Bringing research to life in your leadership. Weekly and under 8 minutes.
Summary
In this conversation, Dr. Alexa Chilcutt (www.linkedin.com/in/alexa-chilcutt-phd/) discusses the importance of executive communication and public speaking skills. She explains that anxiety around public speaking stems from the fear of being judged and evaluated. However, she emphasises that with practice and a clear process, individuals can become more confident and effective communicators. Dr. Chilcutt also provides tips for structuring a message, including identifying the purpose, understanding the audience, and breaking the information into three main points. Additionally, she highlights the significance of executive presence in career advancement and outlines the 10 characteristics of executive presence, which include confidence, communication ability, appearance, and values in action. In this conversation, Alexa Chilcutt and Andrew Beveridge discuss various aspects of leadership and communication. They explore topics such as executive presence, effective communication for technical professionals, and the challenges faced by women in leadership roles. Alexa emphasises the importance of intention and preparation in developing executive presence and highlights the need for technical professionals to simplify complex information for their audience. She also discusses the significance of leaders communicating directly with their teams and the broader organization. Finally, she addresses the challenges faced by women in leadership and the importance of empowering women to overcome imposter syndrome and advocate for themselves.
Takeaways
Anxiety around public speaking is common and stems from the fear of being judged and evaluated. However, with practice and a clear process, individuals can become more confident and effective communicators.
When structuring a message, it is important to identify the purpose, understand the audience, and break the information into three main points. This helps to captivate the audience and increase memory retention.
Executive presence is crucial for career advancement. It encompasses characteristics such as confidence, communication ability, appearance, and values in action. Building executive presence involves being self-aware, authentic, and aligning actions with values.
To improve executive presence, individuals can ask for feedback, record themselves presenting, and focus on creating meaningful connections with the audience. Developing executive presence requires intention and preparation.
Technical professionals should simplify complex information for their audience and use relatable language.
Leaders should communicate directly with their teams and the broader organization to ensure effective communication.
Women in leadership face challenges such as imposter syndrome and should be empowered to advocate for themselves.
Chapters
00:10 Introduction and Background
01:19 Interest in Executive Communication
05:09 Structuring a Message
09:01 Finding Your Authentic Style
11:38 Understanding the Audience
14:21 Avoiding Imitation and Finding Your Own Style
23:24 Characteristics of Executive Presence
25:11 Self-Reflection Exercise
27:10 Shifting Perceptions and Elevating Adjectives
29:12 Communicating Complex Technical Information
33:41 Effective Communication in Leadership
36:28 Building Connections and Getting Accurate Information
43:48 Challenges and Empowerment for Women in Leadership
49:21 Creating a Supportive and Diverse Organisational Culture
51:18 Connecting with Alexa Chilcutt
References and Resources
Dagley, G. R., & Gaskin, C. J. (2014). Understanding executive presence: Perspectives of business professionals. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 66(3), 197–211. https://doi.org/10.1037/cpb0000011
Body Language Expert Explains How to Show Confidence | WIRED - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VRJzvJ5XPQI
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Rules can be frustrating. It can be tempting to bend the rules or ignore them altogether, but this can lead to negative outcomes. This week we explore how to work around rules but maintain your integrity.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 220 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we explore how to work around rules but maintain your integrity.
Lapses in integrity have ended many leaders’ careers. Breaking the rules is never a good idea. But we often need to be creative and flexible to get things done. Blindly sticking to out of date rules can mean we miss opportunities. Organisations can become overrun with excessive bureaucracy if we don’t challenge the rules. Sometimes we need to bend the rules, change the rules, or work around them. But how do we do that with integrity?
Research demonstrates that while rule-breakers may be seen as more dominant, they generally have less respect from others and are seen as having reduced leadership potential. The research also shows that rule-benders can be seen as having more leadership potential, but only in competitive situations. Generally, rule-abiders were viewed most positively in cooperative settings.
