Our Archive

Blog Archives

Dropinceo > Blog > deb coviello

The Ultimate Guide to Mastering Empathetic Communication

Summer is beginning to wind down, but I’m still receiving plenty of “out of office” notifications, and honestly I couldn’t be happier. I’m seeing more people prioritize their time and as a culture, I know we’re shifting to a more fulfilling way to work and live. 

It’s because of that shift that I wanted to take a moment to discuss communication and how we can be more intentional about the way we share information. Over the past few weeks I’ve shared ways to create boundaries around your own time and email habits, but today I wanted to give you a few pointers on how you can communicate in a way that allows your team to uphold those same boundaries you’re trying to implement for yourself, while still being productive. 

At the end of the day, it’s up to you as the leader to set the standard of how and when you communicate with your team. I’m hoping that these insights will give you some direction when making plans for upcoming projects.

Here are some key takeaways for creating empathetic communication habits:

  • The Power of Lean Communication: Get straight to the point in your subject lines, use concise language, and include a clear call to action. This approach not only grabs attention but also shows your commitment to helping others.
  • Start with Gratitude: Even if the previous communication wasn’t respectful, take the high road. Thank the other person for any information they provided. This sets a positive tone and fosters better results.
  • Clear Call to Action: Make it easy for others to respond and help you. Specify what you need, offer assistance, and set up a meeting to walk them through the details.
  • Respect Others’ Time: Keep emails short and to the point, with no more than five sentences. Include attachments for additional details and close with a respectful salutation.

By following this framework, you’ll not only be seen as an empathetic leader but also enjoy higher response rates. I encourage you to try these tips and see the difference they make.

If you are aspiring to the C-Suite, and tired of the hustle, are you ready to change how you work and implement these tips? 

If you are a business owner or C-Suite leader, are you ready to invest in your people and help them be successful? Their success is your success! 

Now is the time for you to collect your thoughts and take action. I want you to succeed and this framework can enable you to do it yourself. 

However, if you need more help, I’m here for you as the Drop In CEO, CEO whisperer or as a sounding board. 

To hear more about my story about framework, please tune into my podcast that is releasing this Friday 7/28/23. 

Maybe you simply need a support system to apply these new insights. I find leaders need a place to talk through the challenges and that’s why I created The Drop In CEO Collective, a forum for C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow. To learn more about our next event you can visit our page and register. 

Would you rather have a quick 1-2-1 to discuss your specific challenge? Could The Drop In CEO be your support system? Direct Message me on LI or contact me via my website and let’s have a conversation. Until then, I wish you much success. 

Read More

Mastering the Art of Unplugging

This year, I’m embracing simplicity, and I’ve got three pillars to guide me: investing in myself, expanding my reach to help more of you, and prioritizing my well-being. I’m happy to report that my recent annual physical showed that these efforts are paying off!

One of the biggest challenges of prioritizing well-being can be the challenge of disconnecting from work, especially when on vacation. I’ve been there, constantly checking emails, and I know it’s a struggle. But I’ve learned that most emails can wait, and it’s all about discipline and time blocking. I’ve also learned the hard way that strategic work should be a priority. After a wake-up call in the form of a negative performance review, I took a course on understanding what’s important versus urgent and developed new strategies.

Here are a few of my top tips for prioritizing and managing time in the summer:

  • Take stock of your current workload and prepare your backup for your time away. It’s never too early to make sure your replacement has all of the information they need to be successful.
  • Prepare for your vacation by reaching out to your customers and internal stakeholders beforehand. Introduce them to your backup to ensure business continuity and peace of mind for everyone involved.
  • Try turning off your phone in the middle of the day. It’s a game-changer. You’ll be able to focus on creating lasting memories with your loved ones and leave a positive impression on those around you.

Remember, it’s not about being on top of your email, but about creating meaningful experiences. What legacy do you want to leave behind?

