Episode 46 How to Give Your Leadership Career a Glow Up!

Speaker: 00:00:09

Welcome to Unstuck and Unstoppable,

the podcast for ambitious female

2

: 00:00:14

leaders who want to create more impact,

income, and influence in their careers.

3

: 00:00:19

feel connected to their passion

and purpose, but without

4

: 00:00:22

selling out or burning out.

5

: 00:00:24

I'm Sarah Archer, a leadership coach

and career strategist, helping women

6

: 00:00:28

like you thrive in leadership roles

while staying true to your values.

7

: 00:00:33

I'm the founder of CareerTree

Coaching and have over 15 years of

8

: 00:00:37

coaching experience and significant HR

leadership experience to share with you.

9

: 00:00:43

I know as a female leader it can

be hard to find time to focus

10

: 00:00:47

on your career aspirations.

11

: 00:00:49

The day job can be all consuming.

12

: 00:00:52

Plus, no matter how senior you are,

there are always going to be times

13

: 00:00:56

when you feel stuck, when you have

self doubt, or feel like an imposter.

14

: 00:01:01

And that's where unstuck

and unstoppable comes in.

15

: 00:01:05

Each week I'll be sharing practical

strategies, insightful interviews and

16

: 00:01:10

inspiring stories to help you boost

your confidence, lead with purpose

17

: 00:01:15

and achieve sustainable success.

18

: 00:01:18

If you're ready to stop playing

small and unlock the incredible

19

: 00:01:21

potential you have within you and feel

unstoppable, you're in the right place.

20

: 00:01:27

Let's get started.

21

: 00:01:32

welcome to episode 46.

22

: 00:01:35

I'm really pleased you're here, and I

know you're gonna really enjoy the session

23

: 00:01:39

today because it's a little bit different.

24

: 00:01:42

We are talking about how to give

your leadership career a glow up.

25

: 00:01:47

Now we don't normally talk about

careers in terms of glow up, but

26

: 00:01:51

I thought it would be a fun way.

27

: 00:01:53

To think about how you can move the

dial on your leadership career and take

28

: 00:01:59

out some of seriousness around career

development and career advancement.

29

: 00:02:05

I'd love to know what you think, whether

you like it or not, as an approach,

30

: 00:02:08

Because it's really important to be

thinking about how we move to that

31

: 00:02:13

next level in our leadership career.

32

: 00:02:15

Either physically move in terms

of getting a new role or move

33

: 00:02:19

up in terms of our mindset.

34

: 00:02:21

Because we've all seen blowups,

haven't we, Instagram or

35

: 00:02:24

even, in our friendship group

36

: 00:02:26

but it's not just about appearance,

it's about that confidence.

37

: 00:02:29

It's about that transformation and it's

about stepping into that next level you.

38

: 00:02:35

And that's what we are gonna be talking

about today because with leadership, it's

39

: 00:02:38

about that visibility, that influence,

that impact that you have that shows

40

: 00:02:45

that glow up has happened for you.

41

: 00:02:48

What I'm gonna run through

today, I've got four steps in

42

: 00:02:51

my glow up formula to help you.

43

: 00:02:54

Think about where you might need to pay

attention to in your leadership career.

44

: 00:02:59

And I've got a practical action

associated with each step for you to take.

45

: 00:03:04

If you wanted some ideas to , move

the dial on this a little bit.

46

: 00:03:09

The first step in the glow up formula

is to own your leadership identity.

47

: 00:03:15

Because so often we're waiting

for permission, aren't we?

48

: 00:03:18

Rather than stepping up, waiting for

somebody to notice us, to recognize

49

: 00:03:22

the work we're putting in to give

us that opportunity to step up.

50

: 00:03:27

But actually this is about.

51

: 00:03:29

Stepping into that leadership mindset

already because you know you are that

52

: 00:03:32

leader 'cause you are wanting it.

53

: 00:03:34

And giving yourself permission to

start being that future leader.

54

: 00:03:40

And it's also about.

55

: 00:03:42

Shifting from , doing to leading.

56

: 00:03:45

Less execution, more strategy, more big

picture thinking and demonstrating that.

57

: 00:03:52

I've got a little example of this.

58

: 00:03:53

A couple of years ago I was running my

group program for female leaders and two

59

: 00:03:58

of the women on the group, they were at

that middle management level and they

60

: 00:04:02

desperately wanted to get that next.

61

: 00:04:04

Stage in their leadership

career where they could be more

62

: 00:04:06

strategic in their visionary.

