Formula For Success - Vision X Voice = Value
Kelly is a new finance director in a multi-line insurance company.
She attributes her success to keeping her head down, not rocking the boat, and letting her results speak for themselves.
At her 6-month performance review, her boss told her that she was getting off to a slow start.
Her staff and peers felt they didn't know where she stood on important issues, or what she expected of them.
Lauren is a senior marketing manager in a well-known food manufacturing firm.
Respected for her creativity, industry knowledge, and strong work ethic, she is also known for shutting down discussion and becoming visibly upset when others don't agree with her suggestions.
Colleagues on her product team hesitate to share their ideas and fully participate in meetings she leads.
Alison is a rising star in a large pharmaceutical firm, valued for her commitment to consumers, for working hard, and for skillfully executing her projects.
Yet it wasn't until she was passed over for a promotion for the second time that she learned -- through feedback her coach had solicited -- that her provocative style of dress and high-pitched voice were hurting her chances for assuming greater responsibility.
In each of these examples, talented, hard-working, and capable women miss opportunities to enhance their contributions by not leveraging a simple but powerful formula for success: Visibility x Voice = Value To be a successful leader, it is not enough to be talented, capable, and hard working.
You must also pay attention to -- and manage -- a professional reputation.
This formula is a short-hand for the factors that contribute to the perception others have of you.
Appreciating them will optimize your influence and help you create and manage your professional reputation.
Value To determine the most effective ways to use your visibility and voice in an organization, you must first understand the values that drive both your organization and yourself as a leader.
Look closely at how the company positions itself externally -- and what is rewarded internally.
For instance, some companies place customer service above everything; others prize quality or cost effectiveness.
Further, companies recruit and reward leaders who exhibit specific values.
In some organizations, people who argue adamantly when expressing their ideas are perceived as strong and powerful.
Yet in other organizations, displaying those same behaviors is considered bullying.
Know what your company is striving for and you will know more about how to add value.
Second, Value involves knowing exactly what performance outcomes you need to achieve, as well as what personal impact you want to have on your co-workers.
One of my clients determined that she wanted to exceed her sales goal by 10% and be known as an effective and fair leader.
Acknowledging this helped her align her daily activities and behaviors to achieve her goals.
Some questions to consider when assessing Value:
Visibility A key variable in the Formula for Success is Visibility: how and where and when you physically show up at work.
Many women fail to leverage opportunities for visibility.
They work diligently behind the scenes, believing others will notice their hard work, or they devalue and miss the informal opportunities for socializing.
When assessing your visibility at work, consider the following: Attire: Is your dress appropriate for the work you do and the stakeholders you interact with? Even in today's business casual environment, it is still important to dress professionally and in ways that insist you be taken seriously.
If you have the budget, or if your company will pay for it, consider investing in a wardrobe consultant who can help maximize what you already have and offer suggestions to enhance your visual impact and confidence.
Meetings: First, are you attending the right meetings? That means meetings appropriate for your job level, skill, and work goals.
Sometimes you may not see a meeting's content as particularly valuable; however, if it's a meeting your boss or another prominent stakeholder is sponsoring, not attending may send a poor message and may be a missed opportunity for networking.
Also, be clear up front about what you want to accomplish and how you will do so.
One of my clients abhorred large management meetings and would often schedule trips so she would miss them.
When she realized how important these meetings were from a networking perspective, she saw a greater purpose in attending.
Finally, be visible in positive ways when you do attend meetings.
One client often doodled on her note pad and worked her blackberry when she was bored.
Clearly she was being visible, but she communicated lack of interest and disrespect.
She was damaging her reputation.
Informal Socializing: Marcy, a very capable project manager, received feedback from her team members suggesting that she was aloof and unsupportive because she repeatedly turned down invitations for lunch and after-work gatherings.
Marcy felt that she was more productive having lunch at her desk while she replied to emails.
She failed to realize that accepting invitations from her team for informal connection was indeed an important relationship-building opportunity and a vitally important way to be effective.
Additionally, even though Marcy was indeed productive, the perception created as a result of her turning down invitations became a reality that hurt her reputation.
Some other questions to consider when assessing visibility:
Many women show up at all the right places but fail to make an impact because they squelch, squeak or silence their voice.
Voice Quality: Consider the sound and quality of your speaking voice.
A former client had tremendous wit and intelligence but was ignored because her voice was high and squeaky.
After a few voice lessons, she could lower the pitch in her voice, increase her confidence, and her influence grew accordingly.
Assert Yourself: Strong leaders have strong points of view and find appropriate ways to express them.
Develop your own viewpoints on pressing issues facing your team, your department, your company and your industry.
Use your voice to deliberately share your points of view and to cultivate meaningful dialogue and solicit other people's ideas on relevant topics.
Some women find it helpful to write down their thoughts on various topics, including leadership.
Writing forces clarity and often brings greater insight.
Some other questions to think about using your voice:
Many women never optimize their contributions because they fail to consider how Visibility and Voice build perceived Value.
Use this simple but potent formula to strengthen your influence skills quickly and strategically.
Your brilliance will shine!
She attributes her success to keeping her head down, not rocking the boat, and letting her results speak for themselves.
At her 6-month performance review, her boss told her that she was getting off to a slow start.
Her staff and peers felt they didn't know where she stood on important issues, or what she expected of them.
Lauren is a senior marketing manager in a well-known food manufacturing firm.
Respected for her creativity, industry knowledge, and strong work ethic, she is also known for shutting down discussion and becoming visibly upset when others don't agree with her suggestions.
Colleagues on her product team hesitate to share their ideas and fully participate in meetings she leads.