If you are aspiring to the C-Suite, and tired of the hustle, are you ready to change how you work and implement these tips? 

If you are a business owner or C-Suite leader, are you ready to invest in your people and help them be successful? Their success is your success! 

Now is the time for you to collect your thoughts and take action. I want you to succeed and this framework can enable you to do it yourself. 

However, if you need more help, I’m here for you as the Drop In CEO, CEO whisperer or as a sounding board. 

To hear more about my story about framework, please tune into my podcast that is releasing this Friday 7/21/23. 

Maybe you simply need a support system to apply these new insights. I find leaders need a place to talk through the challenges and that’s why I created The Drop In CEO Collective, a forum for C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow. To learn more about our next event you can visit our page and register. 

Would you rather have a quick 1-2-1 to discuss your specific challenge? Could The Drop In CEO be your support system? Direct Message me on LI or contact me via my website and let’s have a conversation. Until then, I wish you much success. 

Read More

The Most Practical Framework for Assessing Your Career Goals

So often, we hustle and try to get the work done. We cover for people that are on vacation. We’re so busy trying to keep all the balls moving that we forget that we as leaders need time to pause and reflect. Are you feeling overwhelmed and unsure of your next steps in your career or business? Sometimes the most important thing you can do to move forward is taking breaks and zooming out to gain clarity and focus.

The hard truth is that if you fail to take breaks, circumstances may provide one for you. I never used to own up to this. I have been let go from jobs a handful of times, and I can tell you the time off was life changing for me. When I got away from the work at hand, I gained so much clarity. Each time I had to dust off my resume or pause to think about my guiding principles for the new opportunity that I was seeking, I gained so much insight. When you’re in a job and you’re zoomed in all the time, you don’t take the time to assess where you’re going. If you need to slow down or speed up or change course, it’s best to do it intentionally before life does it for you.  

I remember being let go from a job that I probably shouldn’t have taken to begin with, but the money was good. I soon realized that I would not pursue that line of work in the future because it did not feed my soul. And quite frankly, I was miserable. These breaks are so important, yet fail to take them intentionally. We would rather wait for life happens to us and reflect when we’re in crisis.

If you want to be intentional about your next break, I’ve created a simple framework to make the most of your time:

  • Ask your boss for feedback: Ask what you can start doing, stop doing, and change in order to be more successful in your current position.
  • Give actionable feedback: When sharing your observations with your team, make sure there are tangible outcomes for them to pursue. 
  • Identify your actions: Listen to feedback and choose 1 or 2 actions you can take in the next quarter and focus solely on those things.
  • Make those actions a habit: Once you’ve gone to all the effort of making a change, hold yourself accountable to make that change a habit for long-term success. Deb shares her personal experiences and provides a framework for setting intentions, assessing progress, and making changes. By focusing on one or two changes at a time, you can celebrate your progress and stay on course towards your goals.

In a world that values hustle and constant productivity, it’s easy to forget the importance of taking breaks and gaining clarity. It’s essential for leaders to reflect on their actions and make changes when necessary. So take a deep breath and zoom out. Your career or business will thank you for it.

If you are aspiring to the C-Suite, and tired of the hustle, are you ready to change how you work and implement these tips? 

If you are a business owner or C-Suite leader, are you ready to invest in your people and help them be successful? Their success is your success! 

Now is the time for you to collect your thoughts and take action. I want you to succeed and this framework can enable you to do it yourself. 

However, if you need more help, I’m here for you as the Drop In CEO, CEO whisperer or as a sounding board. 

To hear more about my story about framework, please tune into my podcast that is releasing this Friday 6/23/23. 

Maybe you simply need a support system to apply these new insights. I find leaders need a place to talk through the challenges and that’s why I created The Drop In CEO Collective, a forum for C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow. To learn more about our next event you can visit our page and register. 