So while bending the rules may work when we need to win against a competitor, we need to be careful bending the rules in most other settings. We also need to be careful about the example we set for others. If we bend the rules as a leader, we can expect those who follow us to do the same. This can lead to adverse outcomes if people bend rules without fully understanding the consequences.
Here are five tips to help you bend the rules while maintaining integrity:
Understand why the rules exist. Take the time to research why rules were put in place originally. Speak to those responsible for the rule and find out the history behind them. You might uncover specific reasons why the rule is in place, or you might find that the rule can be changed.
Confirm the constraints. Sometimes rules are shared from person to person with slight variations. What someone might share as a steadfast rule might actually be quite different to the actual rule. Explore the constraints and where there might be flexibility.
Get creative. Look for innovative ways to either work around the rule or reduce its impact on your work. Brainstorm with your team to come up with creative solutions.
Get a second opinion. Before you take action, check in with someone else you respect to confirm your approach.
Inform others. You don’t want to be taking innovative action without letting others know. You don’t want to be seen as being deceptive or sneaky in your approach.
And if you do discover a rule that no longer makes sense for your organisation, mount the case to have it removed. That will help others to be more effective as well.
Research
Rule benders make more appealing leaders than rule abiders - https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/rule-benders-make-more-appealing-leaders-rule-abiders
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Summary
Interviewers place a strong emphasis on perceptions of nervousness. But there are practical steps we can take to appear less nervous in meetings and interviews.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 219 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we work through ways to appear less nervous in meetings and interviews.
Research demonstrates that anxious candidates perform worse at job interviews, even when their skills and experience align well with the role. Interviewers place an oversized importance to the appearance of anxiety when making judgements. And this tendency can extend to other important meetings.
To avoid this, we might consider visible signs of nervousness such as shaky hands or nervous laughter. We might then focus on the use of our hands, slowing our speech or avoiding fidgeting. We can risk becoming overly sensitive to how our behaviours are coming across.
However, In the research, the only consistent behavioural indicator of nervousness that the interviewers focused on was long pauses before responding to questions. This was potentially seen as the candidate being less prepared and less assertive than if they answered questions directly. Negative perceptions of anxiety in meetings and interviews was less about nervous signs, and more to do with perceptions of assertiveness and warmth as traits. Those who were perceived as less warm and less assertive were also rated as more anxious. Those who came across as friendly and assertive were seen as less anxious. It appears the overall impression we leave is far more important than any nervous tics that we might show.
So what can we do to appear less nervous in meetings and interviews? To increase others’ perceptions of our warmth and assertiveness, you can try these techniques:
We often feel more nervous than we appear. Focus on the overall impression of warmth and assertiveness that you give to others. Apply these tips in your next meeting or interview.
Research
Feiler, A.R., Powell, D.M. Behavioral Expression of Job Interview Anxiety. J Bus Psychol 31, 155–171 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10869-015-9403-z
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Your subscription brings together all of our video content in one place including:
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Summary
Research demonstrates the background we choose for video calls has a significant impact on how trustworthy and competent we appear. This week we explore how to boost your first impressions on a video call in three simple ways.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 218 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we explore how to boost your first impressions on a video call in three simple ways.
Your choice of background on a video call has a greater impact on how you’re perceived by others than you might expect. You might be tempted to choose a novelty background to communicate a sense of fun, or a home background to reflect that you’re not in the office. But there are risks with these choices.
Selecting a novelty background or a simulated home background saw ratings of trustworthiness drop. Blurring a home background resulted in better ratings of trustworthiness for the person, but the best ratings were for a background with plants or a bookcase.
The research also found that facial expressions, not surprisingly, also mattered. Happy faces were rated as more trustworthy than neutral or sad faces.
Ratings of competence also varied by background, with bookcases, plants and blank walls leading to the highest ratings. Novelty backgrounds, home backgrounds, and blurred backgrounds saw lower ratings. Again, happy facial expressions resulted in more positive ratings of competence.
