“Spending a few moments in self-awareness will help you to say ‘no’ to many roles that will clog up your time, but you will be ready to enthusiastically say ‘yes’ to the leadership opportunity that just might change your career and life.”
Dr. Julie Kellogg
WSDA News Editorial Advisory Board
Many people say that you should get involved in leadership to give back to your profession and community, to share your talent and skills with the organization, and to help fill the ongoing need for volunteers.
While true to some extent, I’m going to be a bit more provocative and call BS. The best reason to get involved in leadership is for what it can do FOR YOU.
I got thrown into the leadership track of my local component dental society naively — and almost involuntarily — when I was just a few years out of dental school. I was painfully shy and had zero confidence in myself, but I am stubborn, so I stuck it out.
The biggest benefit you will gain from leadership is opportunity. Opportunity to network, develop new skills, understand your profession/organization/community at a deeper level, find alternative career paths or side gigs, potentially grow your income, and gain more confidence. All while having the opportunity to give back.
But there is something you need to do as you choose to grow in professional leadership. You need to become self-aware.
Wait, what? Self-serving and self-aware?
Yes, and here are a few suggestions to get you started on your self-awareness path.
Take stock of your skills
I do the details well and I like to be the showrunner behind the scenes. This makes me a good program chair. So when an organization wants my help, I offer my services and skills specifically to what I can contribute best.
Know what type of environment you work best in
I strongly dislike committees and boardrooms. I prefer to work on tasks independently or with one other person. I am happy to offer my opinion when asked, but I don’t enjoy long, drawn-out discussions that struggle to find resolution. As a result, I say no to requests to occupy board positions.
What do you want to learn or do more of?
I wanted to write more and didn’t know how to get started. So I submitted a column to WSDA News, which led to chairing the editorial advisory board. It fulfills my criteria of writing more and not having to come to Seattle for meetings. (This is actually a fun board. And yes, I live in eastern Washington, where waiting more than 15 seconds at a stoplight is too much traffic.)
Check your motivation
If you are choosing a leadership role for personal ego or recognition, this is selfish, not self-serving. It will lead to poor relationships, bad energy, and a path of continually chasing the carrot. When someone told me they could see me being president of a large organization, I declined because I knew it was a poor fit and I would only be doing it for the prestige.
Self-awareness is the key to both success and personal health in leadership. It gives you boundaries which ultimately result in more joy in your leadership role.
In 2020, I served as program chair of a national organization. It was a heck of a lot of work. Thankfully, we pulled off the last successful live dental conference before the world shut down and not one person got COVID. The event received lovely reviews.
I chose to be a program chair because it fit my skillset, motivation, and work style. I wanted to learn how to organize an event of that size and level, while knowing that I would be giving up a fair amount of my free time for over a year. I was choosing from a place of self-awareness.
Change your life
Being program chair was also life-changing. It opened up opportunities for me to grow my network and pivot into professional speaking. A speaker at that meeting became one of my most important mentors and friends. But what was most impactful is that my self-confidence grew by leaps. That’s self-serving.
None of these benefits happen overnight or without effort. You should start while you are still young in your career. Don’t make excuses and wait for a better time.
Spending a few moments in self-awareness will help you to say “no” to many roles that will clog up your time, but you will be ready to enthusiastically say “yes” to the leadership opportunity that just might change your career and life.
Do it for you.
This article originally appeared in Issue 3, 2023 of the WSDA News magazine.