We were lucky to catch up with Dr. Sohee Jun recently and have shared our conversation below.
Dr. Sohee, so great to have you with us and we want to jump right into a really important question. In recent years, it’s become so clear that we’re living through a time where so many folks are lacking self-confidence and self-esteem. So, we’d love to hear about your journey and how you developed your self-confidence and self-esteem.
My personal motto and one that I share with my coaching clients is that “confidence is built through and in the doing.” I think so many people think about confidence and analyze how they can have self-esteem or have more of it and compare themselves with people they perceive as being super confident and often get stuck in circular process about it and one that often ends up in shaming oneself, etc.
And, what I’ve learned through overcoming many challenges in my own life (being a South Korean immigrant in the early 80’s, navigating life in a different country, going for and getting my Ph.D., being laid off in one of my early jobs, losing loved ones, divorce, having children and the list goes on and on); that it’s in those moments that I take stock of how far I’ve come, lean into my strengths and embody that I can and have gone through challenges. It’s a mindset game in which we learn to frame situations with more compassion for ourselves as we go through it and the actual situation itself.
Confidence is an outcome of the actions you take. And I’m not necessarily talking about the big life milestones or hurdles. It can be as “small” as showing up for yourself to get a workout in which when you do what you say you’re doing to do and literally, “show up,” that builds more trust with yourself which ultimately builds more self confidence.
The truth is, no one is always confident. When you’re in the mindset of growing and learning and taking on more and different experiences (jobs, etc.), confidence will feel a bit shaky even if you’ve done something similar. The ‘hack’ is to pause, reflect on how you’ve overcome past hurdles, breathe, lean into trusting that you can do it and take a micro step forward. That’s the game of how I’ve developed my (more stable) confidence and self esteem and it’s the “secret,” yet not so sexy sauce of how people develop it over time.
Great, so let’s take a few minutes and cover your story. What should folks know about you and what you do?
What I do is create lasting and powerful transformation for women who want to be their most authentic, integrated selves at work and in life!
As a top leadership coach to high achieving women and female leaders, athletes and creatives, it’s an honor that I get to partner with them on this career and life journey and challenge them to be their best, confident self! I absolutely love what I do and feel that it’s a career where I get to use my superpowers (of empathy, deep and powerful listening and insane curiosity to help unlock challenges) and deep expertise in leadership, mindset, emotional intelligence and organizational psychology.
I am so passionate about this work with women who often come to me to overcome their inner critic, imposter syndrome, build lasting core confidence and elevate their presence at work. The best part is that the work I do with them helps them in their personal lives as well! Having been a leader with Fortune 500 companies myself, I know exactly what those challenges feel like. And, it’s my mission in life to transform the landscape of leadership so that more women are in these roles and leading in all aspects of their work and lives.
I’m also thrilled to share that my 2nd book: The Inner Game: Secrets of High Achieving WOmen for Navigating Work, Life and Mindset comes out March 5th! This book is a powerful read.
As my mentor and friend, Lois Frankel shares: “Sohee Jun is the coach every woman needs. Between the advice gleaned from the women ‘at her table’ to her own invaluable insights, open up to any page and you’ll find a spot-on piece of advice that will help you to step fully into your potential. I don’t know a professional woman at any level who wouldn’t benefit from the wisdom, warmth, and inspiration contained in this book.” Lois P. Frankel, Ph.D., author of Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office
If you had to pick three qualities that are most important to develop, which three would you say matter most?
Great question! Looking back, the tie-through in my journey has been these three things: adaptability; curiosity and resilience. And, I think these skills are so important in today’s dynamic landscape! Our world is changing faster and faster, technology has brought so many upsides as well as challenges and the world of work requires that we stay adaptable and resilient through it all. And, my quality of being curious (about people, work, the world) has led me to a wonderful 20+ year career where I get to impact and improve the lives of everyone I work with! That’s what gets me up every day and going forward, joyfully.
The advice I would give to anyone early on in their journey is to connect with people genuinely. In today’s “instant” world, we forget that building things (career, friendships, relationships of any kind and wins) take time. It takes people to do it. Despite how cool technology can be in all the ways we leverage it; it’s always going to be about connection with each other and being of service through people that will propel you forward.
Who is your ideal client or what sort of characteristics would make someone an ideal client for you?
The ideal client to work with me are professional women who are ambitious and are leaders now or want to be a leader and want to show up as their most authentic selves. They are going through a transition in their work and their lives whether it’s from being a team member to now leading a team or leading a bigger team with more P+L responsibilities to those that are looking to pivot in their careers. I also work with people who really want to transform and no longer be held back by imposter syndrome and playing small in their lives so that they can reach their definition of success.
To add to that, I work with high achieving women who have even higher expectations for themselves and those they work with. They strive to achieve their goals, but often feel overwhelmed and burnt out from juggling numerous responsibilities. They find themselves constantly pushing against the current, believing it’s the path to success, yet deep down, they sense there might be another way. And, ultimately they come to me to seek guidance and to initiate change, they are eager to explore new possibilities and embark on a transformative journey in working with me.
I’ve helped countless women build core confidence, elevate their presence and navigate career transitions with more grace and spark and joy than if they were to go at it alone. It’s such a powerful process we embark on with skills that help them navigate life successfully!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.soheejunphd.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/soheejun_phd/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sjunphd
