Did You Hear Me or Are You Just Not Listening?…..

Although I’m in the business of “talking,” listening is the other half of our communications.

As many know, Stephen Convey, self-help guru recently passed away. Although some may not have read his books, many have. In fact, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People was #1 on the New York Times Bestsellers list, was published in over 20 countries and translated into dozen of languages.

Listening is not as easy as one might think; especially for those who have the tendency to experience presentation anxiety, or even social anxiety.

If building your brand is important to you, being an attentive listener is a key leadership quality. If you’re eager for a greater connection, consider the following;

Breathe – In order to have a meaningful connection with your listener or audience you need to remain calm and connected….in yourself. As noted, too often I see clients who are trying to figure out what the answer is even before the listener is done asking the question. This is normal and we’ve all done it. Frankly I often see it in my clients who are so eager to please, they end up sabotaging themselves.

Breathing helps calm the central nervous system to allow the necessary connection between the brain and the tongue. Breathing keeps you in a calm state allowing you to be “in the moment.”

Tune into facial cues – A study by Dr. Albert Mehrabian http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Albert_Mehrabian tells us that people gain the majority of their impression of us by our visual or non-verbal cues. Tuning into your listener(s) facial or body language assists you in taking in the information. Assuming the person you are speaking with is congruent in their visual, vocal and verbal communications, the facial cues will uncover the emotion behind the words. This in turn makes it easier for the listener to recall that information at a later date.

Tune into vocal cues – People will give you all the cues you need, if you simply tune into them. Regardless of the topic, many folks will offer inflection or intonation on certain words that deliver their true feelings about the topic being discussed. Natural inflection comes with being committed and connected to the topic. If you are able to really listen to the vocal intonations of the speaker that will assist you in listening and understanding the information.

Like so many skills, listening is one that needs to be developed over time. Although I would say listening is key for everyone, those who lead people need to pay special attention to how their moments of silence show others a true sign of respect.

It’s just as important to listen as it is to speak.

Best, 

Shoana Prasad

Glenwood Consulting Group Inc.

www.glenwoodinc.com

shoana@glenwoodinc.com

416 722 6124

Smashing the Glass Ceiling 

I have found myself doing some innocent professional stalking as of late.

I do this now and again; I become fixated on someone who I, on some level relate to and feel a professional admiration for.

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook is my most recent target. Not only is she a Harvard grad, she worked with the World Bank on health projects involving blindness, Aids and leprosy in India. That’s only the foundation of her career. She continued on to work with the Clinton administration, moved over to Google and then took the COO position at Facebook.

And of course it was just announced that she will become a director – “adding the first woman to a seven-man board.”

http://business.financialpost.com/2012/06/25/facebook-appoints-coo-sandberg-to-board-naming-first-female-director/

Not a bad resume….

But that’s not what impresses me.

She is one of the only senior female executives who is actively talking about the lack of female presence in C-suites. She is using her platform whenever possible to create momentum for her peers as well as younger generations. She acknowledges there is still a problem and in direct, yet gracious ways, she is asking all of us to continue to ask “Why and what can we do as both men and women to create change?”

In a ted talk she speaks about “Why they’re aren’t more women leaders.”  Find a moment to listen; she offers more than the ole’ recycled glass ceiling speech.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18uDutylDa4&feature=player_embedded#!

“Of the 190 heads of states, 9 are women.”

“Of all of the people in parliament in the world, 13% are women.”

“Corporate or c-suite positions, 15-16% are held by women.”

“In the not-for-profit sector, where it’s thought that there is a higher number of women in top positions, only 20% are held by women.”

And she says all this with the conviction of a soldier and the softness of a woman. She speaks as an executive and a mother – rarely separating the two. “Kid talk at the office” is a common debate behind closed doors across all industries. Sandberg herself has struggled with the same issue.

In the video below she speaks of her commitment to leave the office at 5:30 pm everyday to have dinner with her kids. What I found interesting is her confession that only in the last couple of years, has she admitted to it publicly.

http://mashable.com/2012/04/05/sheryl-sandberg-leaves-work-at-530/

As she states, and I wholeheartedly agree, this is an issue for both men and women. Although she also says that women have to make harder decisions to keep a place at the boardroom table. Part of the issue is the division of labor at home.

In the earlier Ted video she talks about “marking your partner a real partner” referencing a US study that outlines “of the senior managers who are married shown in the study, 2/3 of the men are married without kids and only 1/3 with kids. “If both men and women work full time, the woman does twice the amount of housework, and three times that amount of childcare.”

All of this suggesting that we put more pressure on our boys to succeed (as defined by status and material gain) than our girls. And her concluding statement is a good one, although I’m not sure how likely “If we’re going to make the playing field more equal, we have to make it easy for men to stay home (to rear children.)”

There isn’t just one issue with equality of men and women at work.  For now, we can give it our best effort to understand how we can mitigate the problem by being mindful of the messages we send and our delivery of those messages.

Most importantly, we should consider the messages we send to the ones closest to us. After all, the future leaders who will be sitting around the boardroom table in 20, 30, 40 years, are the ones sitting around our kitchen table tonight. 

