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In this episode, we're going to be talking about confidence. I'm going to continue the conversation on confidence. We started in episode 66. Six to six, six to seven and 68 in those episodes, we covered the C I a formula for developing confidence. And we covered the sea for courage, that I, for your intention and a for action. And we provided a range of strategies for you to develop your confidence. In this episode, I'm going to focus on a particular group of people. Who get knocked sideways with confidence sometimes. Particularly when you show up new to a country. This is something I can relate to. And this is something I know a lot of our listeners can relate to.

Michel Shah 0:48

Welcome to upSkill Talks brought to you by McGraw Hill. I'm your host, Michel Shah lead UpSkiller at UpSkill Community. UpSkill Talks is a podcast for leaders, leaders who are actively seeking innovative and creative ways to interact lead themselves and others. In every episode, through real life stories and enlightening conversations, we will explore the challenge. And opportunities real leaders face in today's everchanging workplace. We will present you with real strategies for you to leverage your soft skills and produce transformative results. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Let us begin.

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Whether that's you or a family member, a friend, a colleague appear. You know someone or you are someone who has struggled with confidence at a particular point in your life. And one of those times that people struggle with confidence is when they have to shift country, whether for migration. Whether you're an ex-pat, whether you're a student, whether you're visiting for a long time project or something. When we enter a new context, sometimes it's not even a new country, it's a new community and new province and new state, a new parish, whatever that is for you. I want you to think about. How that impacts your confidence when you enter a new space, sometimes this may just be a new department at your work. That's good. Be that simple, a new company we're talking today about how your confidence gets shifted. Impacted by moving to a new place. This episode, we're going to really focus on moving to the new context, a new country, but you can take this information and apply to anywhere that it move. Affects your confidence. All right. So I'm going to start off by just flagging up a few things that we need to go back to, to reflect upon. Before we jump into worrying about our confidence. Let's think about for instance, Where you are starting from. So before you fell to that shift in your confidence, go back to the place where you were, when the confidence was in place. That's going to be our starting point to go back and think about. What were the things that impacted your confidence? What are the things that made you feel confident? What were the things that were working well for you? What were the things that made you feel that feeling of confidence? Because all of us have experienced confidence in one area of our life or another. So go back to that area, that place, that role, that country go back, roll yourself back and think about. What was it that made me have that feeling of confidence. Start from there, make a note of that because we're going to need to go back and borrow that feeling to rebuild our confidence in the new place. So that's number one. The next thing that I want you to think about is why are you in this new place? Because sometimes we get so caught up with what we're doing on a daily basis. We forget why we're here. So go back and think about, you made a shift from point a to B. Why did you make that shift? Why are you here? Whether that's I'm running for my life is for safety. It's for promotion is for better health, for better wellbeing, for better career opportunities. For better business prospects for my family, to be closer to friends. Because this is where opportunities are, whatever the reason is. Go back and make sure that you get clear on why. You are here. Why you made that move? Why you shifted places? These are two key things that I want us to think about. I want you to go back into think. Where you were before, what were the skills, what were the experiences? What was that knowledge that made you confident? What did you bring to the table there that made you super confident? Particularly, I want you to think about the skills you had that made you confident. I had a client who always told me that he was very funny in his country. His home country. And then he migrated to Canada and he realized that none of his jokes. Landed as funny here, they were mostly offensive. And so that really impacted his confidence because he enjoys being funny, but he can't share any of his jokes. So he had to go back to recreate that sense of feeling funny. Applying the standards and accepted behaviors. And language in the new context. So it was really important for you to identify what is happening with you. Why that shift has happened in your confidence. You have to be honest with it. Like this person was, my jokes were funny where I'm coming from here. They offend people. I can't use them. No, watch your jokes. No. What it was that made you feel confident? He was confident because he was funny and people enjoyed his company and he made people laugh. He wants to do that here, but he's not translating. What is the thing that's shifting your confidence. Let's start thinking about that. The other thing that I want you to do is to think about why. You were invited to why you were chosen to why that shift happened for you. Why were you successful? In making the shift, whether if it's immigration, why did the country asked for new immigrants? What category did you come in? If you came as a student, it means they wanted people like you to come and study here. If you came