63

: 00:04:08

But they've both been in their

organizations for quite a while

64

: 00:04:11

and they were seen at that middle

management level and they were waiting

65

: 00:04:15

for their organizations to give them

opportunities to, to move them forward.

66

: 00:04:20

What we worked on in the group was helping

them give themselves permission to start.

67

: 00:04:25

Making that shift without waiting for

the organization to do it for them.

68

: 00:04:29

'cause that might never happen.

69

: 00:04:31

And so they then developed a strategy.

70

: 00:04:35

Similar to what I'm gonna run

through today around moving

71

: 00:04:39

into that leadership mindset.

72

: 00:04:41

And they both ended up leaving

their existing organizations and

73

: 00:04:45

now I think we're now three or four

years on from the group program.

74

: 00:04:48

They've made two moves since then.

75

: 00:04:50

Both of them.

76

: 00:04:51

And they're both now working at direct

level, but , that kickstart for their

77

: 00:04:55

glow up for that transformation was that.

78

: 00:04:58

Permission giving.

79

: 00:04:59

Seeing themselves as leaders, stepping

into that leadership mindset and

80

: 00:05:03

moving more into this strategic work.

81

: 00:05:06

For you, your practical action

from this step would be to identify

82

: 00:05:09

your leadership strengths and think

about how you are showcasing them

83

: 00:05:13

in your organization at the moment.

84

: 00:05:15

Like people, do they see you as strategic?

85

: 00:05:18

If that's one of your strengths,

do they see you as visionary?

86

: 00:05:22

If that's one of your strengths.

87

: 00:05:23

Thinking about how you're

showcasing leadership strengths.

88

: 00:05:26

And if you are there already,

then an extension you could do

89

: 00:05:29

would be to think about your.

90

: 00:05:31

Blind spots as a leader.

91

: 00:05:32

So what are you not doing?

92

: 00:05:34

What are you not seeing about

your leadership style that

93

: 00:05:37

you need to pay attention to?

94

: 00:05:38

And there's a really great question

you could ask, which I love.

95

: 00:05:42

I saw this on a a LinkedIn post this week,

and I just thought, yes, that is perfect.

96

: 00:05:46

It's asking yourself that question.

97

: 00:05:48

If you were in a film or a TV series, what

would the audience be shouting at you?

98

: 00:05:54

We've all been there, haven't we?

99

: 00:05:55

We've seen, there's a Netflix series

with a protagonist in it and they're

100

: 00:05:58

just not doing something you know they

need to do or they're not aware of

101

: 00:06:03

something, they need to be aware of it.

102

: 00:06:04

You are literally shouting and

frustration at them at the screen.

103

: 00:06:08

Thinking about that, if you are in

a series or a film, what would the

104

: 00:06:13

audience be shouting at you and seeing

if you can identify the thing, the

105

: 00:06:17

area that perhaps you need to pay

attention to, that you're not aware of.

106

: 00:06:21

Okay, so that's step one.

107

: 00:06:23

Step two is to be seen and heard and

to amplify your presence because the

108

: 00:06:29

leadership glow up really happens when

people can see and hear the value that

109

: 00:06:35

you are bringing to the organization.

110

: 00:06:37

And when I'm working with clients, often

this is the hardest piece for people to.

111

: 00:06:43

To manage and to really move forward

in because it can feel uncomfortable,

112

: 00:06:47

that whole visibility piece.

113

: 00:06:49

, Thinking about meetings and

strategically thinking, how am

114

: 00:06:52

I showing up in these meetings?

115

: 00:06:54

How am I contributing?

116

: 00:06:56

What am I leading people

with when I've left the room?

117

: 00:06:59

And being more intentional

about some of those meetings.

118

: 00:07:03

It's also about positioning

yourself as the go-to expert.

119

: 00:07:07

And with this, it doesn't

hurt to remind people of your

120

: 00:07:09

credibility and your expertise.

121

: 00:07:11

It is fine to say, in my 15

years experience as a marketing

122

: 00:07:16

leader, I know that if we do X

or Y, it will result in this.

123

: 00:07:21

Or from the in-depth research

that I've carried out around this

124

: 00:07:25

particular challenge that we're

facing, I can tell you that.

125

: 00:07:29

It leads to this conclusion

about what we need to do.

126

: 00:07:34

Reminding people of your

expertise, your credibility, your

127

: 00:07:37

knowledge, can be really helpful.

128

: 00:07:39

Then seeing the value that

you're bringing and why you are

129

: 00:07:42

the go-to expert in your field.