Would you rather have a quick 1-2-1 to discuss your specific challenge? Could The Drop In CEO be your support system? Direct Message me on LI or contact me via my website and let’s have a conversation. Until then, I wish you much success. 

Read More

Stop the Hustle! Why C-Suite leaders work smarter and get promoted faster

Did I just say that? Did I dispel every belief you had about working harder to get ahead? I’ve learned the hard way that you can only get promoted so far with your technical capability and hard work and then you hit a wall and then you get frustrated. 

I’m even more frustrated when leaders in the C-Suite are not transparent about what to tell their staff why they cannot get ahead. Could it be you want to protect their resources? Or do they lack the skills to articulate feedback that will either help the employee or steer them in the right direction? 

Well, today is a new day and I’d like to share with you my experience and a framework that can help you to work smarter and get promoted faster. 

In a past role, I worked hard and I received 4 promotions in 7 years. That all came to an end when my advocate moved on and then I was stuck. I started shopping myself around within the company and no door would lead to where I wanted to go both career and financial. Instead I turned my energy outside and with that move to a new company, I was moved up again to 2 promotions in 4 years. This success happened by taking control of my career, networking with the right people and setting goals for myself.  I soon learned that hustle doesn’t always work but the way you work will get you ahead faster.

So let’s turn to you: How do we turn this into a framework that can work for you? 

5 Tips for working smarter, not harder towards your career goals

  • Advocates: are people who have your back and are always singing your praises. Lean into it, see how you can help, they are the ones that will promote or pull you ahead.
  •  Messaging: It’s not what you say, but how you say it – I teach this information vs. messaging; an essential skill you need. Contact me if you want to learn more, I talk about this as one of the highest missing skills for up and coming leaders
  • Talking points – aka executive presence. What are the 3-5 things you believe in and are your core values? Have stories to demonstrate them and be ready to showcase them in an interview or presentation. When you lead with talking points, you create consistency in your messaging and you become a trusted resource. 
  • Stakeholder management – when starting a project, know who the stakeholders are and make sure you have a relationship with them. Consider meeting regularly and when you have  your next initiative, float it to them for their input so when you position it, they’ve already bought into your idea.
  • Build an external network that is intentional. I regret not having done this while working within a company. I had 800 LI connections when I started and now I have 7500 and growing. With more eyeballs on you and your experience, the greater that there will be pull vs. the constant push.

If you are aspiring to the C-Suite, and tired of the hustle, are you ready to change how you work and implement these tips? 

If you are a business owner or C-Suite leader, are you ready to invest in your people and help them be successful? Their success is your success! 

Now is the time for you to collect your thoughts and take action. I want you to succeed and this framework can enable you to do it yourself. 

However, if you need more help, I’m here for you as the Drop In CEO, CEO whisperer or as a sounding board. 

To hear more about my story about framework,  please tune into my podcast that is releasing this Friday 6/16/23. 

Maybe you simply need a support system to apply these new insights. I find leaders need a place to talk through the challenges and that’s why I created The Drop In CEO Collective, a forum for C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow. To learn more about our next event you can visit our page and register. 

Would you rather have a quick 1-2-1 to discuss your specific challenge? Could The Drop In CEO be your support system? Direct Message me on LI or contact me via my website and let’s have a conversation. Until then, I wish you much success.

Read More

How Setting Personal Boundaries can Lead to Success

I love working with CEO’s, C-Suite Leaders and leaders of tomorrow, because they’re so talented; but sometimes they hit a barrier and need my help. My heart hurts when I see them struggle and it validates the work I’m meant to do; to help them navigate challenges with confidence. One trend I have noticed is their inability to set personal boundaries to ensure their success.  