to work, it means they wanted your skills and talent here. If you came as an expert, they wanted your knowledge here. If you move from one department to the other, they wanted your skills there. If you move from one province to the other, one state to the other. There was something about you that may do you suitable to make that transition? I want you to think about what that was. These are going to be keys for you to go back and restore your confidence and not feel like you don't belong in this new place and can't find your foot. To stand back up. All right. So let's think about. Experiences that you've had. That you know, our unique. Knowledge that you have perspectives that you have. What do you bring to the table that makes you unique? I'm not asking you to think about how applicable it is here yet. Or in the new place yet? Just what is it that, you know, That you can do. That you have done. That you think about your way of thinking about that makes you unique? Nobody else does this, but to you, this is you. What is this that makes you distinctly, you let's think about that as well. And then I want you to think about. What are some other things you bring from where you come from, whether it's specialized to knowledge of how things work in the part of the world that you came from here, or the part of the country that you moved from? Special networks and connections that you have just the new ones, the way that people change or think, or act that you can add by sharing. That's not really how. No, no, no. That's not how people think. Act behave. Or speak in this part of town. And if you use that strategy, you may not land to safely. So, let me assist you. Let me assist you by clarifying for you a better approach to dealing with the people where I come from. That's value. Add we live in a global world. We want to have clients, students, customers, patients. We want to have people everywhere in the world. If you come from one part of the world, you bring that value. Add so important for you to pause. And notice and record and think about. Watch you bring to the table. Why you're here. And what you've left and how you have already experienced confidence, because you're going to need to go back to that, to rebuild your confidence in the new context. So the first story I want to share with you in this episode is a story of someone who had come from another country. And I was responsible for doing mock interviews to help a group of these professionals to land proper jobs in the Canadian marketplace. They had specific jobs that they wanted. And did they came through this program? I was responsible for the interview skills. This particular professional. When I was working with the stories for her to come out and kind of talk about what she brings to the table. I felt like there was nothing tangible, nothing substantial for the quality jobs she was after. I didn't hear anything in her stories that made me go. Hm. You really bring a lot to the table. It was very lightweight. It sounded like a student in a college classroom with very little skills and not, not yet had a life. Uh, full lived experiences in careers and transitioned into a new career. This was an advanced career professional. And so I had to take this person aside to do a little bit of an interview myself, to tease out additional information. Now this person is going into a communications role. And it, like I mentioned, it wasn't strong. What I pulled this person aside. You would not believe that this person was responsible for. Producing the TEDx events in that part of town where she came from, she was the producer and manager and organizer of the TEDx event. Coaching people setting up systems, choosing speakers, coaching, speakers, planning, and orchestrating this significant brand event that's known globally. And came into the Canadian context. And did not think that that experience would be relevant here. And so left out all of that critical information. Because she wasn't sure that that would be a value add here. That's the mistake. I want to make sure that we do not make that you bring to the table. All of the experiences that you had, that special knowledge that you have, there are skills from those experiences that even though you're choosing a different career pathway, some of those skills, like the ability to organize the ability to project, man. The ability to communicate, to solve conflicts. Those skills transfer into almost all career pathways very well here. And this is an important component of what we're looking for in every part of the world. We have a significant skills deficit deficit in the world right now. Gallup has flagged up like over $11.5 trillion. Of skills gap that will impact the GDP. And so bring those skills, think about your experiences. Think about your knowledge. Think about what you've done and what, you know. What skills have you developed? Those skills are transferable and absolutely valuable in any environment that you enter. So those are some of the things I want you to be aware of. The other thing that I know. So that's one think about all of your skills, all of what you've brought to the table. Take the skills that are transferable and let's strategize and organize those on your marketing pieces here for you to have success. Number two. I want you to think about the language. I know that language is a big component of what impacts confidence for a lot of newcomers. Someone is going to hear my accent. Maybe they want to understand me. My English is not that good. These are concerns that newcomers have in the Canadian context. Well, I've got to tell you. You are far ahead of where you probably need to be, because most programs that are asking you comers to come choose a particular language level that you have to hit before you get here. Most workplaces similarly. So you are more than likely able to communicate effectively in English. And what you're confusing is the ability