130

: 00:07:46

And then another tough one to do,

but thinking about sharing your

131

: 00:07:49

wings and the impact that you have.

132

: 00:07:52

We get so caught up in what we're doing.

133

: 00:07:54

We think, I people know already what

we're facing, what we're doing, or they

134

: 00:07:59

don't need to know that it's superfluous.

135

: 00:08:01

But actually they do need to

know the context in which you're

136

: 00:08:04

operating and the challenges that

you're facing and the complexity

137

: 00:08:09

that you are having to navigate.

138

: 00:08:11

If you've managed to retain a

client, talk about the challenges

139

: 00:08:15

of retaining that particular client,

they're about to walk away, but you

140

: 00:08:19

put the effort into the relationship.

141

: 00:08:21

You came up with some creative

ways to keep them engaged.

142

: 00:08:24

You built in X or Y to improve the service

so that you didn't just retain that

143

: 00:08:30

client, you operated in this complex.

144

: 00:08:33

Challenging environment

to retain your client.

145

: 00:08:36

Telling people what you're

doing and how you're doing it.

146

: 00:08:39

And I've got an example of

a client that I worked with.

147

: 00:08:42

She's a client where she joined

the new organization last year

148

: 00:08:47

she's on senior leadership.

149

: 00:08:49

There was only one other

female leader on that team.

150

: 00:08:51

The rest were male and

they'd been there a while.

151

: 00:08:53

They had a kind of shortcut way of

talking to one another and she found

152

: 00:08:57

it really hard to get her voice

heard in those meetings, to amplify

153

: 00:09:01

her presence in those meetings.

154

: 00:09:03

And so we worked together to.

155

: 00:09:05

Identify a strategy that she could

use to be heard to showcase her

156

: 00:09:11

expertise and why they'd employed

her to do what she needed to do.

157

: 00:09:15

And looking for allies to support her

in amplifying her voice, not just the

158

: 00:09:19

other female leader on the team, but the

male allies she could enlist as well.

159

: 00:09:24

And although it's still work in

progress for her, she's definitely

160

: 00:09:27

having a more targeted approach

to her presence in meetings.

161

: 00:09:31

And that is beginning to.

162

: 00:09:33

Enable her to push through the

initiatives that she really

163

: 00:09:36

wants to in her leadership role.

164

: 00:09:39

The practical action you could take

away from this is to think about.

165

: 00:09:43

Where's one area that I could be more

intentional over the next few weeks?

166

: 00:09:48

Is it in a meeting where I

want to show up differently?

167

: 00:09:51

Is it how I show my

credibility as a go-to expert?

168

: 00:09:54

Is it about how I talk about what I do?

169

: 00:09:57

Choosing one thing that you could

be more intentional with that

170

: 00:10:01

could be kickstarting your blow up.

171

: 00:10:07

Glow up formula is to make

strategic career moves.

172

: 00:10:12

And that's recognizing that we don't

want to work harder in our glow up.

173

: 00:10:15

We want to work smarter.

174

: 00:10:16

We don't want to be adding

more to our to-do list.

175

: 00:10:18

We want to do things differently.

176

: 00:10:20

Do them in a smarter way.

177

: 00:10:22

And that's recognizing that what's

got you here in your career is not

178

: 00:10:26

gonna get you to that next level.

179

: 00:10:28

You want to be doing things differently.

180

: 00:10:30

That could be thinking about your.

181

: 00:10:32

Network and your powerful relationships,

like they may have served you really

182

: 00:10:37

well to date, but actually do you

need to be bringing different people

183

: 00:10:41

into your network or your relationship

engagement are there different people

184

: 00:10:47

you need to be engaging now or do you

need to be engaging in a different way?

185

: 00:10:51

Do you want them to see you differently?

186

: 00:10:53

It could be around your

sponsors or mentors.

187

: 00:10:56

Do you need different ones for

the next stage in your career?

188

: 00:11:00

Or do you need to be working with your

sponsor or your mentor in a different way?

189

: 00:11:04

And what are you saying yes to?

190

: 00:11:06

Your strategy may have been saying yes

to everything, every opportunity so

191

: 00:11:11

far, but maybe it's about prioritizing

those high impact opportunities so

192

: 00:11:17

that you are utilizing your energy

really well to have more longer

193

: 00:11:21

term effect within your career.

194

: 00:11:24

And again, I've got another

great example for you.

195

: 00:11:26

One of my clients that I worked with

a couple of years ago now, she felt

196

: 00:11:30

she was stagnating in her career.

