Young Economists Drinks Exchange - 23rd February 2012
I am delighted to be here this evening. Thank you for the invitation from your President to speak to you.
My short talk is about how it is never too early in your career as economists to build your executive presence.
First, let me explain what the term "executive presence" means. It is more than building your personal brand or how you market yourself. That is perfectly valid. But executive presence is broader than personal branding and it particularly looks at how you are perceived by others you work with as well as those you interact with externally to your organisation.
To explain it, every single day, we are all being judged by our fellows in three ways: how we look, how we behave and how we speak. I will use the acronym of L - A - W which is easy to remember.
L is for how you look, your personal presentation (your attire, your shoes) and grooming
A is for how you act, your behaviours, your choices, strategic networking is certainly part of it
W is for words, the words you choose to use in different forums, in formal meetings, informal social gatherings like this one, when you present to a senior Board or perhaps in a forum like the senior public servants who you see on television being grilled in forums like the Senate Estimates hearing.
Why does this matter if you are really great economists and turn up to work most days and get your graphs, statistics and reports in on time?
It doesn't matter if you want to keep doing what you're doing now; that is perfectly fine. Not everyone has the desire to become a senior manager or executive leader.
But if your career goals are to be in a senior executive role before you're 35, then yes L A W does matter a great deal.
Has everyone heard of Doug McTaggart? Doug is the CEO of QIC and has been since 1998 - so 14 years at the top there. Previously senior public servant Under Treasurer of Department of Treasury, prior to that senior academic at Bond University and PhD from the University of Chicago. Doug has published a lot of research and has also co-authored economic textbooks that many of you would have studied in your degrees. He's a very sought-after speaker at top conferences and institutes.
Doug has executive presence in spades.
Here are 10 ways that you as young economists can start building a strong executive presence, in other words your leadership profile:
10 Ways You Can Stand Out as a Leader
1. In meetings in the workplace, be the first to speak on a topic when the Chairman opens it up for general discussion. If you don't speak up at all, you will be close to invisible. You are not seen to be adding value. But if you are the FIRST and LAST to talk, you will be remembered as a strong contributor after the meeting is over, especially by senior managers.
2. Look around your organisation and industry for a successful leader whom you admire. Invite her or him to be a mentor. This is a great way to learn direct from someone whose reputation and achievements you wish to emulate in your own career.
3. Learn to be a confident public speaker. Do a group presentation skills course and then get heaps of practice. The secret to becoming confident in this space is getting the practice in. Volunteer to be the presenter at your organisation's next client breakfast, or prepare a paper, submit it and present it at an Industry conference.
4. At the next Business breakfast or luncheon you attend, be the one to get to your feet and ask an insightful question for the keynote speaker when invited to do so. You will be visible to all as someone who is really listening and thinking about the topic as well as someone who is a self-assured professional.
5. Dress for the job you want, not the job you have. Choose a role model who will be a more senior person in your organisation or externally, someone who has a sense of style and presence. Adapt your own style accordingly.
6. Develop yourself as The Guru in your specialist field of economics. You can become the person who gets into print about your topic in your professional magazine or website and/or start writing a blog. Over time, you can become the person who is the acknowledged expert in your specialty area. You will be the one the media rings to ask for comments or interviews.
7. Are your professional memberships working well for you? Select one of your memberships and get more involved by joining a committee or taking on an honorary position.
8. Consider joining a membership organisation outside of your profession or discipline that will expose you to new people, different ideas and will stretch your mind and your network enabling you to increase your sphere of influence.
9. Read outside of your own discipline to develop a good general knowledge which is beneficial to your becoming an interesting and interested conversationalist across a range of situations.
10. Being a good conversationalist in formal and social situations is about having some questions to ask and then listening as people respond happily to your "small talk". Ask them about themselves, their profession, their organisation, their sporting interests, their next holiday and they will think you're a fantastic conversationalist.
Thank you and all the very best to you all in building your executive presence.
Lynne Lloyd
Managing Director
People Results
Tel: 07 3910 1003
Executive Coaching
Talent Development
www.peopleresults.com.au
People Results has a range of talent development short programs for professionals, managers and executives including our popular half-day program, Executive Presence, which is offered as an in-house program or regularly throughout the year as a public program. You can contact us on enquiries@peopleresults.com.au for more information.