Alison is a rising star in a large pharmaceutical firm, valued for her commitment to consumers, for working hard, and for skillfully executing her projects.
Yet it wasn't until she was passed over for a promotion for the second time that she learned -- through feedback her coach had solicited -- that her provocative style of dress and high-pitched voice were hurting her chances for assuming greater responsibility.
In each of these examples, talented, hard-working, and capable women miss opportunities to enhance their contributions by not leveraging a simple but powerful formula for success: Visibility x Voice = Value To be a successful leader, it is not enough to be talented, capable, and hard working.
You must also pay attention to -- and manage -- a professional reputation.
This formula is a short-hand for the factors that contribute to the perception others have of you.
Appreciating them will optimize your influence and help you create and manage your professional reputation.
Value To determine the most effective ways to use your visibility and voice in an organization, you must first understand the values that drive both your organization and yourself as a leader.
Look closely at how the company positions itself externally -- and what is rewarded internally.
For instance, some companies place customer service above everything; others prize quality or cost effectiveness.
Further, companies recruit and reward leaders who exhibit specific values.
In some organizations, people who argue adamantly when expressing their ideas are perceived as strong and powerful.
Yet in other organizations, displaying those same behaviors is considered bullying.
Know what your company is striving for and you will know more about how to add value.
Second, Value involves knowing exactly what performance outcomes you need to achieve, as well as what personal impact you want to have on your co-workers.
One of my clients determined that she wanted to exceed her sales goal by 10% and be known as an effective and fair leader.
Acknowledging this helped her align her daily activities and behaviors to achieve her goals.
Some questions to consider when assessing Value:
- What behaviors get rewarded here?
- What are the common characteristics of those who get promoted?
- Who are the most influential people you work with and why?
- What results are you trying to achieve?
- How do you want others to see you?
- What characteristics do you want others to attribute to you?
Visibility A key variable in the Formula for Success is Visibility: how and where and when you physically show up at work.
Many women fail to leverage opportunities for visibility.
They work diligently behind the scenes, believing others will notice their hard work, or they devalue and miss the informal opportunities for socializing.
When assessing your visibility at work, consider the following: Attire: Is your dress appropriate for the work you do and the stakeholders you interact with? Even in today's business casual environment, it is still important to dress professionally and in ways that insist you be taken seriously.
If you have the budget, or if your company will pay for it, consider investing in a wardrobe consultant who can help maximize what you already have and offer suggestions to enhance your visual impact and confidence.
Meetings: First, are you attending the right meetings? That means meetings appropriate for your job level, skill, and work goals.
Sometimes you may not see a meeting's content as particularly valuable; however, if it's a meeting your boss or another prominent stakeholder is sponsoring, not attending may send a poor message and may be a missed opportunity for networking.
Also, be clear up front about what you want to accomplish and how you will do so.
One of my clients abhorred large management meetings and would often schedule trips so she would miss them.
When she realized how important these meetings were from a networking perspective, she saw a greater purpose in attending.
Finally, be visible in positive ways when you do attend meetings.
One client often doodled on her note pad and worked her blackberry when she was bored.
Clearly she was being visible, but she communicated lack of interest and disrespect.
She was damaging her reputation.
Informal Socializing: Marcy, a very capable project manager, received feedback from her team members suggesting that she was aloof and unsupportive because she repeatedly turned down invitations for lunch and after-work gatherings.
Marcy felt that she was more productive having lunch at her desk while she replied to emails.
She failed to realize that accepting invitations from her team for informal connection was indeed an important relationship-building opportunity and a vitally important way to be effective.
Additionally, even though Marcy was indeed productive, the perception created as a result of her turning down invitations became a reality that hurt her reputation.
Some other questions to consider when assessing visibility:
- How visible do you need to be to be effective (usually more than you think!)
- Do you make a point of being seen by my principal stakeholders?
- Would you benefit from greater visibility within my industry? Community?
- How can you increase your visibility at meetings?
- Who would be good for you to talk to? How long should you stay?
- Are social gatherings important in your company? Do you participate?
- Would my staff/colleagues say I am available? Consider non-verbal behaviors indicating openness as well as being physically present.
Many women show up at all the right places but fail to make an impact because they squelch, squeak or silence their voice.
Voice Quality: Consider the sound and quality of your speaking voice.
A former client had tremendous wit and intelligence but was ignored because her voice was high and squeaky.
After a few voice lessons, she could lower the pitch in her voice, increase her confidence, and her influence grew accordingly.
Assert Yourself: Strong leaders have strong points of view and find appropriate ways to express them.
Develop your own viewpoints on pressing issues facing your team, your department, your company and your industry.
Use your voice to deliberately share your points of view and to cultivate meaningful dialogue and solicit other people's ideas on relevant topics.
Some women find it helpful to write down their thoughts on various topics, including leadership.
Writing forces clarity and often brings greater insight.
Some other questions to think about using your voice:
- Do you have clear opinions on pressing business topics, including a personal leadership philosophy? If so, who knows about them?
- When you go to meetings, do you speak clearly and purposefully?
- How do you use your voice during formal presentations? Are you persuasive?
- Do you speak with authority? ·Is your voice aligned with your actions?
- Do you use your voice to advocate for your employees? ·Do you diminish your impact by using phrases such as, "this may not be a good idea, but.
" Or "This is just my opinion...
"? - Finally, don't use your voice to gossip, complain, or focus on things out of your control.
Instead, use your voice to uplift, inspire positive action and convey useful information.
Many women never optimize their contributions because they fail to consider how Visibility and Voice build perceived Value.
Use this simple but potent formula to strengthen your influence skills quickly and strategically.
Your brilliance will shine!
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