Forbes Woman: How to relinquish control without losing power or performance

I was interviewed by Forbes Woman for their article on how some women find the 'control-freak' tendencies that were once a career blessing become curse as they transition from high-performing individual contributor to leader.

Read the article >>

Are you in Sacramento? Join me on Ocober 28 for Poised for Leadership

Are you in the Sacramento area?

If so, you are invited to join me on October 28 at Poised for Leadership, a one-day workshop for women who want to create a roadmap into positions of responsibility, influence and leadership.

Register now, and discover what it really takes to break through into leadership, including how to:

-Project a seasoned, credible leadership presence
-Gain visibility and reward for your accomplishments
-Build a reputation as a leader, expert or go-to person
-Understand the dynamics of power in your organization
-Navigate organizational politics with savvy
-Build an influential network
-Leverage your network to gain access to hidden resources, information and opportunities
-Cultivate influence and get buy-in for ideas and initiatives
-Create, envision and lead high-profile projects.

A past participant recently said:
"... a month ago I was promoted to a Senior Manager position, three months after attending Poised for Leadership. The takeaways from the workshop have tangibly accelerated my career advancement."

Register now for $279 (discount for groups of 3 or more) >>

Poised for Leadership San Francisco, 2010

Women's Leadership Coaching Inc. announces partnership with Network of Executive Women (NEW)

Women's Leadership Coaching Inc. is excited to announce the launch of the NEW Leadership Academy, in partnership with The Network of Executive Women (NEW).

NEW's mission is to attract, retain and advance women in the retail and consumer products industry through education, leadership and business development.

The partnership provides NEW's members with access to a series of webinars that will help prepare mid-level and emerging leaders for top management roles in their organizations. These courses will be presented by Kim Zilliox, veteran career coach from Women’s Leadership Coaching, Inc. Topics in the eight-part webinar series include:

• Career Development: Plan your next career move
• Corporate Culture: How well do you communicate?
• Leadership: Tackle team building–your toughest task.

What is the difference between a sponsor and a mentor?

Question: What is the difference between a sponsor and a mentor? Do I need both?

Answer:
Yes, you need both, and understanding the difference can make a world of difference to your career.

I jumped for joy and let out a Howard Dean-like scream when I read Harvard Business Review’s Why Men Still Get More Promotions Than Women because I believe the authors have stumbled upon a game-changing, ground-breaking insight into how women can advance within corporations.

The report draws from Catalyst’s research to describe how men and women have roughly equal access to mentors, with women slightly more likely to report having being mentored. However men are still gaining an edge in the career opportunities that result. So the authors asked “If the women are being mentored so thoroughly, why aren’t they moving into higher management positions?”

Read the full article if you have time, and if you do not, here are my key take-aways:

1) All mentorships are not equal.
2) The difference is sponsorship, when the mentor “uses his or her influence with senior executives to advocate for the mentee.”
3) Men and women both get valuable advice from their mentors, but it’s more likely for men who describe being sponsored.
4) In comparison to male counterparts, high-potential women are overmentored and undersponsored.
5) The more senior the mentor, the more rapid the mentee’s career advancement.

The authors concluded by summarizing what companies could do to advance women (less over-mentoring, more accountable sponsoring) but I am more interested in what women can do with this knowledge, to advance themselves.

Firstly, I’d like to defend mentoring as a valuable career tool, and not just for the knowledge you’ll gain. Asking someone to mentor you is a good way to expand your ‘upward’ network, and it is easier than asking someone to sponsor you. Engaging mentors is a great way to break the ice with potential sponsors.

We as women do need to rethink or at least expand the role we expect our mentors to play. Most of us are comfortable seeking guidance from our mentors, asking them for performance feedback and asking for help navigating workplace situations, but less comfortable asking our mentors to open doors for us, make introductions and connect us to career opportunities. Notice if you feel a bit uncomfortable reading that last sentence, and ask yourself if you have recently asked a mentor for any of those things. In my experience, guys are more comfortable asking their mentors to sponsor them. We need to do it more.

Career Planning Conversations
Sometimes a well-placed comment is all it takes to turn a manager or a mentor into a sponsor, and you can’t know what opportunities they might connect you to until you ask.

I call these ‘career planning conversations’, because they involve A) stating your career plan, and B) actively engaging someone who has the power to help you. Here are some things you could say:

• I am interested in becoming (state your career goal). Do you know of any opportunities I should go after? Who should I speak to? Would you be willing to connect me with them?