For me, as you can see I’m a prolific content creator and I produce 1 guest and 1 solo episode a month. However, I have some vacation time and a few client projects that need to get done and I can’t also be doing my usual networking and podcasting through the summer. So I’ve built an inventory of interviews and closed down my calendar for a month in June /July when I won’t be recording. I’ve also limited my calendar to allow only a few networking meetings. Setting boundaries gives me some breathing room to not feel stressed, manage my client work and also enjoy my summer. Setting boundaries feels uncomfortable to me at times, but at the same time, I have a sense of calm and peace of mind that I’m in control

How do we turn this into a framework that can work for you? 

  • Inventory the things that can be delayed / don’t have to be done for the next month or reduce the number of activities.
  • Set your schedule when you will start work, end work and force yourself to shut down your computer. For me, I start early, but I have my schedule such that most days I am done at 5. I close my laptop and know I’ve run out of energy to be most effective. I discipline myself to stop and know I’ll have twice as much energy the next morning to get those things done.
  • Time block when you will do administrative work, interactive work with colleagues/meetings, creative time – I know this is not always possible, but unless you plan your work, how will you ever get to a point where you feel like you’re in control?
  • If urgent matters come your way – pause and assess (delay) how urgent it is, or could it be delayed a few hours until you finish your creative or collaborative work uninterrupted. Sometimes people simply want to be acknowledged and know they will get your undivided attention when you are ready.
  • Take 20 minutes at whatever point in the day you feel like you start to wander and get off track. I’ve taken a late lunch between 2-3 and sat outside for 20 minutes. It’s very calming to my nerves. I told you I’m in personal wellness and when I go, go, go, my heart rate remains in the 70’s all day. When I pause for 20 minutes it goes back down into the high 50’s and it’s almost like I’ve had a nap. I come back to my work and the batteries are charged. 20 minutes for yourself won’t negatively impact your day. Go now, and take 20 for yourself!

By the way, I’m not perfect!  I’m continually honing this skill. If I fall off the wagon I realize that tomorrow’s another day to be successful and learn how to set boundaries.

So there you have it! It’s not a difficult concept, but sometimes difficult for leaders to enforce self discipline. People are watching your behaviors. Failure to change will have a ripple effect in your organization leaving everyone stressed and in less than optimal health. 

Now is the time for you to collect your thoughts and take action. I want you to succeed and this framework can enable you to do it yourself. 

However, if you need more help, I’m here for you as the Drop In CEO, CEO whisperer or as a sounding board. 

To hear more about my story about framework,  please tune into my podcast that is releasing this Friday 6/8/23. 

Maybe you simply need a support system to apply these new insights. I find leaders need a place to talk through the challenges and that’s why I created The Drop In CEO Collective, a forum for C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow. To learn more about our next event on June 13th you can visit our page and register. 

Would you rather have a quick 1-2-1 to discuss your specific challenge? Could The Drop In CEO be your support system? Direct Message me on LI or contact me via my website and let’s have a conversation. Until then, I wish you much success. 

Read More

Self-Doubt, Adaptation, Failure: What to Do When You Miss the Mark

This past weekend, I planned every detail for serving 100 people at a curling tournament and planned every last detail to create an amazing experience.  Everyone said the food & hospitality was great, but I was so hard on myself when I failed twice. My homemade mac n’cheese was a big hit, but I underestimated the amount to make. People came to me looking for more of it for which I smiled and redirected them to the abundant soup, salad and bread. While there was plenty to continue to feed them, I shrugged off that miss only to make another mistake. We ordered sandwiches for Sunday pick up, but when my volunteer confirmed I had ordered it for Saturday instead, I couldn’t believe I made that mistake. We picked up the sandwiches and stored them until Sunday. I soon learned that bread can not withstand salad dressing and tuna fish for 24 hours. I felt so bad, but did anyone really notice? Probably not, but I did and again felt I missed the mark. 

So what does too little mac n’ cheese and soggy bread have to do with business? It is a story about being human and how we are conditioned to respond to such failure.  In business we fail to prepare leaders to manage these setbacks. We focus on the 1% of failure and fail to celebrate the 99% of successes we take for granted each day. I see so many C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow lacking a framework, I’m compelled now to share some ideas to change your mindset. 

