What are you avoiding? It is a powerful question to ask yourself. When I ask this question of my clients, they will usually start with the items on their to-do list. I keep asking them what else they are avoiding until they get to the items that they don’t want to bring up, but know they need to discuss. These are the things that they don’t know how to do, deliverables that are higher exposure, conversations that they don’t want…
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What would you do if someone stated in front of a room of people that you and/or your team didn’t do what was expected on something? Would you say something to defend yourself and your team or keep quiet? This is a situation that you may not have to face often, but when it happens, it is a bit of a defining moment. Most of the time it comes down to the level of confidence that a leader feels in…
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Which leader are you? The one who tells their team the answers or the one that asks their team for options and recommendations? I definitely thought that I had to have all the answers in the beginning of my leadership journey. I thought I had to know what to tell my team when they had questions and if I didn’t know, then I felt like an impostor. That thinking was so wrong. You have a team for a reason! They…
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Is there such a thing as being too nice? When you read that question, was your initial response a yes or a no? My parents taught me to treat others with kindness and encouraged my sister and me to avoid conflict with our friends. As adults in the workplace, it isn’t always possible to avoid conflict. There may be issues between departments, team members who don’t get along or managing the work of outside vendors that can lead to conflict….
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One of the biggest changes that I have made since I left my corporate career is being comfortable taking imperfect action. It is so empowering to try things and experiment vs. having to get it all right. Now I implement imperfect actions each day without the worry of what anyone else thinks. It is incredibly freeing to do things without any fear. Looking back in my past, the word imperfect wasn’t a part of my vocabulary. I wore the crown…
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I remember working for someone who wanted to know updates on what I was doing each day. It made it difficult to get anything done with all her requests and I wondered if she had lost trust in me. She was a bit of a micromanager, but I also understood that she was under a lot of pressure from our management. We were working on a high exposure program that had high expectations and impact for the organization. My manager…
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A leader who doesn’t feel ready for leadership responsibilities will struggle to trust their abilities. They will compare themselves to everyone else, live with doubt and insecurity. They want to show up authentically, but because of their own doubts it isn’t easy for them. Brene Brown said that “authenticity is a practice and you choose it every day.” I like to believe that all leaders are doing the best that they can to show up authentically. They may not even realize that…
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It is important to celebrate the wins that my clients have as they increase their confidence and become It is important to celebrate the wins that my clients have as they increase their confidence and become more visible. They can’t always see how far they have come, so I like to spend some time reviewing their progress with them. Have you reflected on how far you have come in your own visibility journey? Think about where you started and where…
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I know you think your manager knows what you are doing, but you need to know the truth, they don’t. They are in as many meetings as you are and don’t have the visibility to all of the things that you are doing. They can’t possibly stay completely up to date with the latest status of your projects and your team unless you tell them. You may want to ask them how they would like to stay updated. You can…
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Look at the choices that you make every day. Are you focused on doing the easy things that keep you in the background or the harder things that could put you into the spotlight? This isn’t always a conscious thought, but more than likely the easy things are what you already know and would be considered the safer choices. The harder choices are what can help you be more visible and give you more career options. They are scarier to…
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