Some years ago, as I gradually moved into a client service role, my biggest anxiety became the fear of failing our clients and letting down the people I represent. Worried to be found out, to be not quite good enough for the job.
I was working at another design agency at that time, where people talked about opportunities and were actively discouraged from seeing things as problems. It all just sounded like hollow words, until it became clear to me it was ‘attitude’ they were talking about.
Dealing with clients became less tricky when I started to look at them as people just like me. Using my insecurity helped me level with clients. Turns out some of them were also a bit worried about being found out. Others were smart and in areas very different from me. Some were actually quite funny but not everyone around me thought they were funny (I get that all the time). Best of all, opportunities to relate proved omnipresent. Changing discussions to conversations, shifting business topics to personal. Making these connections created stronger relationships where all of us became more open, until there was nothing left to be ‘found out’.