In today's episode I'm answering a listener question from Ibrahim, who works in sales at the Vivendi Group Africa.
And the question deals with getting better results without working more.
Welcome back to Speak Up, the podcast for high-performing introverts, including you social introverts, where we reveal the communication and executive presence secrets of the A-listers so that you get the recognition and the opportunities you have earned.
I am your host, Laura Camacho, your magical executive presence coach, godmother, and strategist.
And in today's episode you will learn the three high impact mindset shifts that signal executive presence without burnout.
You're going to find out how to move from proving yourself to positioning yourself in your conversations.
And I'm going to give you some questions you can use for a simple weekly self-review to accelerate your leadership evolution.
So today's episode comes from this listener question, as I mentioned earlier, and I love the question because it signals ambition, self-awareness and leadership readiness.
And that to me is like dark chocolate with salt on it.
Absolutely wonderful.
He says, how do I outperform my earlier self?
Let me repeat that.
How do I outperform my earlier self?
He's not asking how to beat his competitors or how to work harder, but how to perform.
Your earlier self, which is what we should all be focused on is being better than we were yesterday.
We're not chasing noise.
We're chasing growth with intention.
So I'm going to tell you about a way to do that that builds executive presence, not exhaustion.
I'm going to give you three shifts to make that are going to totally help you accelerate your development as a leader.
So let's think about reframing this whole question.
Now most high performers.
I'm sure you'll agree.
When we think about improving our performance, we think oh, we've got to work more hours.
Oh, we've got to hustle more.
We need to close more deals.
We need to apply more pressure.
We need to do more, more, more.
But executive presence is not about doing more.
Now listen, it's about identifying and then doing what matters more deliberately.
So it actually means and this is hard to implement but it actually means You have to stop doing some of the things that you're doing right now.
I mean, I'm sure we are all super busy.
That's not what makes you look executive.
An executive assistant is very busy.
A frontline employee can be very busy.
We want to get to the top level of leadership.
Okay, so here are the three shifts that will help you outperform who you were yesterday or last week.
So shift number one and I see this in so many of my clients they are still focused on proving themselves and not positioning themselves.
So you want to go from proving to positioning.
And that's a key component of the executive presence mastery system, by the way.
If you're focused on proving value, this is what it looks like.
You're explaining more than what the audience really needs or wants.
You may be talking faster.
You may be over preparing.
You may be answering every objection immediately.
You are maybe focused on looking smart, looking like you know what you're talking about.
And that's great in early career.
The thing is for senior level presidents, especially in a global organization like Vivendi or some you know.
I know a lot of you work for these amazing global enterprises.
So it's about positioning yourself.
And that's one of the first questions that to develop your executive presence, you need to be able to explain who you are in the context of your company and your industry.
So here are three good questions to help you identify that position.
So number one is what perspective do I bring that others don't?
OK, I'm just going to give you an example from myself.
You know, there's a lot of executive presence coaches out there, communication coaches.
Most of them are from theater.
They are very performance as in stage performance oriented.
And I am a card carrying lifelong introvert.
I'm like a cat who teaches swimming lessons.
I am not your typical communication coach.
So that's how I'm different.
You all have that.
Your difference may come from experience in another industry.
It may come from something that you studied.
It may come from personality traits you have, but you need to know what it is, what you bring to the table that others don't.
Number two, what decision, singular or plural, what decision does my insight enable?
In other words, how do I help people get what they want, right?
And I'm going to give a quick example from a client named Kevin, who was a real estate developer.
And before he got into real estate development and he's very young okay, he had worked in the business, but helping commercial companies find space to rent.
I'm He wasn't helping individuals find apartments.
He was helping businesses find commercial space.
So the thing is, he has insight, earned insight, on what commercial businesses want when they rent space.
And that is insight that he has that other people, other real estate developers don't normally have.
And that helps him. him help his clients better.
All right.
And the third question, what risk, singular or plural, what risk am I helping them to avoid?
This is just a high level example.