to communicate and the ability to sound the same as everybody else. Those are two different things. You can communicate completely effectively. And sound anyhow, you sound. That's uniquely you your own accent, your own way of communicating that's you, and that's unique. And you want to bring that to the table. Uniqueness is a strength. As long as someone can understand what you are saying, what you need communicated. That's what you need to worry about. So we don't all need to sound to the same. We will not all sound the same. There is no requirement for all of us to solo and sound the same. We all need to be able to be understood. And as long as you ensure that you're understood you are doing that communication job. All right. So don't worry about the accent. They may not understand my accent. We're not in an accent contest. We're talking about communication. We communicate with all different accents and as we become more and more, a global environment, All accents. Welcome. Let's communicate effectively and that's a skill that can be learned. Right. The other thing I want to talk about is just you giving yourself opportunity because whilst you're there worried that someone won't understand you, people are anxious to hear you anxious, to learn from you wanting that value that you can add, but you're afraid to put forward. I can relate to this. I understand this firsthand. 2023 marks. 30 years that I've been in Canada. And I remember when I just arrived. I had the same concerns. They're going to hear my accent. They're going to know I'm not from here. And felt like I needed to sound like I was from here. I speak like I am from here. But nobody actually cares. I remember someone asked me to do a presentation and I thought, oh wow. I cannot do that. They are going to hear. My accent. So I was so protective of my accent. And the first time I actually develop the courage to do it. Everyone said, oh, you have a unique accent. The accent was never an obstacle to the understanding, the communication and the relationships that were built. And so I want to share that story with you. For you to really think about how you can ensure that you continue to be yourself and share what you know, and add value. Don't worry about the accent. Don't worry about how it sounds. You don't need to sound like the other person, bring your unique self to the stable. Everyone's welcome. All accents. Welcome. Into the new context, wherever that may be. All right. And so the third thing that I know impacts newcomers to the Canadian marketplace in particular, and I know that this applies across other environments is. You need Canadian experience to get into the Canadian labor market, but you actually cannot get Canadian experience without it. So that is a little bit of a challenge to overcome. And so it's important for you to consider programs that provide voluntarily. School programs that have internships that offer newcomers, those opportunities. Collaborating with other people, try to think of strategic ways and very creative ways of gaining Canadian experience. It's not one way to get to this. So if you come and you're looking for that land in that same job that you had sometimes remember our career pathways, not linear. It's not a ladder that you're climbing. It's a little bit more latticed. So sometimes you have to take a step sideways in order to climb back up. Sometimes you take a step down, strengthen your position in climb further up. You may need to make some unique moves. And contribute to situations in different ways in order to be able to re navigate, to get to where you want to go. Career counseling is usually available. There are loads of opportunities, online, many organizations who duke. Career specific training, coaching and programming. To support you in these kinds of transitions, to be able to identify opportunities that are out there, to be able to say, I have this particular Canadian experience to be able to enter the spaces that you want to enter, or the specific roles that you want to enter into. So those are some things. That are important. I want to also flag up that is so important that we don't come as newcomers or us here who are here more established, that we all choose our silos, all the longterm immigrants in one place and the newcomers over the newcomers section, but that we find opportunities to collaborate. We find opportunities to support each other and learn from each other and leverage each other's skills. We here have great Canadian experience and lots of skills. Newcomers have no Canadian experience, uh, lots of skills. We can work together. A partner bridge gaps, fill gaps in our own skills, support them in fill in gaps in their Canadian experience. There are many ways that we can work together to collaborate, to do this. So just to come out of our silos. So if you're a newcomer, start connecting with people, who've been here a long time. If you're a new person who's been here a long time, make an effort. To connect with newcomers to see what they bring to the table that helps us to freshen up our perspectives and helps us to open up and learn more. We are growing a global economy and all of us are going to have to be on this journey. The last story I want to share with you is one of two students that I had one and newcomer. At one, one, actually not a newcomer, an international student and one. Has been here for a long time. Not sure what the status was, but certainly not an international student. And they had to work in groups on projects. This particular two students connected and learned about a skill. That one person had the one student who was here in Canada. I was able to, to make these particular sweets and cookies. The other student. He has a marketplace back home that those clients and so on would be happy to buy this together. They formed the business. And did they started marketing those products while they were still in school. And today