Apparently, I need a foam school bus

My mom is a teacher, and she was collecting donations for school supplies for underprivileged kids at a local grocery store.

She needed help handing out flyers.

Of course I said yes. It's a great cause. And it's my mom.

There was just one problem:

I was absolutely terrified.

I stood behind my sister for probably 20 minutes holding a stack of flyers while she did all the work.

I could not make myself walk up to a stranger.

I kept telling her, "I don't understand why this is so hard for me."

Because here's what makes absolutely no sense:

I can speak in front of a room of 50 people.

I can walk into a meeting full of high-powered law firm partners and tell them exactly what I think we should do.

I can interview without breaking a sweat.

But approaching a stranger outside a grocery store and saying, "Hey, would you like a flyer?"

Apparently THAT is where my courage ends.

It felt intrusive. I was bothering people. I was asking them for something when I hadn't given them anything.

I wanted to go home.

And then my sister handed me a foam school bus.

It was one of those big photo props with the front windows cut out, so when you held it up, your face looked like it was inside the bus.

And something in my brain immediately switched.

I put on We Like to Party by the Vengaboys.

I stuck my face in that school bus.

And I danced my ass off.

Suddenly I wasn't hiding in the corner anymore. I was waving at people. Dancing. Handing out flyers. Making people laugh.

It. Was. On.

And later, I couldn't stop thinking about how ridiculous it was that a piece of foam had completely changed my behavior.

Then I realized:

The bus gave me a persona.

And personas, apparently, make me brave.

Because without it? 

I felt like the child version of me. 

She doesn't want to draw attention to herself. She's afraid of rejection. She so desperately just wants to fit in. 

But Public Speaking Kayla?

Legal Project Manager Kayla?

Put-Me-In-A-Room-With-50-People Kayla?

Those versions of me know exactly what they're doing.

They're still me.

But they're versions of me that I've given permission to behave differently.

And that's what I want you to think about the next time you walk into an interview terrified.

What if you didn't have to walk in as you?

Not because you should pretend to be someone you're not.

But because you can create a version of yourself specifically for that room.

Norma Jeane Mortenson famously created Marilyn Monroe.

Marshall Mathers has Eminem and Slim Shady.

Beyoncé invented Sasha Fierce as an onstage alter ego to channel boldness, high energy, and confidence she felt she lacked offstage.

There's a reason performers have been doing this forever.

A persona gives you just enough distance from your fear to do the thing anyway.

So maybe Interview Kayla isn't thinking:

"Oh God, I hope they like me."

She's thinking:

"I know how to do this work. I'm here to help them figure out whether I'm the person they need."

Same person.

Same experience.

Same qualifications.

Different posture.

And sometimes, apparently, that's all your brain needs.

So if interviews make you want to crawl out of your skin, I have an experiment for you:

Who is Interview You?

What does that person sound like?

How do they sit?

How do they answer a difficult question?

What do they believe about themselves when they walk into the room?

You don't need to become someone else.

You might just need your own version of a foam school bus.

Hit reply and tell me: Who is your interview persona?

Bonus points if you give them a name.

P.S. I have a free community filled with people who have successfully made the move into project management. 

👉Sign up for the PM Positioning Community here