197

: 00:11:31

She worked in a very large organization

and she could see peers and colleagues

198

: 00:11:36

going past her, in terms of promotion.

199

: 00:11:38

She was feeling really motivated.

200

: 00:11:40

So we worked together to devise a glow

up strategy . And one element of that

201

: 00:11:43

strategy was around her internal network.

202

: 00:11:47

She was great.

203

: 00:11:47

She worked really hard to start building

her network and having conversations

204

: 00:11:52

around what was possible in other branches

within the organization, how she could,

205

: 00:11:58

in her existing role, help or support

in those different areas, the different

206

: 00:12:02

challenges, and building her profile

and being seen in the organization.

207

: 00:12:08

Ultimate , it led to her leaving

organization, going, working in a new

208

: 00:12:12

industry and more senior role, but it

kickstarted her confidence, building

209

: 00:12:18

her visibility and her understanding

of how she could utilize her networks.

210

: 00:12:24

It enabled her to make that move outta up

from her organization because she really

211

: 00:12:29

engaged with her network in a different

way to how she had been doing that before.

212

: 00:12:35

Your practical action from this step could

be to think about who is really great.

213

: 00:12:42

I know at.

214

: 00:12:45

Doing that strategic

piece around their career.

215

: 00:12:47

Who is a powerful networker, who is

greater, working with sponsors and

216

: 00:12:52

mentors who is great at saying yes

to those strategic opportunities.

217

: 00:12:56

Write down the name of that person,

springs to mind and think about what are

218

: 00:12:59

the qualities that I identify with that

resonate with me that they have around

219

: 00:13:04

this area, and what could I do differently

that they are already doing to.

220

: 00:13:10

Move the dial on my

leadership career glow up.

221

: 00:13:15

Okay, so we're on to step four in the

glow up formula, and that is stepping

222

: 00:13:20

into your future leadership self.

223

: 00:13:23

And there's that great

question you can ask yourself.

224

: 00:13:26

What does the next level me version

of me do say, make decisions around.

225

: 00:13:34

So if you are.

226

: 00:13:36

Say a manager wanting to go to a

head of, or a head of wanting to go

227

: 00:13:39

to a director or a director wanting

to go to the C-suite, thinking about

228

: 00:13:43

what does that next level of me do?

229

: 00:13:45

When I'm faced the situation,

what would they say?

230

: 00:13:48

What would they do?

231

: 00:13:49

What action would they take?

232

: 00:13:50

How would they be?

233

: 00:13:52

Because it's great at helping you already

start operating at that next level.

234

: 00:13:58

So not going with what you are doing

right now, but thinking, okay, if I

235

: 00:14:03

was director of comms, director of

marketing, director of hr, director of

236

: 00:14:08

finance, whatever , your function is

what would I be doing in this situation?

237

: 00:14:12

And it helps you move into

that next level already.

238

: 00:14:17

And the other really important thing under

this area is thinking about your energy.

239

: 00:14:21

Because you know it is gonna require

energy to maintain this new version

240

: 00:14:26

of you you confident visible clear

action taking version of you.

241

: 00:14:32

So asking yourself, what do I need

to maintain that energy for me?

242

: 00:14:38

I would love to know from those four

steps in the glow up formula, so

243

: 00:14:42

that's, owning your leadership identity,

amplifying the presence making your,

244

: 00:14:47

strategic career moves, and stepping

into your future leadership self.

245

: 00:14:53

Which of those four is speaking to you now

in terms of what action you need to take?

246

: 00:14:59

I would love to know how you

get on with your blow up.

247

: 00:15:01

I hope you enjoyed the session today and

liked having a different spin on how you

248

: 00:15:06

can lose a dial on your career and second,

at the next leadership level for yourself.

249

: 00:15:16

Thank you so much for listening

to this episode of the Unstuck

250

: 00:15:20

and Unstoppable podcast.

251

: 00:15:22

I have lots of free resources you

can access on my website, ww.career

252

: 00:15:27

tree coaching.co

253

: 00:15:28

uk, and I'll also put

links in the show notes.

254

: 00:15:32

If you found this episode

helpful, then please subscribe

255

: 00:15:35

so you don't miss the next one.

256

: 00:15:37

And please do share it with a

friend and leave me a review

257

: 00:15:40

and I will personally thank you.

258

: 00:15:43

Remember, you're capable of more

than you know, shine brightly.

259

: 00:15:48

Lead boldly and unlock the

extraordinary potential within you.

260

: 00:15:52

Be unstoppable.