What are the top experiences that you have had in your career? Think of some project or team that you were a part of that made a huge impact on you. That experience helped you gain knowledge, learn a lesson, grow as a leader, bond as a team, or perhaps you made the impossible, possible. So are you going to keep that all to yourself or are you going to share what you learned? Every person that I work with…
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How many times have you said or done something that you wished you could take back or change? I remember standing in front of a large audience at a conference and being so nervous. It was in the middle of the conference hall and not in a private room which is where all of my other speeches had been. There were no chairs for people to sit on. It was like speaking in the middle of the shopping mall and…
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Which leader in your life made a difference for you in your career? I can think of several throughout my career, although they may not have even known it. They didn’t see what they did or said as anything special. To them, they were just doing their job and what they thought was right for me. If I had to narrow it down, I would say there were 5 key things that they did for me: Stretched me out of my…
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“Do you believe in me?” That is the question that most employees want to ask and get the answer from their managers, but they won’t ask it. Why won’t they ask the question? They are too afraid to hear the answer. Instead, they create stories of what their manager might be thinking…”What if my manager has stopped seeing my potential or doesn’t think I am ready for the next level?” So instead of simply asking the question, they will try…
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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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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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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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When you have tried to do something repeatedly and it doesn’t work, then you have to shift gears and try a different approach. Sam was faced with this challenge in his role as a program lead supporting his executive leader. Although he is a director, he has the responsibility for getting many VPs to deliver what is needed for the program. He understands that they are busy, but he feels like he is constantly trying to track them down to…
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