Staci Peters is Senior Vice President of Business Services for SRNS, and she spoke at the North Augusta Chamber of Commerce’s Women in Business luncheon. Despite having 25 years of experience in her field, she said she struggled with personal and professional doubts, including imposter syndrome.
“I’ve struggled in my career. I have seen other women struggle in their careers. And if there’s anything that I can do to help, even just get one of those kinds of wisdom out of my conversation, and learn from me. I want to share that with you,” she said.
One building block is to approach every situation with integrity. She said that means being honest and consistent in your interactions. She said that includes questioning your intentions and determining what result you are seeking. Even if the outcome does not achieve the goal, she said it builds confidence knowing you wanted the best outcome for everyone involved.
Another step is to be prepared when entering any situation, which, she said, can be more difficult than anticipated.
“When you’re prepared, you feel that you’re in control, you feel more capable, you feel more knowledgeable, and that just automatically leads to increased confidence. Being prepared is different depending on the situation,” she said, adding that the challenge can be to not over-prepare.
“There’s that paranoia, that feeling that you have to have all the answers. We can’t have all the answers. Part of this is being mentally prepared, to have a clear understanding of the situation, and understand the goals.”
She said being a lifelong learner is a vital component of being prepared. She reminded her audience that no one starts out as an expert. Continuing to learn is an investment in growth and confidence.
Peters said another building block is to have a combination of humility and open-mindedness. It helps individuals to understand personal limitations while being receptive to ideas from other people.
“The next one is to find good mentors, champions, and allies so you have that unwavering support of others, and you have a safe space to learn and grow and express ideas that can really help build your confidence,” she said. “Having someone that’s a champion and sees something in you that you don’t see yourself can do so much, and we need to pay it forward.”
Peters said learning intentional breathing can reduce stress and provide a sense of calmness in any situation.
“So, when you are in challenging situations, when you’re nervous, when you begin to stand up in front of people and speak, if you learn to do that intentional breathing, that can really, really calm you down,” she explained. “There are a lot of benefits to your body, but beyond just being able to calm you down, it helps with sleeping, it helps with your heart health, it helps with your digestive system.”
She said the sixth step is to simply be kind to yourself. She said by prioritizing your own needs, you are building self-respect, developing a stronger sense of self, and promoting a sense of self-worth.
