Find your blind spots
What do your worst critics say about you even if you don’t agree? It’s important to be able to answer that question because your blind spots can hold you back. I’ve never lacked for confidence and pride myself on a direct approach. I appreciate that style so I assumed everyone else did as well. It took a great boss and advocate (see lesson #1) to help me see that in order to advance I had to finesse my approach and embrace vulnerability. It also required me to stay open to the feedback and to resist the urge to be defensive when this feedback was shared. Run to criticism early and often.