• I am interested in (job opening). Would you advocate for me?

• I would like to work for you one day.

I was coaching a woman to have more of these conversations, and we did some role-plays. Even though it was uncomfortable, she practiced saying: “I am interested in becoming a (career goal). Can you let me know if you hear of any opportunities I would be a good fit for?” Not long after our coaching session, a senior leader stopped by her office to check in on a business issue. As he turned to leave, she blurted out her pre-prepared script, and although she felt awkward asking for sponsorship, the leader nodded, looked thoughtful, then left.

Twenty minutes later he stopped by her office again and said “I think I have an opportunity for you”.

Leading Your Leaders: Tips for Managing Upward

For our August 24 webinar titled Leading Your Leaders: How to Manage Upward, Kimberly Brown Strickland, VP, Merchandising and Marketing at Walmart was kind enough to share written answers to questions that were sent in by webinar participants.

Kim agreed to let me post the Q&A here.

Question: How do you manage upward when the managers are in different geography? - Anita

Kim Brown Strickland answers: By phone or video conference is usually better than trying to manage a situation through email. Before I physically moved to England and then Japan, I managed people and processes through conference calls from the US to other countries. You need to be able to present logical, factual answers/suggestions just as you would if you were in person. Its even more difficult through language translation so, again, be prepared to ask the same questions several different ways to get a good answer or drive the decision to closure.

Question: How do you communicate effectively so management can provide resources needed? - Leah

Kim Brown Strickland answers: Make a good case and make it simple. Provide a logical, reasonable case that shows the issue/objective and then provide pros and cons of what you need in a very simple, convincing manner. If it doesn’t work the first time, be persistent without being pesky and bring it up again, reiterating the net benefits. Resources is tough one to ask for but you need to show you’ve exhausted every other possibility or method to get things done and still need more resources.

Question: What are some suggestions to become visible and ready, to our bosses eye? - Jessica

(and from Debra: How do you manage upward so that your accomplishments are held in higher regard, with recognition and visibility?)

Kim Brown Strickland answers: I think this goes back to having mentors and advocates that will speak for you. It first starts with doing a good job, but networking and being involved in projects or initiatives or even affinity groups that show you can do more than just your job don’t go unnoticed. Your mentor or advocate can get you recognized or promoted sometimes as easily as your boss. You can also set up “career one on ones” with your boss’s boss to gain an understanding of their perspective and what they know about you and your accomplishments. You don’t have to be the one to tell them about all of your accomplishments but at least you’ll know where you stand and what conversations to have with your boss or mentor.

Question: Is it appropriate to discuss your manager with another mentor/manager? - Barbara

Kim Brown Strickland answers: I think so. You obviously need to be respectful about it but I would have to say that the majority of the conversations I have with my mentees end up being about their manager or their team members and them trying to get advice on how to handle something. I have even recently called one of my mentees managers to have a conversation about a specific situation and framed it as us developing that person together because that’s how I view it and ensuring we were on the same page.

Question: How to manage a manger that doesn't want to change - Rachel

(and from Michelle: After years of not clicking with your manager, when is it time to resign and move on?)

Kim Brown Strickland answers: This is a tough one and I have had a couple of mentees with this situation before. Its not an easy decision. At Walmart, we have an open door policy that allows you to have conversations openly with potentially your boss’s boss or even up to the CEO. So, at some point, you have to know when its time to escalate the problem. However, I’m not saying this always works, it could just be a personality/style conflict and only you know what you can live with. I have been very fortunate never to have been in this situation but know people who have and it’s generally a fairly long, fairly frustrating process. The key is that you have to happy with whatever you are doing so only you can decide when enough is enough.

Question: How do you get a "break-through" when it seems the "daily tactics" are overwhelming the strategic direction? - Kathy

Kim Brown Strickland answers: I agree that sometimes you can’t see the forest for the trees. When you get to the point where you are doing things just to be doing them and they no longer seem to align to the strategic direction, you need to stop and take a step back to re-evaluate what’s important and what’s effective and challenge the process.

Learn how to break into leadership, Orlando, September 17 2010

Join me on September 17 in Orlando for Poised for Leadership, and discover what it takes to break into leadership.

Poised for Leadership is a one-day workshop for women who want to create a roadmap into positions of responsibility, influence and leadership.