I think of the engineers who see say, product risk or even product opportunities that are not visible to the people who are not engineers.
Or, with AI, say somebody in AI compliance may see risk that the engineers don't see.
So what risks show up on your radar that maybe other people don't see?
That's the number one shift of going from proving to positioning.
What does that look like in communication?
For a lot of you, it's going to be saying less, but better.
It's going to be using more interesting words, more interesting examples, more interesting metaphors.
Really focus on your language.
Number two would be to focus on your framing.
And the framing is the point that you're making.
What is the larger story that it's telling?
And then you'll probably be making more recommendations.
So remember where you are right now, there's no participation trophies.
You don't even get rewarded for your effort.
Like if it takes you forever to do one of your important things, nobody cares.
What they care about is your judgment, your recommendations, your guidance.
All right, shift number two. directing to orchestrating.
And in this shift, I'm really focusing on those of you who are my superstar problem solvers.
Like any problem, you solve it faster, better, more efficiently, more creatively.
You respond quickly.
You're available.
You fix things fast.
And you are known for that.
Like you have this incredible reputation of being a fixer, right?
And I've been there too.
I have been called in to fix teams and it's fun and it's cool, but you have much more impact and more executive presence when you are orchestrating, when you are deciding what are the problems that need to be solved, not just being handed a problem to take care of it.
Agenda setting, it's naming decisions that need to be made.
Even identifying problems, you've all heard that A lot of times we are in our rush to take action.
Sometimes we misidentify the problem.
So that's a way you can use your executive presence or guiding the conversation.
You don't even have to be doing most of the talking to be the person guiding that conversation.
So here's an example of what that would sound like in a sentence.
You would say something like, well, this is what I think matters most for this particular decision.
And this is why.
That one sentence signals confidence, strategic thinking leadership, maturity and you're creating structure, because speaking with structure is a key component of executive presence.
Finally, shift number three is from focus on personal success to enterprise thinking.
And I know we all have goals.
We all want to be successful.
But the shift is not just your career.
It's the broader market.
It's market share, market impacts, cultural nuance, organizational priorities.
And this is so important in a global context where you have relationship intelligence, social intelligence credibility, long-term trust.
That's the currency you're dealing with.
So how can you help your enterprise, your company, be more successful in the market where you are?
That means looking at all your purview of responsibilities.
How does that impact the broader business?
How does your communication build trust across levels and regions and maybe silos?
And what does senior leadership need to hear from you or from your people?
Like what is going to help them move towards the goals?
So when you speak at the enterprise level, people start seeing you as senior leadership, even before that title changes.
And you can start from where you are today connecting what you are doing to the enterprise, to the performance of the company.
And if you're not sure how to do that, ask your boss.
And if this topic interests you in particular, I suggest you listen to episode 404.
I'll try to link that in the show notes.
All right, so to review, here is your weekly check-in question to help you outperform your earlier self without doing more.
So here are three questions.
If you can ask yourself for check-ins, I would pick one.
Number one would be, where did I communicate with clarity instead of urgency?
Number two, where did I guide the conversation instead of reacting to it?
That means taking leadership of the conversation.
And three, where did I speak like someone responsible for company outcomes, not just tasks?
If you can answer yes to even one of these, you're evolving as a senior leader.
So, no matter where you're listening from Africa Asia Europe, the Americas, anywhere here's the truth.
Outperforming your earlier self is not about being louder or tougher or busier.
I think we're all too busy.
It's about being more intentional, more strategic.
And the result of that is that you have more executive presence and you have more influence.
If you have a question you would like addressed in a future episode, please email me at hello at speakupwithlauracom.
If you're in a fast paced global company like Vivendi and if you want help in reaching the senior C-suite, if you're on the track for senior leadership.
I do have a specialized coaching program called the Executive Presence mastery system.
I would love to talk to you about it.
Simply set an appointment by clicking the link in the top of the show notes, or visit the link to my website at speakupwithlauracom.
Speak up, have a fabulous day.
We're starting a new year.
It's so exciting and I will catch you on the next episode.