What to do when you miss the mark!

Self Doubt: Acknowledge it! By doing so, it shows you’re growing. Reflect on why you feel this way. Did anyone else doubt you or just you? Was there an experience in the past that you’re projecting now? It’s okay to have these feelings, but the key is in how fast you can move on. What did you learn? Can you take note and apply next time? Self doubt can quickly move you to action.

Adaptation: With this new insight, can you create a system that helps you to adapt to self doubt, identify an action, improve and repeat. Adaptation is your skill to respond to changing conditions and the ability to execute with a new current state. Did you make a mistake in a presentation? Could you have reviewed with others in advance? If yes, can you do this going forward to minimize risk? I know you can! So is it really self doubt any longer?

Let’s talk about failure: I suggest you shift your mindset. Consider you have 100 opportunities of success each day. How do you feel about being 99% successful? You wake up in the morning, take your vitamins, put out the trash, pack your lunch, get the kids to school on time… why do we adopt the narrative of failure? Could we celebrate 99% good and with that 1%, celebrate an opportunity to improve? If nothing else, you build a good story to tell others and get a laugh from our humanity!

Returning back to mac n’ cheese and soggy sandwiches… I now know that curlers are hungry people; really hungry! If I have to feed 80, I now know to prepare for 90. With regard to ordering food a day early; next time I’ll have someone else check my work. Error proofing was not built into my process. I’ve accepted this and despite some soggy sandwiches, I had plenty of soup and other leftovers to keep our curlers happy! 

Now is the time for you to collect your thoughts and take action. 

Don’t let “missing the mark ” be your narrative and dictate your ability to adapt and and improve everyday. You know you’re wildly successful and occasionally you’ll be human in the process.

Are you getting ready to do another presentation, but you fear failure because your last one did not go so well? Did you fail to get that initiative over the finish line, but learned more about stakeholder management? Not sure how to manage through another crisis because the last one you were in did not fare so well?

Maybe you simply need a support system to apply these new insights. I find leaders simply need a place to talk through the challenges and that’s why I created The Drop In CEO Collective, a forum for C-Suite leader support. To learn more about our next event, you can visit our page and register. 

Would you rather have a quick 1-2-1 to discuss your specific challenge? Could The Drop In CEO be your support system? Direct Message me on LI or contact me via my website and let’s have a conversation.

Until then, I wish you much success. 

Read More

How The Leadership Desert Will Destabilize Your Busines

This week I had an epiphany based on trends I’m seeing in business that can lead to destabilization of your business. Small and medium size businesses continually elevate subject matter experts with some management experience and hope the essential skills of leadership will catch up. And then we look sideways at that person in the corner who raises their hand, asks well thought out questions, may even be the squeaky wheel and we “manage” their presence vs. realize they’re a future leader. Failure to recognize leadership in your organization or even a system to evolve leadership in an organization will lead to a leadership desert; leaving C-suite leaders in wonderment why their business is not thriving. 

Just this week while facilitating a workshop at a client, a few people who were lower in the hierarchy were rather quiet; letting the discussion continue with more senior leaders in the room. When there was a pause, they came forth with the most profound statements and questions that completely turned the conversations in a different direction from sometimes rabbit holes we were falling into. While I was successfully brought our workshop to technical conclusion; I realized there were quiet leaders in the room for which most leaders will not recognize them. We finished our business and these individuals went back to work. However, on my next visit, I’m going to suggest we flip the accountability of the project to those individuals and we are in service to these leaders.

Leaders are all around us, but we lack the lens to see them. When we don’t see them and take the time to evolve their inherent leadership skills we run into situations for which business will lack the talent and the work results ebb and flow. The Leadership Desert is a real thing and we need to be talking more about it to raise awareness and have the courage to take action. 

