Humans are messy. Organizations developed by humans are even messier. What is going to happen next is always uncertain. It is often hard to determine which tools work for which person and even then tools for organizations vary as well.
These concepts were the focus of the first session of the second day of the recent 2022 NJMMA Fall Conference. This session was led by Dr. Robyn Odegaard, a high-performance psychologist. Affectionately known as “Doc Robyn”, she holds a doctorate in business psychology, is the CEO of Champion Performance Development and the author of two books.
Doc Robyn’s philosophy combined the lessons she learned growing up as the oldest sibling of a rigid Calvinist family on a farm, the champion mindset she developed as a competitive beach volleyball player and her expertise in Emotional Intelligence (EQ).
“I’m standing here in front of you today to encourage you to get out of your own way and take ownership of your success”, said Odegaard. “I’m living proof that everyone has their own journey. I started college at 32 and pushed myself to obtain my undergrad, master and doctorate degrees in just six and a half years.”
Odegaard stressed that a huge barrier to her success early on had to do with Imposter Syndrome and the uncomfortable feeling you experience when you think you're unqualified and incompetent. It was only when she learned to manage these thoughts that saw her true potential. She believes that what’s needed to manage Imposter Syndrome is a recognition that you have to manage the gap between excellence and perfection.
We live in a fast paced, pedal to the metal, give everything-you've-got-and-then-some world. Perfectionism is the norm and anything less than all you've got isn't going to get it. Logically we know there is no way anyone can live like that all the time in every aspect of life. Yet we expect it of ourselves – every day! Odegaard emphasized that the reality is there are times when good is good enough. When giving something 94% will get you the exact same results as giving 100%, take the energy you would have to put into the extra 6% and use somewhere you are only achieving at 80%.
When you need to give that 110%, you’ll have it to give. If you are always running with the throttle wide open you won't have anything left to give when you hit that bump in the road. When something really needs all you’ve got, be ready to give it all.
Lastly, Doc Robyn gave us some insight into some of the things she loves to further prove her formula to a balanced life. She absolutely adores the intellectual stimulation of a good conversation, reads astrophysics for fun, and spends her spare time training her dog Nebula (Nebby) to do circus tricks. NJMMA conference attendees were able to see Nebby in action, on stage (pictured below)!