they run a multi-million dollar business. They came. They saw what they had in each other. They saw the opportunities. And they leveraged those opportunities to connect, to close skill gaps. Through partnerships and to leverage what two different worlds can bring together. Sometimes we focus more on the challenges. Of our situation than the opportunities. And when we focus on the challenges, the opportunities are right in front of us. And we miss it. So I hope that we will take this opportunity in building our confidence to leverage. What newcomers bring to our context and for newcomers to leverage what. Long-term residents also add to this and to partner. To fill our skills gaps and identify opportunities that we can leverage together. In wrapping up this. Episode. I want to share a few things. And this applies to most of us. Go back and revisit the reason. What is the goal? Why are you here? What are you after? What is that thing that now that I'm here. So what. Because what happens a lot is that newcomers arrive and there are so many different things that you have to do. That you get caught up moving widgets, you get caught up finding the job to pay the rent, to send the kids to school, to do the course, to do those things, which are all supposed to be things that you want to do in order to get to the big goal. But you get lost in these little pieces in these widget moving activities. And sometimes that's where you get stuck and never get back to the real goal for which you came. And you've disrupted your culture, your community, your family network, everything back where you come from to come here for something bigger. But you lost track of it. You lost sight of it. And then your confidence wanes. I want to encourage you to put big stickers in your house, make notes on your devices, make sure that everywhere you go, you are reminded of why you're here. What this move was about, whether it's a new department, a new country, a new. Uh, province, state, whatever it is when you've shifted and your confidence got knocked sideways, why was that shift? Go back and look at that again. I want you to don't get lost, moving the widgets to get to the big one that you remember, that this is the means to which we get to the other place and that you don't get lost or get stuck here that you're always doing today. Not just the widget moving activities that are necessary, but that you're also thinking every single day, I'm going to put a stake in the ground. This is the one half an hour, hour, 15 minutes that I dedicate to my longer term goal while. While I'm here moving these widgets. To stay afloat. You have to also peg time for that bigger goal, or you will get lost here. And when you get up and look, 10 years later, you haven't moved a step further. You got lost. Okay. So that's going to be very important. And I just want you to remember that you're going to pay a price, whether that's sacrificing. Time. Making finding the courage to get uncomfortable, to get out of your comfort zone zone, to go and meet new people, to partner with whether that's. Choosing not to speak your native language at home so that you are practicing the English so that you have that English speaking skill that you need to navigate the environment, or if it's French or any other language that you need to use Spanish, whatever it is. Very important for you to be thinking about what is a price that you're going to pay. Is it studying late at night? Is it. You know, sacrificing how you're living now, is it, how, what is the sacrifice that you're going to pay in order to get what you came for? It's not going to show up at your doorstep just because you've arrived here. There's going to have to be a process in addition to moving these widgets, in addition to put in this little thing on the back burner or on the front burner to work towards, you have to think about the price that you're willing to pay to get to the big reason that your hair. And lastly. On an ongoing basis. Always be thinking about all the things that your brain. Be looking out for opportunities to contribute what you can contribute. Never worry about the money. Never worry about those things. Worry only about what can I contribute in this environment. As you make more and more contributions to others, you're building up yourself. You're going to be known for the things that you continue to do. And if you continue on that, it will make it easier to get to those bigger goals. It will build your confidence. It will help other people to notice you to notice what you bring to the table. They will authenticate you by these contributions that you're making. And so your confidence will go. Go back again to episode six to six, six to 7 68. And follow all the strategies that are offered to build your confidence and then come back and remember why you're here, what you bring to the table and that you would not be here. If you were not chosen to be here, selected to be here. If you did not meet a standard to be here. And those are the reasons to pull yourself up. And don't get lost in the day to day. Remember, you're here for that bigger goal. And be patient because that vehicle is going to take time.

Michel Shah 25:33

Thank you for listening to this episode of UpSkill Talks brought to you by McGraw Hill. We bring you new episodes every Monday. Please take a moment to subscribe, leave a five star rating and a written review at apple podcast. Or follow us on. By Google podcast or wherever you listen to your favorite podcasts, don't forget to share UpSkill talks with other leaders like yourself. So they too may gain the skills and insights to produce amazing results. Please go to UpSkillCommunity.com to review show notes and learn how you can join a community of leaders from across the globe. Collaborating to lead in a more meaningful and impactful way. I'm your host, Michel Shah. And again, thank you for joining me on this episode of UpSkill Talks.