Register now, to discover what it really takes for you to break through into leadership. You will learn how to:

* Project a seasoned, credible leadership presence
* Gain visibility and reward for your accomplishments
* Build a reputation as a leader, expert or go-to person
* Understand the dynamics of power in your organization
* Navigate organizational politics with savvy
* Build an influential network
* Leverage your network to gain access to hidden resources, information and opportunities
* Cultivate influence and get buy-in for ideas and initiatives
* Create, envision and lead high-profile projects.

Poised for Leadership is receiving rave reviews from women across the US and Canada. One 2009 participant wrote:

"... a month ago I was promoted to a Senior Manager position, three months after attending Poised for Leadership. The takeaways from the workshop have tangibly accelerated my career advancement. Thanks for offering such a valuable resource to women leaders."

September 17, 9:00am - 4:30pm
Symantec Corporation, 801 International Parkway, Heathrow, FL.
Sponsor: Symantec Corporation

Register now, for $259 http://www.womensleadershipcoaching.com/pfl.htm

From the article archive: How Smart Women Win at Office Politics

By Jo Miller, 2006

Do you enjoy dealing with office politics?

Becoming politically savvy is not always viewed as a wholesome, worthy goal. The mere mention of the word "politics" triggers negative connotations.

A Senior Finance Manager had said "I refuse to schmooze and manipulate to get ahead". Yet she was frustrated after she was passed over for promotion twice. The two male colleagues who were promoted ahead of her were less qualified, but excelled at politicking.

In her article titled Seven Career Killers, author Erin Burt warns "avoiding politics altogether can be deadly for your career. Every workplace has an intricate system of power, and you can -- and should -- work it ethically to your best advantage." By becoming politically adept you can learn to:

• Rise above power plays and interpersonal conflicts
  
  
• Build a reputation as a go-to person, expert, or leader
  
  
• Gain access to resources, information and opportunities
  
  
• Influence outcomes and get buy-in for ideas and initiatives.

As you acquire the ability to navigate office politics effectively, I encourage you to let go of negative assumptions about office politics, and consider these alternate perspectives:

New Perspective #1:
Replace the word "Politics" with the term "Organizational Awareness". Doesn't that sound better already?

New Perspective #2:
Workplace politics is all about understanding communication and relationships, which women can excel at.

New Perspective #3:
Make a personal commitment to use your organizational awareness in a way that is ethical and authentic.

Now that you are armed with a positive perspective, consider taking the following steps to use office politics to your strategic advantage.

Step 1: Map the Shadow Organization
In parallel to a company's traditional hierarchical organizational chart there exists what is known as a shadow organization. The shadow organization is an unofficial, informal network of relationships and coalitions. Understand your shadow organization and you will understand how power and influence play out.

Investigate your shadow organization by playing the role of observer, as though you are a corporate anthropologist. Notice who has influence, who gets along with whom. Discover who is respected and who champions others. Who are the hubs of social interaction and corporate intelligence? Find out who really gets things done.

Create a visual map showing all key players. Classify every interrelationship, noting whether it is built on friendliness, advocacy, respect, or coercion. Note the strength of each connection, and the direction in which influence flows.

For example, when a Project Manager mapped her shadow organization, she discovered she had strong bonds with peers, but not with higher-ups.

Step 2: Build Relationships
Identify people with whom to build relationships. Take at least one month to build your network without imposing an agenda on any of the relationships.

A Manager of Human Resources went out of her way to build strong ties with her company's marketing department after she noticed they were always first to hear about new products and trends. Having access to this information allowed her to gain greater credibility in her own department, where she is now has a reputation as having a finger on the pulse of the business.

Step 3: Leverage Your Network
After relationships mature, your network can help you accomplish valuable goals and influence. For example, you can use your network to build visibility, improve difficult relationships, gain access to information, and attract opportunities.

Employing these perspectives and steps worked well for the Senior Manager of Finance who was passed over for promotion. She knew that her boss and her team did not recognize her value to the company. By mapping out relationships and spheres of influence she realized how to gain recognition and influence. Her most recent research topic was a hot-button issue for her VP, so she mentioned her findings to him in passing. At an all-hands meeting, he singled her out for praise, and recommended that their entire organization could learn from her focus on their business objectives. She continues to build her relationship with the VP by continuing to update him on her progress.

By changing your perspective on politics, and using your network, you can dramatically improve your opportunities for recognition and advancement.