Interestingly, women were seen as more trustworthy and more competent than men across all backgrounds in the experiment. Our gender impacts the first impressions we make on a video meeting. Men will likely benefit from additional efforts to demonstrate trustworthiness and competence during the meeting.
Here are three simple ways to boost your first impressions on a video call:
Give these practical ideas a try on your next video call.
Research - https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0291444
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Your subscription brings together all of our video content in one place including:
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Summary
Research demonstrates a risk of detachment and reduced connection on video calls. This week we explore ways to be more real when we’re not meeting in-person.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 217 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we look at how to be more real on video calls.
We make rapid judgements about people based on visual and other information we receive. While this can lead to us making incorrect judgements when we meet people in-person, the risk is increased through video calls.
Research demonstrates an increased risk that we treat a visual representation of someone as less real than if we meet them in-person. On a video call we can treat other people as abstract rather than real. This effect is likely increased on a call that has audio and video challenges.
In experiments, participants viewed others as having fewer conscious feelings and less ability to make free choices than when meeting in-person.
As a leader, this could make us seem detached and lacking empathy during the conversation. It can, in turn, lead us to give less ethical consideration to the person on the other end of the video call. Our decision making may lack the warmth, concern and consideration that we would normally provide. So what can we do about this?
When making video calls, we need to be conscious of the risk of detachment and make conscious effort to see people as real human beings. Here are some tips to try:
Give these tips a try on your next video call, and we can all become more real.
Research summary - https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/medusa-effect
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Your subscription brings together all of our video content in one place including:
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- Five five day challenges with workbooks
- Nineteen recorded webinars
- A searchable library of 170+ "how to" quick videos on a range of leadership challenges
That's over $4,500 of content for less than the price of a single online course. And there are more videos added each week.
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Summary
When you’re in leadership for long enough you discover that crises are inevitable. This week we look at five ideas to help you lead through a crisis.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 216 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we look at five ideas to help you lead through a crisis.
When you’re in leadership for long enough you discover that crises are inevitable. Whether it's a financial downturn, a global pandemic, or internal organisational challenges, we all need to navigate through uncertainties to ensure the survival and success of our teams and organisations. Here are some practical strategies backed by research on how to effectively lead through a crisis.
Leading through a crisis demands a combination of strategic thinking, effective communication, and a focus on well-being. Crises present opportunities for growth and transformation when met with thoughtful, prepared and decisive leadership.
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Leadership Today On-Demand is a video subscription service that allows you to work on your leadership in your own time and at your own pace. It is available online and through our Apple iOS and Android apps for phones and tablets. Our mission is to help you to become an even better leader.
Your subscription brings together all of our video content in one place including:
- Five online courses with workbooks - valued at $250 each
- Five five day challenges with workbooks - valued at $150 each
- Nineteen recorded webinars - valued at $100 each
- A searchable library of 160+ "how to" quick videos on a range of leadership challenges - valued at $500
That's over $4,500 of content for less than the price of a single online course. And there are more videos added each week.
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Summary
Whether it's speaking up in meetings, taking on challenging projects, or navigating uncertain situations, courage plays a pivotal role at work. This week we explore how to be more courageous at work.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 215 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we explore how to be more courageous at work.
Whether it's speaking up in meetings, taking on challenging projects, or navigating uncertain situations, courage plays a pivotal role at work. Courage is often associated with the ability to face fear and adversity head-on. From a psychological perspective, it involves factors such as self-efficacy (a belief in your own capabilities), resilience, and a willingness to embrace discomfort. To be courageous you need confidence to act and an ability to push through negative emotions. There are a number of steps you can take to increase your courage at work.
Remember, courage is not the absence of fear but the triumph over it, and with intentional effort, you can become a more courageous and impactful leader.
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We have a great deal for podcast listeners on our Leadership Today On-Demand subscription. Just go to www.learn.leadership.today and checkout using the promo code PODCAST for 25% off an annual subscription.
