Lead, Be Heard, Make a Difference … and Have Fun Part III
Introduction
Last week we looked at Prepping the Engine Room of Your No1 Asset: YOU. But now, how are you going to get the quality of your thinking across in the Board Room with confidence, conviction and persuasion?
Until we reach 50:50, being a woman in the Board Room could still feel novel or challenging – for you, and sometimes for the men in the room. It could also feel ambitious, stimulating, and irresistible as an opportunity to enhance the business. If you’re ready to dive in, brilliant, we’ll look at how to optimise the contribution you make.
But if you have some doubt, let’s address that first. Do you need to ‘know it all’ before you join the c-suite or the Board? Executive search consultants observed in the WiH2020Review (https://pwc.to/2XaoI4C) that ‘generally, women only consider applying for a new role if they think that they can meet all the job criteria, as opposed to men who are, generally, more prepared to apply if they meet only part of the criteria.’ This mindset has been called Imposter Syndrome and it unleashes our Inner Critic. Even Albert Einstein and Maya Angelou are said to have suffered from it.
Article 3: Board Room Presence to Make a Difference
Let’s tackle Imposter Syndrome. Your Inner Critic is designed to keep you safe from harm and from shame – that fear of not belonging. It’s powerful, it’s necessary and you can’t get rid of it – but you CAN tame it.
Tip 1
Name your doubt. For instance: ‘I don’t have enough experience of the right kind, and they’ve only asked me to join the Board to improve diversity at the leadership level’.
Now, come up with 100 reasons why… you are sought after in this business. Yes, 100. You may think of 3 or 4 and then dry up. 5
to 10 could feel like climbing Mt Everest. But after about 15, you’ll be on a roll. And don’t be tempted to wrap it all up in one, like: ‘I’m a good listener’ when, if you dig into ‘good listener’, you also find: strong intuition, expanded awareness, empathy, collaborative mindset. – that’s 4 more. When you have about 100, take 10 every morning and give
each one 30 seconds of your undivided attention – roll them around in your head, get under their skin, OWN THEM.
Tip 2
Another question – ask yourself ‘What am I like when I am at the top of my game?’ Think back to when you were running a workshop or leading a team, and tune into the conditions and emotions. Mark two columns on a page and jot down half a dozen in the THIS column.
Then think about when you were below par, 10-15% off your game, and tune into those conditions and emotions. Jot them down in the Not THAT column. Now, before you get there – to the Executive Team meeting, the Board Room or the conference where you are delivering a paper, check in to This, Not That, your back pocket TNT, and ‘increase the odds that you are the best version of yourself most of the time’ courtesy mbs.works. Repeat often.
Now for the Board Room Presence piece:
We’ve all been asked to lead a presentation we’re not particularly interested in, but that’s crucial for the business and our visibility at the top level. We get through it competently, but we don’t light up the room. And then someone asks a good question which expands the discussion on to territory you know and love talking about. Suddenly, the energy changes, and you have everyone‘s attention – it’s not because of the material, it’s because of you. So how do you tap into this mindset?
Conclusion
Tip 1
For this job, meet the 4th of the 5 women’s PowerTypesTM we all have within us: Warrioress. She’s energetic, courageous, youthful and fun. She sees opportunity, trusts instincts and then acts quickly. An exercise to tune into her:
Turn something regularly un-fun into fun. Exercise? The dishes? Your weekly ‘work in progress’ with your team? Get creative and make it fun, not just a little, but WILDLY fun.
Tip 2
Spend 5 minutes with a child, work colleague or friend. And be 100% present.
Tune into the last of the 5 PowerTypesTM for this: Mother – it’s time to connect with your primal senses. And No, you don’t have to be a mother to do this. She’s nurturing, patient, kind and looks to bring the best out in others.
Being 100% present is powerful. A room full of Board members will immediately feel it and engage with you. Remember though – you can’t fake it. Practice a few minutes every day, on the basis that incremental change will have exponential impact.
These articles are intended to help you into the c-suite or Board Room and sustain you there, empowered, emboldened and fun to work with. They’re my 3 Ps: Purpose, Preparation, Presence and that’s how I got there.
If the content of this article resonates, and you would like to explore how to shift your mindset to lead, be heard and make a difference, message me for a complimentary Strategy Call on LinkedIn or email me at nancy@sparkstonecoaching.com