Jo Miller, CEO of Women's Leadership Coaching Inc, helps women create their roadmap into leadership positions in business, with workshops, webinars and executive coaching. To learn more, visit www.womensleadershipcoaching.com

Pictures from Poised for Leadership, Minneapolis, June 11 2010

Tanuja Korlepra of Symantec just sent me the photographs taken at the June 11 Poised for Leadership workshop, sponsored by Symantec in Minneapolis.

















You can see more here >>

Read the latest edition of Women's Leadership News

In the latest edition of our e-newsletter, Women's Leadership News, you will find:

• Article: The Greatest Career Roadblock
• Emerging Women Leaders Webinar Series
• Webinar Recording from Aug 6
• Upcoming Events

Read the newsletter here>>

Do you have a go-to introduction?

Selena Rezvani is the author of The Next Generation of Women Leaders: What You Need to Lead but Won’t Learn in Business School.

Selena writes "When it comes to work, it matters how you present yourself at every turn. So what is presence and why does it matter? Presence is about carrying yourself in such a way that you are seen as credible and truly heard."

For advice on using a 30-second commercial to build a credible presence and harnesses the influence of your position and job title, read Selena's article here >>

Webinar recording is now available: How to demonstrate your leadership potential when you don’t have a leadership job title

Sorry if you missed the webinar earlier today. We had to close registration after reaching capacity of 1,000 participants.

If you missed out, visit this link for a description of the program, and for immediate access to the recording >>

Free leadership webinar tomorrow! Friday, August 6th

Are you the best-kept secret in your organization?

Join me for a special webinar event and discover...

4 Steps to Break Out of the Emerging Leader’s Quandary
(How to demonstrate your leadership potential when you don’t have a leadership job title)

Friday August 6th 2010
1pm Eastern (12 noon Central, 10am Pacific)

Click here for more information and to register >>

Schiff Hardin Women's Networking Group (WNG) reports on the Poised for Leadership workshop

On May 24, 2010, a high-energy group of 35 professional women came together to network, learn strategies to advance their careers, and support each other to take action in a leadership training seminar sponsored by Schiff Hardin LLP and Women's Leadership Coaching, Inc.

Read the full article from the Schiff Hardin Women's Networking Group (WNG) newsletter >>

Emerging Women Leaders Webinar Series, starts August 18

Create you roadmap to break into positions of influence and leadership in business!

Learn how to gain credibility, expand your influence and add to your leadership toolkit, regardless of your current job title. This year-long, six-part webinar series is designed for early-career to mid-level women in corporations.

Topics include:

• Making the Most of Mentoring
• Succeeding as an Agent of Change
• Managing Others, With or Without Direct Authority
• Leading Your Leaders: How to Manage Upward
• Purposeful Risk-Taking
• Transitioning from Employee to Manager

Guest speakers include senior-level women leaders from industry, who will share their career stories and advice.

Over 80% of participants have rated our webinars as 'very good' or 'excellent' in 2009.

Register now, for $169 >>

Corporate Packages
Would you like to offer the webinars to women across your company, for as little as $4.16 per webinar? Contact us to learn more about discounted corporate partner packages.

TechLeaders, Israel: Becoming a Person of Influence

I was invited to speak in Tel Aviv along with keynote speaker Marissa Mayer, Google's VP Search Products & User Experience at TechLeaders: Becoming a Person of Influence, hosted by Google and co-sponsored by IBM, Intel and Microsoft.

The event was made possible by my partnership with the Anita Borg Institute for Women and Technology, and a team of volunteers from the sponsoring companies, led by Google's Leora Wiseman. They will go on to lead the newly-created Technit organization, whose mission is to increase impact of women in technological fields in Israel.

Read Leora's report on the event here >>

Last chance to register! Learn how to break into leadership at Poised for Leadership, Minneapolis, June 11

Poised for Leadership is a workshop for women who want to create a roadmap into positions of responsibility, influence and leadership.

Join Jo Miller, CEO of Women's Leadership Coaching Inc for a high-impact day in Minneapolis on June 11 and discover what it really takes for you to break through into leadership.

You will learn how to:

-Project a seasoned, credible leadership presence
-Gain visibility and reward for your accomplishments
-Build a reputation as a leader, expert or go-to person
-Understand the dynamics of power in your organization
-Navigate organizational politics with savvy
-Build your sphere of influence
-Leverage your network to gain access to hidden resources, information and opportunities
-Cultivate influence and get buy-in for ideas and initiatives
-Create, envision and lead high-profile projects.