Wednesday, 22 February 2012
Thursday, 16 February 2012
Step Out to Ultimately Step Up
Why do CEO's, Managing Directors, Managing Partners and other senior leaders give presentations and keynote speeches? Surely their time resources are so stretched that there are more important and pressing matters on their plate than giving a public speech on the latest financial data or industry innovations or economic predictions. What's in it for them? Obviously they are keen to promote their organisation whether it is an ASX-listed company such as Westpac or a Government-owned financial giant like QIC.
For instance, why does Doug McTaggart, the CEO and Managing Director of QIC turn up year after year at the suburban Chamber of Commerce Breakfast to present his graphs and forecasts post Federal budget? Yes, he is there as the head of QIC but he is also there to reinforce his own successful leadership; he is there as the CEO super salesman. Equally he is there to promote and reinforce his own executive presence as a highly successful and respected senior business leader. He is reminding the business community at all levels that he has been there at the helm, steering QIC from strength to strength surviving the tough times and diversifying, expanding and growing the business.
Many CEO's and Managing Directors are salespersons-in-chief. They know there is a lot of mileage for them personally as well because, while they are promoting the success stories of their organisation, they are promoting themselves as a senior executive success story. They know they will not have to apply for their next role whether it is a senior executive role or whether they want to secure Board directorships or Chairman roles. They will be discreetly approached for these scarce opportunities and will be appointed rather than have to go through a competitive selection process.
So in ways that are consistent and acceptable within the culture of your organisation, always be promoting what you have achieved, giving credit where it is due to others, and sharing your ideas and vision. You must be visible and noticed by those who matter; you need to step out to ultimately step up.
If you would like further ways to build your executive presence, consider attending a People Results' Half-Day Executive Presence workshop held regularly throughout the year. Contact us at People Results for the next available date, or visit our website at www.peopleresults.com.au
For instance, why does Doug McTaggart, the CEO and Managing Director of QIC turn up year after year at the suburban Chamber of Commerce Breakfast to present his graphs and forecasts post Federal budget? Yes, he is there as the head of QIC but he is also there to reinforce his own successful leadership; he is there as the CEO super salesman. Equally he is there to promote and reinforce his own executive presence as a highly successful and respected senior business leader. He is reminding the business community at all levels that he has been there at the helm, steering QIC from strength to strength surviving the tough times and diversifying, expanding and growing the business.
Many CEO's and Managing Directors are salespersons-in-chief. They know there is a lot of mileage for them personally as well because, while they are promoting the success stories of their organisation, they are promoting themselves as a senior executive success story. They know they will not have to apply for their next role whether it is a senior executive role or whether they want to secure Board directorships or Chairman roles. They will be discreetly approached for these scarce opportunities and will be appointed rather than have to go through a competitive selection process.
So in ways that are consistent and acceptable within the culture of your organisation, always be promoting what you have achieved, giving credit where it is due to others, and sharing your ideas and vision. You must be visible and noticed by those who matter; you need to step out to ultimately step up.
If you would like further ways to build your executive presence, consider attending a People Results' Half-Day Executive Presence workshop held regularly throughout the year. Contact us at People Results for the next available date, or visit our website at www.peopleresults.com.au
Monday, 6 February 2012
What is influence and is it important to have it?
How influential are you within your workplace or community? Do others respect your views? Do they seek you out on issues, asking for your advice and eager to hear your thoughts? Perhaps people come and metaphorically “sit at your feet” and listen with deep absorption.
In ancient times the common people would gather to hear orators give forth their views and hold their audiences spellbound with their brilliance. These philosophers and religious figures had no political or positional power yet they were influencers whose names we still know today. Names such as Plato and Aristotle.
Influencing skills are as critical in the 21st Century as they ever have been and perhaps even more so because the stakes are so much higher. We need to be effective influencers in all kinds of situations, organisations and countries. So let’s take a look at what personal influence actually is.
It is defined in the Concise Oxford dictionary as “the capacity to have an effect on the character or behaviour of someone or something….” So we can see that influence is active. You cannot sit in a meeting with other managers and executives, say nothing and be influential. To be influential, we have to move and say and take some decisive actions. Even when someone becomes influential without trying to be influential - quite possibly because they have been around for a long time and have “paid their dues” - it is their observable actions that have accumulated and been observed by others that cause them to be perceived as “influential.”
Another key element is that, if we are effective influencers, there are observable outcomes, i.e. “effects on the character or behaviours of someone or something.” So influence is a kind of personal power that produces changes. It is a subtle and controlled form of power that is writ with a small, discreet ‘p’ not an aggressive, commanding “P.”
