical distinction that can help you. It's the first step to feeling free, more confident, and capable of throwing intimidation out the window.
It understands the difference between "intelligent" and "smart." My definition is that intelligence reflects academic knowledge, while smart is the ability to use common sense or logic in the most effective manner.
Potato? Pot-ah-to? Not really.
It makes a big difference. Your mindset about being on a level playing field with other people in meetings can make or break your chances for success. For a very long time, I thought high achievement came only with high intelligence… you know, book knowledge.
Thankfully, I found out there's something just as important.
Despite my many years of success, I never feel like I'm the most intelligent person in the room. We don't need to go down a path of psychological analysis examining my childhood, but I'll quickly say it came from my innate hatred of doing schoolwork.
I didn't excel with top grades as I went through college. In fact, I never even bothered to purchase a lot of the required textbooks because I listened in class and used my common sense to determine what was important to learn. That meant I managed the situation with only the knowledge I picked up during class.
In my mind, the fact that I wasn't a straight-A student through college meant I wasn't academically 'advanced' enough to play with the big guys. Having an older brother with an I.Q. higher than I can count also didn't help my confidence in the academic arena.
Yet somehow, I was able to snag a high-level job at PepsiCo in one of the most coveted advertising positions in the world. Yes, in the world! I often don't even believe it myself, but that's selling myself short, and I try not to do that anymore… nor should you.
When I was in a meeting at Frito-Lay one day early in my career, I recognized that academic intelligence is not always all it's cracked up to be.
I realized my greatest lesson when I was still new and intimidated by the Ivy League Business School plaques hanging in most of my colleagues' offices. (I was a Hook 'Em Horns, University of Texas at Austin graduate back when the ‘History of Rock and Roll’ was a class worth three credits!).
Walking into the conference room one day were six or seven of those Ivy League graduates seated around a long, oval wooden table. It seemed their posture was even better than mine (I heard they were actually taught how to walk in a way that reflects power from a class, but I still don't know if that's true).
I sat quietly at the far end of that oval table, trying to avoid attention. That was not easy, it being oval. I was not entirely sure whether I should speak or how I should sit in a "smart manner" (Legs crossed? Legs crossed at the ankles? Legs planted straight down? Hands folded, unfolded??)
The Ivy League gang began debating a marketing approach for a new product. The conversation was very theoretical and academic. I slowly allowed my insecurity to drift away as I became enthralled by their 'debate' silliness and 'dumb' comments (no serious judgment – just my own definition of good ole common sense dumb and silly).
Stay with me here.
The more I listened, the more I realized they were spouting theories they had read from textbooks. Whether I owned all my college textbooks or not – I can always tell "Textbook Speak."
Those theories and concepts had nothing to do with the reality of their targeted consumer’s true interests and lifestyles. My colleagues were missing a critical factor – taking into account things that really mattered on a daily basis to the very consumers they were discussing.
My common sense gene was screaming inside my head and soon overtook my insecurity, and I spoke up. My voice may have been a little shaky at first (I was a newbie, after all), but I still jumped into their textbook-driven mix with logical practicalities.
I don't remember my exact words, but I DO remember the looks on their faces as they turned to see what the 'new kid on the block' had to offer. I also remember the feeling and held my breath.
It was as if I was speaking a foreign language at first, but within minutes, it seemed as if "visible" lightbulbs popped up above their heads, and the conversation took a turn and a new direction. My words mattered to them. They actually mattered!
The logic of my common sense was practical and relevant. It ended up influencing and affecting the multi-million dollar decisions being made that day on the launch of the new product.
I'm not saying my input was more important than their academic intelligence. It wasn't, and, possibly, never will be.
HOWEVER, it points out that there are T.W.O. vital pieces of any business equation – academic intelligence and practical logic, or common sense.
I may not have received a plethora of A's on my report card in college, but all those fun-filled "life" experiences I went through instead of reading the non-purchased textbooks played a role in my ultimate business success.
When YOU walk into a room – regardless of how accomplished the people in it may be – you need to remember that you can have a powerful impact even if you feel inferior.
There are many ways to be smart… and it isn't always about a high I.Q. or straight A's from an Ivy League university. It's about communication, common sense, and "keeping it real."
Always hold your head high.
If you don't have the same vocabulary as those around you, make sure your common sense "genes" are on high alert, and that you know how to engage with people via carefully considered questions and logical opinions. Yes, perhaps, give it a beat before you say something, but say it with passion and a sense of wisdom (real or imagined).
I help people discover how to do all the above in my book ONE SENSE AHEAD (and its associated training courses). I created a protocol that allows you to use your senses to accurately read a room and win it by being logical, sensible, and confident in knowing you’re able to play in anyone's sandbox (even when it's an oval wooden table!).
Follow me on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and visit my website for more info!
Lauren Hirsch Williams, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Lauren Hirsch Williams is a Business Relevance Strategist, Pitch Stylist, International Bestselling Author, and Award-Winning Screenwriter. With decades of experience, which includes Worldwide Director of Advertising at PepsiCo, Founder of MovieHatch, and Creator of the new MyTurn TV Network for empowering women, she’s been on all sides of the “table”. She teaches others to find their inner strength by using their senses in an uncommon way. Her recent bestseller, ONE SENSE AHEAD, explains the protocol to start that process.