Poised for Leadership has received rave reviews from women across the US and Canada in DC, Dallas, Ottawa, RTP, San Jose, Seattle, and Toronto. Past participants have said:

"This was the best, most beneficial training I've attended in years."

"This seminar is one of the best I've ever attended. You'll walk away with a new inspiration and determination."

"Every point Jo made was relevant. We walked out with strategies for being a leader-not just in our workplace but in our daily lives."

DATE: June 11, 2010 9:00am - 4:30pm

LOCATION: Symantec Corporation, Roseville MN

REGISTRATION: $259 (Or $239 per person when registering with a group of 3 or more)

TO REGISTER, OR LEARN MORE >>

SPONSORED BY:

Brown University: How hard work gets promoted, in academia

From the blog of Brown University's ADVANCE Program, building on my recent post about what's wrong with working hard:

"... we should not be shy about marketing our ideas and work, whether individual professors or an ADVANCE program office. We shouldn’t assume others will notice each accomplishment."

The ADVANCE Program seeks to increase the retention and advancement of women faculty in science and engineering.

Read the blog post >>

Why women rock… the auto industry

By Cortney Ewald-Ihde, Director of Ewald Auto's Automotive Advantage Employee Perk Program.

Women are a powerful force in the automotive industry.

Not only do we buy over half of the new vehicles sold every year (54%), we influence up to 80% of all purchase decisions. This is on top of that fact that we account for 65% of service work done at dealerships. All in all we provide $200 billion dollars worth of buying power to the industry! Not too shabby for us ladies, if I do say so myself!

Despite this massive buying power that we posses, we still only make up 8% of car salespeople across the country. A lot of this could explain why so often women feel the need to bring along a male “security blanket” to help them shop. Hopefully you do not fall into this category but, if you do, it is really not surprising at all.

The fact of the matter is that women shop and buy differently than men.

Visit Cortney's blog to read the full article>>

What’s wrong with working hard?

As chief financial officer for Morgan Stanley, Ruth Porat is the firm’s most senior-ranked female executive, and one of a small handful of women currently serving in C-level positions on Wall Street. (Here she is profiled by the Wall Street Journal)

It is a tough job with tremendous responsibility, and you could be forgiven for assuming Porat is a proponent of working hard.

In fact, she is quite the opposite. Quoted recently in the New York Times, Porat remarked “One of the biggest problems women have is they work really hard and put their heads down and assume hard work gets noticed”.

The workforce is full of smart, talented, hard-working women who sit at their desk delivering outstanding results to the benefit their company. The problem is, they are relying on the assumption that someone from management will eventually stop by and recognize their hard work.

If your plan to get a promotion or a raise only involves work harder, you should plan on waiting a long time, because hard work alone does not guarantee reward and recognition. You need to take additional steps that make your accomplishments visible.

Take five minutes today to step away from your desk and your work. Go interact with a leader who has the power to advance your career. Ask them how they are doing, and when they return the question, tell them you are doing great, and briefly mention a recent accomplishment, e.g.: “I’m doing great. I just got nominated for an innovation award”.

That’s how hard work gets noticed.

9 ways to that show you are an up-and-coming leader

Have you ever wondered what it really takes, to get promoted?

A number of years ago I was speaking with a leader who I consider to be highly successful. By her mid-30’s she was managing a large business division. As I was asking her what steps she had taken to get there, she confided in me “I just wish there was a roadmap for women that described how to advance”.

It was such a great question, and since no-one seemed to have a clear answer, I made it my personal mission to understand the factors that set apart successful women leaders who have advanced into positions of responsibility and leadership in the corporate world.

Here’s what I discovered. In no particular order, here are nine things to do more of in order to be recognized as an up-and-coming leader who is poised to advance into positions of responsibility and leadership.

1) Project a seasoned, credible leadership presence

2) Gain visibility and reward for your accomplishments

3) Build a reputation as a leader, expert or go-to person

4) Understand the dynamics of power in your organization

5) Navigate organizational politics with savvy

6) Build your sphere of influence

7) Leverage your network to gain access to hidden resources, information and opportunities

8) Cultivate influence and get buy-in for ideas and initiatives

9) Create, envision and lead high-profile projects.

To learn how to integrate these skills into your daily work-life, join me for Poised for Leadership, a 1-day workshop for women who want to break into positions of responsibility, influence and leadership in business.

Dates: May 24 in San Francisco, and June 11 in Minneapolis.

Register now or learn more >>