The other major element of personal influence is that it is potentially in the hands of everyone and not just those at the head of a family, organisation or government. It is fascinating to think how women have used their influence. Not generally occupying the most powerful positions in society, women have adapted and used their high intuition and empathy to sense what others need and want. It turns out that empathy - literally the ability to put oneself into the other person’s head and heart - is a precursor to effective influencing.
Over time women have unconsciously - as well as intentionally - used their influence in extraordinary and highly effective ways. Just one example is Abigail Adams, the wife of the 2nd President of the United States. Abigail was greatly influential behind the scenes. She writes privately to her husband in March 1776:
"I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.”
More information on Abigail's letters to her husband is at: www.thelizlibrary.org/suffrage/abigail.htm
Influence is a female strength that is now being openly acknowledged. It is a strength that women can bring to the table as they join men to play their parts in solving the complex social, political and business issues in this first century of the new millennium.
So, to summarise, influence is active, not passive. It produces real and observable outcomes. And influence is open to everyone regardless of their positional, economic or political power.
Do you want to become more influential at work or in your community? People Results offers a short course on practical influencing strategies and skills for the workplace: “Influential Practices.” A public workshop is being held in Brisbane on Wednesday 29th February 2012 and we invite you to register for it.
Please share this information with colleagues and others in your network. All details are on the People Results’ website at http://www.peopleresults.com.au
People Results’ Influential Practices workshop is also offered as an in-house program exclusively for your team members. To discuss this option or any other matter, you are invited to ring or telephone Lynne at People Results on +617 3910 1003 or 0421 998749.
Look out for our next article on The Influencing Mindset.
In ancient times the common people would gather to hear orators give forth their views and hold their audiences spellbound with their brilliance. These philosophers and religious figures had no political or positional power yet they were influencers whose names we still know today. Names such as Plato and Aristotle.
Influencing skills are as critical in the 21st Century as they ever have been and perhaps even more so because the stakes are so much higher. We need to be effective influencers in all kinds of situations, organisations and countries. So let’s take a look at what personal influence actually is.
It is defined in the Concise Oxford dictionary as “the capacity to have an effect on the character or behaviour of someone or something….” So we can see that influence is active. You cannot sit in a meeting with other managers and executives, say nothing and be influential. To be influential, we have to move and say and take some decisive actions. Even when someone becomes influential without trying to be influential - quite possibly because they have been around for a long time and have “paid their dues” - it is their observable actions that have accumulated and been observed by others that cause them to be perceived as “influential.”
Another key element is that, if we are effective influencers, there are observable outcomes, i.e. “effects on the character or behaviours of someone or something.” So influence is a kind of personal power that produces changes. It is a subtle and controlled form of power that is writ with a small, discreet ‘p’ not an aggressive, commanding “P.”
The other major element of personal influence is that it is potentially in the hands of everyone and not just those at the head of a family, organisation or government. It is fascinating to think how women have used their influence. Not generally occupying the most powerful positions in society, women have adapted and used their high intuition and empathy to sense what others need and want. It turns out that empathy - literally the ability to put oneself into the other person’s head and heart - is a precursor to effective influencing.
Over time women have unconsciously - as well as intentionally - used their influence in extraordinary and highly effective ways. Just one example is Abigail Adams, the wife of the 2nd President of the United States. Abigail was greatly influential behind the scenes. She writes privately to her husband in March 1776:
"I long to hear that you have declared an independency. And, by the way, in the new code of laws which I suppose it will be necessary for you to make, I desire you would remember the ladies and be more generous and favorable to them than your ancestors.”
More information on Abigail's letters to her husband is at: www.thelizlibrary.org/suffrage/abigail.htm
Influence is a female strength that is now being openly acknowledged. It is a strength that women can bring to the table as they join men to play their parts in solving the complex social, political and business issues in this first century of the new millennium.
So, to summarise, influence is active, not passive. It produces real and observable outcomes. And influence is open to everyone regardless of their positional, economic or political power.
Do you want to become more influential at work or in your community? People Results offers a short course on practical influencing strategies and skills for the workplace: “Influential Practices.” A public workshop is being held in Brisbane on Wednesday 29th February 2012 and we invite you to register for it.
Please share this information with colleagues and others in your network. All details are on the People Results’ website at http://www.peopleresults.com.au
People Results’ Influential Practices workshop is also offered as an in-house program exclusively for your team members. To discuss this option or any other matter, you are invited to ring or telephone Lynne at People Results on +617 3910 1003 or 0421 998749.
Look out for our next article on The Influencing Mindset.
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