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BOLD GROWTH: FOR PROFESSIONAL SERVICES LEADERS
Your Leadership Identity: Do You Respond Like a Leader?
This article is part of our women’s leadership series on creating leadership identity, based on principles from Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, by Lois Frankel, Ph.D. Be sure to refer back to the previous article of this series, on how playing to win shapes your leadership identity. We have hundreds of interactions and situations we encounter in a day. They’re virtual and live; written and spoken. They take place via email, social media, phone calls, or in meetings and presentations. Your responses in any given interaction broadcast your leadership potential. With this leadership identity trait, Dr. Frankel points out that many women are socialized to respond to situations in ways that are docile, polite, or acquiescent. Women are not typically taught to stand their ground or respond in powerful, assertive ways. Think for a moment about how you respond to what’s happening around you. Many times...
Your Leadership Identity: Do You Play the Game to Win?
This article is part of our women’s leadership series on creating leadership identity, based on principles from Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, by Lois Frankel, Ph.D. Be sure to refer back to the previous article of this series, on the power of verbal presence in shaping your leadership identity. What comes to mind when you think of the word “business?” a) A chess match or sport where people are playing to win b) An event where people come together and collaborate c) Both a and b d) I don’t really think about it, I’m too busy If you answered C, you’re correct. Business and the workplace in general, are both a grounds for collaboration and teamwork, but also competition. According to Dr. Lois Frankel, “the workplace is a game. It has rules, boundaries, winners, and losers. Not only is it a game, but the rules of the game change from organization to organization and from department to department...
Your Leadership Identity: Leading Through Your Verbal Presence
This article is part of our women’s leadership series on creating leadership identity, based on principles from Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, by Lois Frankel, Ph.D. Be sure to refer back to the previous article of this series, on the power of visual presence in shaping your leadership identity. Think about last week at the office. If you’re like most, you probably: Sent and received a minimum of 100 emails per day. Sent and received dozens of voicemails. Took many calls in your car or from your cell phone. Were on multiple conference calls and webinars, plus daily meetings. Commented on various social and professional sites, like LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. Instant messaged, texted, Skyped, and Google Voiced. (If you have children, you were probably checking on their social media, texting, and Skype activities.) In today’s business world, the methods, the speed, and the sheer volume of...
Your Leadership Identity: Leading Through Visual Presence
This article is the fourth of our 7-part women’s leadership series on creating leadership identity, based on principles from Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, by Lois Frankel, Ph.D. Be sure to refer back to the third article of this series, on how our actions speak loudly when it comes to assertiveness, decisiveness, and confidence – all traits of a strong, effective leader. “Research shows that about 55 percent of your credibility comes from how you look. How you sound accounts for an additional 38 percent. Only 7 percent of your credibility is based on what you say.” - Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office On the surface, those numbers are a little intimidating. It’s humbling to think that before someone even evaluates the substance of our message, that they are making quick judgments about us based on our visual and verbal presence. Even if you’re a healthy skeptic on statistics, it’s smart to...
Your Leadership Identity: Leading Through Your Actions
This article is the third of our 7-part women’s leadership series on creating leadership identity, based on principles from Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, by Lois Frankel, Ph.D. Be sure to refer back to the second article of this series, for practical ways you can actively cultivate your brand and shine a light on your expertise. No doubt you’ve heard the saying, “Your actions speak so loudly that I can’t hear a word you’re saying.” In this article, we’re going to cover how you act, or those self-initiated behaviors that speak to your level of assertiveness, decisiveness, and confidence – all traits of a strong, effective leader. Taking some wisdom from Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office, Dr. Lois Frankel describes it this way: “Success in the world of business depends on your ability to know your part and how to play it . . . we are judged by whether we understand the nuances of what it...
Your Leadership Identity: Leading Through Your Personal Brand
This article is the second of our 7-part women’s leadership series on creating leadership identity. In the first article of this series, I defined leadership identity and its importance to your career path, and the seven building blocks for creating and cultivating it. One of those seven is how you brand and market yourself. “Branding and marketing yourself” is a fancy phrase for how you choose to project what is unique, genuine, and quality about you. I purposely use the word choose , because it is your choice to actively design and build awareness for your personal brand, or passively allow others to do it for you. Your brand and how you cultivate awareness of it can determine what leadership opportunities you have in the future. One of my mentors, Dr. Lois Frankel, describes it this way: "Brand names get a reputation as a result of two things: consistent quality and marketing. One without the...
The Essential Building Blocks for Your Leadership Identity
In my work with emerging women leaders, I talk often about creating a leadership identity. A lot of questions come up. What is it? How do I create it? What does it mean to my leadership path and career? So many great questions. With those in mind, I’ve decided to create a series on this important topic over the next several issues of Impact. I’ll begin by painting the big picture of leadership identity and its building blocks. Future articles will give you more detail on each building block, along with actionable tips you can put into practice, so you can create and enhance your unique identity. First, let’s define leadership identity. What is it? It’s your presence in your work and in the world. This is about your physical and mental presence, your attitude, your readiness to take on new challenges and make an impact. It’s how you “show up” every day and for every interaction. Do you show up...
10 Leadership Strategies from the CEO Suite
by Amy Franko Have you ever wondered what it takes to be an executive-level leader or CEO? I have had the privilege of moderating a panel of well-known CEOs. The topic was on perspectives from the CEO suite, and our panelists shared insights on their pathways to the top – along with the challenges, the rewards, and the lessons. These CEOs came from a range of industries, representing large organizations in banking, insurance, and aviation. I had no idea what twists and turns to expect in the conversation, as moderating a panel of major CEOs was a new experience for me. I think we all have our pre-conceived ideas of what a CEO may be like, and this group was a breath of fresh air – candid, approachable, and very willing to share their experiences. Many ideas were shared, and I’ve created list of some of the real-world strategies that helped them to reach the CEO suite. Even if your leadership goals...
Add These Power Phrases to Your Vocabulary
Our leadership credibility has many components, one of which is how we organize and articulate our thoughts. In your daily workplace interactions, become aware of those around you and how they communicate – in email, voicemail, meetings, or conference calls. How well do they articulate their message? What words and phrases are used? What tone or pitch of voice? How are they received overall? In my work with emerging women leaders, there’s one area of communication that can be especially challenging, not to mention sabotaging – our use of powerless words and phrases. I see it and hear it all the time, and often it’s completely subconscious. But when you begin to look and listen for it, you’ll know what I mean. Phrases like: “I’m sorry…” “It was a team effort…” “I’m no expert…” “I was just doing my job…” If you’d like to improve your leadership credibility, a great place to start is by banishing those...
Dealing Well with Conflict: Don’t Avoid this One
At almost every keynote or workshop I give on women in leadership, I usually talk with at least one woman afterwards on how to manage conflict with grace. This is never an easy topic, especially for many women. We’ve been conditioned to avoid conflict or controversy, and find compromise. Let’s face it. We want to be liked! We don’t want to hurt another’s feelings. We want to live in a collaborative environment where everyone plays nicely in the sandbox. A few areas that this seems to rear its ugly head the most are when: We’re faced with providing any kind of negative feedback. We have a difference of opinion, and we’re concerned with offending others by sharing it. And when we’re faced with these situations, more often than not, we back down, find ways to soften our message, or we walk away altogether, hoping the situation will just disappear. The result? Those actions leave us deflated and not the...
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