Fake it til you make it is the advice that most people tossed around. It sounds harmless but you can’t use it in your career always.
There are only situations where it is applicable and there are times that you should not fake it til you make it.
Fake It Til You Make It When It is a Matter of Confidence
In each professional role you are in, you will be tasked with the responsibilities that would push out of your comfort zone. For instance, you are asked to give training presentations to new hires, to speak up in front of the panel executives when you have ideas to lead weekly meetings with your employees.
While you might well know the ways to do such things in theory, you might not feel confident doing them. You might be familiar with the materials for presentations, for example, but do not love the idea of speaking in front of people.
Such are situations in which you have permission to fake it until you make it. You have the knowledge you need, so feigning a bit courage will not do you any harm. Having a brave face won’t just help you get through it, this will provide you genuine confidence the next time you are in this situation.
Do Not Fake It Until You Make It When It is a Matter of Knowledge
You will be given responsibilities that you do not know the ways to handle. In some situations in which you do not know how to do something, in terms of basic knowledge of a responsibility or task, feigning expertise will not help you. As a matter of fact, it will hurt you.
Having a confident face while you are doing an unfamiliar task will not give you the ability to complete the task. Somebody will catch the fact that you do not know what you are doing and call you out about it. You’ll just waste everybody’s time because of starting from scratch.
If your employees, co-workers find out that you are doing something wrong and pretending that you are knowledgeable how to do it, they will be less likely to trust you in the long run that would limit your chances to lead and advance in the team.
Mistake You Should be Aware of
Faking it until you make it works only once you have determined something that’s holding you back within yourself. Behaving like the one you want to be revolves around changing the way you think and you feel. If your motive is to prove your worth to some people, your efforts will not be successful.
Ways to Fake It the Right Way
Acting as if does not mean being inauthentic or phony. It is about changing the behavior first and trusting the feelings will follow. If motivation is in proper place, faking everything until you make it may make your goals a reality. Just ensure that you are interested in changing yourself on the inside and not just trying to change some people’s perceptions about you.