How to...speak to senior leaders
(And actually get "heard")
Welcome back to Lead with Intention! Can you believe we’re in April already? And yes, we ARE getting whiplash from the global turmoil and general CHANGE that we’re all experiencing at home and at work.
If it feels unprecedented. It is. And it’s ok to be feeling it. I know I am. So I hope you’re able to find some respite.
I’ll be running a mini series very soon on “leading through change”. As well as sharing proven coaching techniques and leadership and careers advice for leading change, I’ll also talk about how to manage yourself when YOU’RE on the receiving end of it.
So often, we are asked to lead change, whilst also being affected by it - aka the toughest job there is.
As part of this mini-series, I’m going to record a podcast episode and/or webinar and/or live session for paid subscribers.
Let me know - which of these would you prefer? Reply in the poll below or drop me an email!
How to speak to senior leaders
To today’s coaching advice. And it’s a good one… As you may know about me, I used to be a Director of Corporate Communications, and I trained and coached many execs on how to communicate effectively. I even wrote their words for them on occasion.
But here’s the thing…
I wasn’t always as confident as I wanted (or indeed, needed, to be) when it came to how I communicated with others, particularly those same execs and senior leaders.
For me, the worst was always the SLT or the board meeting. I used to sit, frozen, wracked with anxiety about when it would be “my turn” to speak and how I would handle it.
The stakes felt so high and sometimes, I crumbled.
Sound familiar?
Why does this happen?
In a word - PRESSURE. Often self-imposed! I’m talking about the pressure to be concise, insightful, and impactful, which can feel overwhelming, even if you know your stuff (as I’m sure you do, and I did).
What can you do about it?
Firstly - give yourself a bit of grace. Everyone has wobbles and everyone has development areas as they continue on their leadership journey.
Second - start to learn and employ some proven techniques to help you feel more confident in the way you structure and deliver your message to senior leaders.
I’m outlining some of these below for paid subscribers and I can tell you - they work.
Let’s get into it…