Best, 

Shoana Prasad

Glenwood Consulting Group Inc.

www.glenwoodinc.com

shoana@glenwoodinc.com

416 722 6124

Are You Building Your Executive Brand?

Personal branding isn’t a new concept. It was Tom Peters article (http://bit.ly/Yvl8) that first put it on the map. Since then, business leaders are starting to understand that….

Brand. Is. King.

Executive Branding is similar to personal branding, but specific to those in the corporate sector. It's a process of examining your communications habits, core values and skill capacities to determine your unique value proposition to your department, company or industry. 

Not unlike big brands, the competitive market for big talent is a hot topic. Boomers are retiring; international companies are stacked with multi-generations all with different communications needs and values and that top talent are all positioning themselves for only a few top spots.

With that said, there are FIVE KEY STRATEGIES you can use to 

build your Executive Brand through your communications.

#1 Define your Executive Brand – 93% of communications is non-verbal. That means only 7% of your brand is communicated through what you say. List words that describe how you want others to perceive you. Get a coach, record yourself, do whatever you need to do to understand how people see you.

It’s not the advantage these days it’s a must!

#2 Be clear in your messages – 7% isn’t much, but if you are droning on, that valuable 93% is lost. Find clarity in your message, choose your words properly and speak with intention and meaning.

#3 Understand how your values play a part – In a recent Harvard Business Review article (http://bit.ly/Lb80VI) stating hard stats on what customers want from their brands, one of the key findings is shared values. Now, this article is specific to packaged goods, but I use many of the same elements of traditional branding in my Executive Branding process with my clients. “A shared value is a belief that both the brand and consumer have about a brand’s higher purpose or broad philosophy.” Freeman, Spenner & Bird

#4 Build your stories – The art and science of storytelling is the best way to communicate the values of your brand. Regardless of where you are in your career, build your stories around moments of success, disappointment, courage, perseverance etc.

We all struggle now and again; show a little authenticity and humility with a good ol’ heart-wrenching story!

#5 Manage your Executive Brand across all touch points – You can’t fight it; you either jump on the social media train or you are not on the radar. Be sure the perception of your brand, the clarity in your messages and your values translate across all touch points.

If you like what you read, feel free to pass it along.

Best,

Shoana Prasad

The Power of Silence....

In the spirit of offering my clients more, and in my own self-interest, I have been doing a lot of reading about introverts. It seems this lot has been drastically misunderstood and at times, almost chastised for their "need for space." My latest read, Quiet, The Power of Introverts in a World that Can't Stop Talking by Susan Cain offers insight into these softer souls amongst us.

In my work with clients at all levels, ages, genders and cultural demographics, I understand better than many that people from the Western world praises big and bold personalities; those folks who can jump and tell a witty story or craft an emotional tale all for the enjoyment of the audience. "These" folks get noticed in the boardroom, their name seems to rise to the top of the heap for promotions and "he" or "she" seems to be the one who everyone wants to be associated with. But for the strong silent types, their quiet presence in the boardroom is perceived as lacking "something."

But are "they" lacking or are the bold and brass lacking "something?"

Based on numerous studies Cain shares in her book, the results came out with two tops hits;

#1 Introverts are inclined to listen and implement idea's better

#2 (Because) they aren't concerned about dominating social situations

In a world truly obsessed with talking, we often forget that listening is the other very vital half of communicating. 

My advice is; next time you want to be persuasive, stop talking.

Take care,
Shoana Prasad

Give Your Audience a Reason to Listen....

I've never been the snowbird type, but when an opportunity to steal away for a few days of sunshine was presented....I took it.

On our flight to Miami, I heard something that I had heard a million times, but never like this...and I liked it!

We booked with WestJet. I love WestJet not only for their great rates, but I'm also a big fan of their brand. I love their unconventional marketing showing "WestJet owners" aka flight attendants running after everyday business travelers to return their cell phone they left behind. The message being, "Why do WestJetters care so much? Because we're also WestJet owners."

After this flight, I actually believed it!

It just so happens that this was my second flight that week. The "other" airline I flew with is a good option, but let's just say, it's more than just price that sets them apart; it's their brand experience.

I won't lie, I travel enough that when the safety talk starts, I generally sink in my seat, grab my earphones and try not to get noticed. But as I struggled to find them, I heard something that made me want to listen; to tune in....life, inflection, humor and a genuine human connection.

The flight attendant asked "Is there anyone who have never flown before? You have no need to worry, this is the pilot's first flight too!"

And on she continued, "This aircraft is non-smoking. If anyone is caught smoking, you'll be asked to leave the aircraft immediately."

"If in the unlikely event of an emergency landing, please take the air masks located above your head, fasten it over your nose and the pull the strings on either side to secure the mask. If you're traveling with children, pick your favorite and work down...."

Let's be honest, this is critical information that all passengers need to hear but rarely do because it... all...sounds....the....same....

If you need your audience to tune in, give them a reason to.

Brand experience should equal customer experience - but not always.

WestJet delivers....

Apparently WestJet hosts a profit share party with employees twice per year. They create and play a new video for kicks. Click on the link below.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvuR5ZU8wLQhttp://

Click here to see more WestJet video's
http://aoy.strategyonline.ca/2006/taxi/westjet.html

Enjoy!

Shoana