If this is a challenge for you as a C-Suite Leader or you see people on your team struggling with this exact same issue, but you don’t have the capacity or capability to address, please have the courage to leverage a support system. The Drop In CEO community can help you. 

Drop in to my next Drop In CEO Collective offered on March 20th and click here for your exclusive invite to this offering. This forum is for C-Suite Leaders of today and tomorrow. Mostly the Leaders of Tomorrow are coming for which they’re gleaning so much help to them get into the C-Suite. I invite C-Suite leaders to attend because a) you may gain some insights for yourself and b) you may see this as the place for your leaders of tomorrow to gain the skills they need. 

It may be the best investment of 50 minutes towards resolving the Leadership Desert. 

Let me know; I’d love to support you. 

Until then, I wish you much success-Deb

Read More

C-Suite Leadership Messaging is the greatest under developed skill

With my 35 years of business experience and the last 4 years in my own, coaching C-Suite leaders of today and tomorrow, one of the most under developed skills is in messaging vision & strategy.

I have seen so many talented leaders including myself successfully delivery tactical content only to be deflated because we were unable to move the needle, spawn conversation or achieve the outcome we seek to achieve. It becomes a source of frustration for many and then creates limiting believes and a negative mindset about ones’ capabilities. Ultimately it deflates confidence for which stuck C-suite leaders of tomorrow cannot find a path forward. 

In this week’s Drop In CEO Collective, I provided a framework for which I have found is starting point to not only craft your 30 second elevator pitch for your vision & strategy, but gets you to think differently.

Here is the framework, an example of good and a very bad example of what not to do:

Framework:

  • Grounding statement that relates your Topic to a greater strategy (gets people to wake up and listen)
  • Provide more details and context that justify why the topic is important
  • Propose a solution or course of action to spawn conversation.

Example of good:  Evolving our Root Cause Analysis capability is critical to reaching long term defect reduction in order to create a greater customer experience. By implementing this training & coaching program within these functional areas in the next 24 months, we will not only see a reduction in our customer defects, but we will be the first business unite of its kind to take a step forward in investing in our people which pays many dividends in employee loyalty. I propose we have a follow up workshop in the next two weeks to work out the details of the strategy, deliverable timeline and necessary resources.

Example of bad: We need to purchase now the Root Cause Analysis training package in order to train all employees across 3 business units using state of the art software that enables collaboration and real time reporting. When we implement the new tool, we should be able to show people how to do RC analysis more effectively and ultimately reducing our defect rate from 5% down to 2% which is our 2024 goal. The cost is $25,000 and would like to discuss how / when we can move forward with this proposal.

The good example aligns the leaders message to a greater strategic goal, provides a bit of context to help people to understand the impact and a call to action to move the conversation forward.

The bad example is from a place of siloed thinking and provides too much detail for which people may deflect or delay any constructive conversation leaving the messenger deflated. 
. 
The attendees of this past collective agreed that this was a different way of thinking and this could help them to craft more impactful messages and be seen, heard and respected as a C-Suite Leader. 

If this is a challenge for you as a C-Suite Leader or you see people on  your team struggling with this exact same issue, but you don’t have the capacity or capability to address, please have the courage to leverage a support system.

Drop in to my next Drop in Collective offered on March 20th and click here for your exclusive invite to this offering. 

It may be the best investment of 50 minutes towards effective Messaging for influence & impact. 

Let me know; I’d love to support you. 

Until then, I wish you much success-Deb

Read More

What C-Suite Leaders are missing to get back on track

On the way to work I got a flat tire. Nothing special, it’s happened to all of us! The unfortunate thing was the people who installed it completed a transaction and got paid for putting on a new tire. However, they never drove it around to assure the seal was intact and the vehicle was safe. As a consumer, I want the assurance that I don’t have to worry about the flat tire happening. While driving at high speed, all of a sudden my tire pressure alert came on and showed it dropped from 35 to 20 and ultimately to 6. I was rescued by AAA and got my tire repaired by my tire dealer who said it is possible there was dirt that enabled a leak and a loss of pressure. They added bead seal and assured me after pumping it back up, it was safe.