Leadership Today On-Demand is a video subscription service that allows you to work on your leadership in your own time and at your own pace. It is available online and through our Apple iOS and Android apps for phones and tablets. Our mission is to help you to become an even better leader.
Your subscription brings together all of our video content in one place including:
- Five online courses with workbooks - valued at $250 each
- Five five day challenges with workbooks - valued at $150 each
- Nineteen recorded webinars - valued at $100 each
- A searchable library of 160+ "how to" quick videos on a range of leadership challenges - valued at $500
That's over $4,500 of content for less than the price of a single online course. And there are more videos added each week.
Get Connected
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Summary
Whether it’s working arrangements, a pay rise, contract terms with a client or project timelines with colleagues, we are all required to negotiate at some point. This week we explore ways to negotiate effectively.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 214 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we explore ways to negotiate effectively.
Whether it’s working arrangements, a pay rise, contract terms with a client or project timelines with colleagues, we are all required to negotiate at some point. Understanding the fundamentals of negotiation can help to achieve a great outcome for you, while also seeking to build the relationship with the other person.
Before we work through some tips to help your negotiations, it’s important to understand position versus interest. People come to a negotiation with a particular position in mind. This is the stance they are taking and sharing openly with the other person. For example, a colleague might have a position that a particular project will take six weeks to deliver. Behind every position is a set of interests. Interests are the reasons behind the position. So your colleague’s position around the project taking six weeks to deliver could be based on interests such as not overworking their team, delivering other projects on time, or not wanting to over-promise a faster turnaround. As we negotiate it’s important to move past positions and towards interests. Being aware of interests provides much more flexibility for all parties in a negotiation.
Beyond that, there are several points to be aware of before and during a negotiation:
Becoming more effective at negotiating takes time and preparation. Give these tips a try as you seek to increase your negotiation skills.
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Leadership Today On-Demand is a video subscription service that allows you to work on your leadership in your own time and at your own pace. It is available online and through our Apple iOS and Android apps for phones and tablets. Our mission is to help you to become an even better leader.
Your subscription brings together all of our video content in one place including:
- Five online courses with workbooks - valued at $250 each
- Five five day challenges with workbooks - valued at $150 each
- Nineteen recorded webinars - valued at $100 each
- A searchable library of 160+ "how to" quick videos on a range of leadership challenges - valued at $500
That's over $4,500 of content for less than the price of a single online course. And there are more videos added each week.
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Summary
With so much uncertainty and change it can be difficult to map out your career. However there are still steps we can take to build a great career.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 213 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we explore how to build a great career.
In just a few generations the number of jobs someone is likely to have in their lifetime has increased markedly. Estimates vary, but it’s likely a young person commencing their working life today will have around 15 jobs and 3 separate careers. Even across 50 years of working, that’s changing jobs about every 3 years. Career planning is becoming more challenging and complex.
When it comes to building a great career, you will find many people propose finding work with a combination of:
The missing factor in this equation is growth - what you can develop. A job without growth opportunities will ultimately cause your career to stall. Life expectancy continues to increase so we will be working longer, which has implications for our training and development. The old model of completing training, then working in a career until your skills are bordering on redundant will no longer work. We have to continue learning, growing and adapting right across our career.
But how can you plan for a career when the job you might have in 10 years may not even exist now? Here’s how. A great career comes down to your mindset and actions. Despite rapid change and uncertainty, we can adopt a mindset that welcomes change, where we are willing to take calculated risks and learn from mistakes. We can invest in knowing ourselves and regularly improving our capabilities. And we can also build connections with others.
So in order to build a great career, I suggest you:
Building a great career takes some effort. While we can’t necessarily plan every step, there are actions we can take to help build a great career.
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We have a great deal for podcast listeners on our Leadership Today On-Demand subscription. Just go to www.learn.leadership.today and checkout using the promo code PODCAST for 25% off an annual subscription.
