Friday, June 29, 2007

Free Teleclass: What does it really take, to get promoted?

Since her recent 'aha moment', Leslie Scida has been closely studying her abundance of client promotions, in order to delve more deeply into the mindset of women who have taken charge of their career path, actively sought out a promotion… and won!

Join us for a free teleconference where I interview Leslie Scida about her findings, including:

1. THE PITFALLS: What factors do women typically overlook, that hold them back from getting promoted.

2. THE AHA MOMENTS: What new insights do Leslie’s clients gain in their coaching sessions, to break through and get recognized for promotion?

3. THE ACTION STEPS: What accountabilities did they take on, that resulted in success?

Date: Thursday, July 19
Time: 8pm EDT, 7pm CDT, 6pm MDT, 5pm PDT (for 1 hour)

There will be a forum for Leslie to address your questions.

There is no charge for this teleconference (we like to ‘give back’ in support of our mission to increase the number of women leaders globally), but you must pre-register.

Click here for more information on the class, and to register.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Getting A Promotion

I'm on the phone with Leslie Scida, one of our most experienced Women's Leadership Coaches, updating her bio for a proposal we are working on. It occurred to me that quite a number of her clients have landed promotions recently, so I asked how many. She estimated 25%, maybe 30%. I asked which was it, 25 or 30%? Getting curious, Leslie calculated the rate of promotions across her entire coaching client base, and came up with this amazing statistic:

Over 60% of Leslie's coaching clients have successfully negotiated a promotion within the last ten months.

We were both stunned. Our stated mission is to increase the number of women in leadership positions globally, but until today we never stopped to realize we were actually doing it!

Sunday, June 17, 2007

Q&A: What do you need to know about emerging as a leader?

What questions do you have about emerging as a leader?

Post to the comments section and let me know what you would like to learn about navigating office politics, getting promoted, being strategic, becoming more visible, developing leadership presence, building your brand as an emerging leader, taking the lead... whatever!

Friday, June 15, 2007

Did You Micromanage Someone Today?

I met with a manager this week who is transitioning into a new role (fantastic!!) and is training her replacement.

We were discussion the difficulties of handing over her work to the new hire, so just for fun I role-played how delegation usually works:

Step 1... DELEGATE: Give them a task.

Step 2... PROD: Follow up a few days later and ask "Did you get it done?" (accompanied by a wild finger-jabbing gesture).

Step 3... Wake up to the fact that you've just become your worst nightmare: A MICROMANAGER.

After my demonstration, the manager burst out laughing and asked if I had been reading her mind.

The TASK->PROD style of delegating leaves you feeling guilty of 'helicopter management', hovering over someone, sending them the message that you don't trust them to take ownership of their work. Or, if your style tends more toward conflict avoidance, you are left to guess at whether they will complete the task, and hope that a few passive-aggressive glances will guilt them into producing the goods.

Is there a better way? Well, Yes! In a nutshell, the model for effective delegating goes like this:

Step 1: Describe the overall vision or objective

Step 2: Co-create clear expectations

Step 3: Co-create accountability

Step 4: Positively challenge them to deliver a high standard of excellence.

Step 5: Give frequent feedback

Step 6: Celebrate their success!

I will elaborate more on each step in the upcoming edition of the newsletter, which you can opt-in for here.

Wednesday, June 13, 2007

Winning at the Game of Office Politics

Here's a link to my article on how to effectively navigate office politics, without becoming a political animal.

Financial Women's Association

In my first opportunity to partner with the Financial Women's Association (FWA), PricewaterhouseCoopers in San Francisco are hosting a members-only networking breakfast on June 26, and I will be speaking about Winning at the Game of Office Politics (I know office politics is not everyone's favorite topic, but it actually is one of mine!).

Registration and details are at the FWA web site.

Thursday, June 7, 2007

Poised for Leadership Seminar Wrap-Up

The most recent cohort to experience our flagship seminar, Poised For Leadership, started back in March with two lively and content-rich days at the San Jose Radisson. It was Leslie's first time co-facilitating with me. This group are a dynamic cadre of women holding diverse roles in banking, sales, technology and HR. What they all share is a common drive to not let their careers run on auto pilot, but to actively take the lead, confer leadership upon themselves, and 'Act As If' in a more responsible leadership role.

To share just a few of the feedback comments we received:

"Rarely have I attended a conference so rich in usable materials. I have new tools in my "bag" that I can use immediately and with excellent results."

"The Women in Leadership course is a fast-paced and fun two days of solid learning and networking opportunities. Anyone who aspires to leadership is highly recommended to take this course - both for the specific range of tactical and strategic skills taught and for the growth and self-insight gained."

"I found the seminar extremely useful. The seminar made me realize key areas that I need to focus on particularly my personal vision of the leader that I intend to become. With your help, I was able to achieve clarity in my personal vision."

Thanks, ladies... keep taking the lead!

We'll post dates soon for upcoming seminars in Denver and San Francisco. Sign up for the newsletter to receive notification. If you have a corporate group of 25 or more emerging women leaders who would like to experience the power of Poised for Leadership, contact me and we will discuss customizing a program for your team.