The problem with this situation is the service provider was seeking a result – install a tire and get paid. For the consumer, I wanted Peace of Mind; knowing my vehicle was safe and the service provider had assured the workmanship was sound and validation the car would work in the end application. A big fail from a consumer perspective.

Yet the same pattern exists for C-Suite leaders; getting the results and claiming success. I propose to you that C-Suite leaders who seek results are in reality in pursuit of Peace of Mind; knowing they can sleep at night and won’t get that late night call.

Peace of Mind is a state of being for which you know you, your team and the consumer is cared for. It’s not a number, but when you do the right things and see the consumer happy, you know you have Peace of Mind.

I felt very dissatisfied after the transaction with the tire repair place and I have my fingers crossed each time I get into my car. However, this story is meant to inspire those leaders who seek results and then realize there was a better way of helping their teams to perform at the highest level based on purpose and elevating individual performance.

I would love to give a copy of my book The CEOs Compass: Your Guide to Get Back on Track to the tire repair place so they can assure their customers Peace of Mind. If you don’t want to be “That Person” who is only seeking results and truly understands that pursuing Pease of Mind is a better use of their time, consider a copy of the book to help you get there with The CEO’s Compass. 

If you would like to discuss more your situation and how Peace of Mind will get you to a different place because you’re stuck and don’t know how to get back on track, please reach out to me. I can be your compass and guide.

-Deb Coviello

Read More

How Executive Presence is the Game Changer to Get to the C-Suite

Executive Presence is often not discussed as part of performance reviews or even 360 feedback, but is an unspoken necessity to be perceived as ready for the C-Suite. Even this article I link to “Are you a Leader Struggling with Executive Presence”  only speaks to the physical attributes of how you show up to give presentations which alone won’t cut it. Contrary to executive coaches or image specialists who work mostly on the external presence, only a few will discuss the internal presence which I find is more critical. Want to learn more? Read on…

Write down your answers to these questions which qualify how you will project yourself into our community

  • Why do I lead and what type of leader am I?
  • What am I most passionate about
  • What am I willing to put money down on that if we followed would make a difference
  • How do I see the world differently
  • What do I believe in that I would pursue, even if I wasn’t paid for this work. 

I never had coaching while I was in corporate (so many of us don’t get that opportunity) and it was only after I sought coaches as a business owner that I arrived at presence. How do I know I “arrived”. Every time I show up at a networking event, introduce myself on a new team or speak on a podcast, I have the same talking points and people know what I stand for:

  • I guide C-Suite Leaders of Today and Tomorrow to navigate challenges with confidence
  • I do this because I want them to struggle less and do more of the things they want to for themselves or with family, friends and community
  • I assess organizations through the CEO’s Compass with focus on Peace of Mind vs. Results to get back on track

When I show up now, people will actually comment I have great presence. They love how I introduce myself and they know what I’m about. This can be you as well.

Write down your responses to the questions you pose and ask yourself if you have clarity? Could you talk about these insights every time you show up? Does it give you confidence when you speak? 

Post your responses in a prominent place to remind yourself. Practice applying them. What response did you get from the audience you were trying to influence?

If this exercise intrigues you, but you’re still not sure how to apply, send me your responses and I can leave you a voice message on my thoughts. You can also DM me on Linkedin. Are you ready to take action? I’m here to support you.

Conclusion: You don’t need a new haircut, wardrobe or communication training until you understand who you are and why you exist to make a difference. The rest is complementary to the entire package of executive presence. 

If you find this article helpful, I would be forever grateful if you shared with a friend. I can also subscribe them to the newsletter if you give me permission. Just message me back. 

Wishing you happiness, health and great memories as we enter the holiday season.

-Deb

Read More