I feel like I have no idea what I’m doing 90% of the time. Actually, make that 99%. And the 1% is more or less a fluke. There’s a little bit of trial and error going on. And a lot a bit of “fake it ’til you make it.” Apparently this is normal, but I seriously half-expect someone to pop out from behind a corner and say, “Gotcha! We know that you really don’t know what you’re doing!”
Does anyone else feel like that?
I am so happy that I work at Levo League for a million and a half reasons, one of which is most definitely Leslie. Leslie was the first Levo employees I met when I was introduced to the company back in March. She was so much fun then and absolutely made me fall in love with Levo instantly. (If you’ve ever watched Office Hours or met Leslie at a conference, you probably already know how amazing she is.)
We sit right across from each other in the office and I take mental notes of just about everything she does. Every day I learn so many things and I ask an equal number of questions. What’s the best way to respond to this email? Do you think I should do this or that? Am I overreacting here or is my frustration valid? Am I going crazy or were 498 different things said in the past two minutes? Do you really think that I can do this?
When I’m working, I seriously always ask myself, “Hmmm what would Leslie do?” When I write emails, I try to write them in a way she would. I’m super awkward when people wander into the office and I’m trying (trying being the operative word) to greet people the Leslie does!
I really, really respect her and and her experience and her advice. She’s a pro!
Leslie has seen at least one panic attack, a couple of exhaustion-driven emotional breakdowns, and countless “OMG! EEP! That’s Ah-MAAAAZING!” moments.
Another great thing about having Leslie in the office is that we do share some of the same tendencies. We both tend to take on other people’s stress, and we both are quite Type-A. I always notify her when she’s taking on someone else’s stress and she does the same for me. We’re not great at stopping each other from being perfectionist-freaks, but we commiserate together at the very least. We also trade book suggestions– we both love books.
Bottom Line: Everyone needs a Leslie.
She may be older than you. She may be the same age as you. You may work with her or live with her. You two might talk over coffee or talk over Skype.
But you need one.
(Oh, and by the way…. You can have more than one “Leslie.” I have a couple of people around the country, including my mom, that I would consider to be Leslies.)
Who is your Leslie? How did you meet her? How does she help you?
xoxo
My "Leslie" is my neighbor Kelly. She moved in few months ago. Even though she is 7 years older than me, we have so much in common and she is always there when I am having one of my epic what-am-I-doing-with-my-life-moments! She always reminds me that 23 years old and not doing exactly what I am doing is completely normal
Leslie is definitely amazing! I guess my "Leslie" would be my best friend Rachel. We're the sisters one set of parents wouldn't have been able to handle. She goes to school in Gainesville and now I live in New York, but we still find ways to keep each other on the ball…. which almost always includes me performing Drake songs.
I actually have a classmate like that! I was always jealous, but then I realized I just needed to strive to be more like her!
A few days (weeks?) late on this, but I have to comment. Right from undergrad I entered a PhD program, and the other women and I would talk about this ALL the time! We called it Imposter Syndrome… it was like we all expected someone to jump out and say "Ah-ha! Caught you! We know you have NO IDEA what you're doing!" The men had no idea how we could feel that way. They were all totally confident in their abilities. I wish I was capable of the same!
She sounds awesome!