Leadership Today On-Demand is a video subscription service that allows you to work on your leadership in your own time and at your own pace. It is available online and through our Apple iOS and Android apps for phones and tablets. Our mission is to help you to become an even better leader.
Your subscription brings together all of our video content in one place including:
- Five online courses with workbooks - valued at $250 each
- Five five day challenges with workbooks - valued at $150 each
- Nineteen recorded webinars - valued at $100 each
- A searchable library of 160+ "how to" quick videos on a range of leadership challenges - valued at $500
That's over $4,500 of content for less than the price of a single online course. And there are more videos added each week.
Get Connected
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Summary
Leadership is about achieving results through people. With the demands of managing people, it can be easy to lose sight of results we need to achieve and deliver. In this episode we explore how to drive for results.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 212 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we explore how to drive for results.
Leadership is about achieving results through people. With the demands of managing people, it can be easy to lose sight of results we need to achieve and deliver. We can become distracted or even become unaware of the key outcomes expected, and therefore not provide the direction, feedback and support our people need to achieve the right results. We have all seen leaders that fail to deliver. People are left wondering what they’re spending their time on, given the shortfalls in performance for them and their team. But there are practical things we can do to help us and our teams to drive for results.
Achievement drive is a common feature of effective teams and individuals. We can help our teams to establish and chase after purpose-filled results, providing feedback, support and encouragement along the way.
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We have a great deal for podcast listeners on our Leadership Today On-Demand subscription. Just go to www.learn.leadership.today and checkout using the promo code PODCAST for 25% off an annual subscription.
Leadership Today On-Demand is a video subscription service that allows you to work on your leadership in your own time and at your own pace. It is available online and through our Apple iOS and Android apps for phones and tablets. Our mission is to help you to become an even better leader.
Your subscription brings together all of our video content in one place including:
- Five online courses with workbooks - valued at $250 each
- Five five day challenges with workbooks - valued at $150 each
- Nineteen recorded webinars - valued at $100 each
- A searchable library of 160+ "how to" quick videos on a range of leadership challenges - valued at $500
That's over $4,500 of content for less than the price of a single online course. And there are more videos added each week.
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Summary
It’s common to experience stress at work and then struggle to perform at our best. We might even react in ways we regret later. This week we explore how to maintain composure under pressure.
Transcript
Hello and welcome to episode 211 of the Leadership Today podcast where each week we share practical tips to improve your leadership. This week we explore how to maintain composure under pressure.
It’s common to experience stress at work and then struggle to perform at our best. We might even react in ways we regret later. Perhaps it’s a comment from a colleague that annoys us, or our computer crashing and losing what we’ve been working on for hours. We then say or do something that’s not us at our best, or we might even feel unable to say or do what we’d like in that moment. But there are practical things we can do, both in the moment and as part of our daily routines, that can significantly improve the way we handle pressure.
Here are four things you can do beforehand:
And now five things you can do In the moment:
These are just some practical things you can do beforehand and in the moment to help us maintain our composure and respond well when under pressure. If you found this helpful you can check out our Harnessing Your Emotions five day challenge for more tips - https://leadershiptoday.vhx.tv/challenge-harnessing-your-emotions . Have a great week.
Leadership Today On-Demand Special Offer
We have a great deal for podcast listeners on our Leadership Today On-Demand subscription. Just go to www.learn.leadership.today and checkout using the promo code PODCAST for 25% off an annual subscription.
Leadership Today On-Demand is a video subscription service that allows you to work on your leadership in your own time and at your own pace. It is available online and through our Apple iOS and Android apps for phones and tablets. Our mission is to help you to become an even better leader.
Your subscription brings together all of our video content in one place including:
- Five online courses with workbooks - valued at $250 each
- Five five day challenges with workbooks - valued at $150 each
- Nineteen recorded webinars - valued at $100 each
- A searchable library of 160+ "how to" quick videos on a range of leadership challenges - valued at $500
That's over $4,500 of content for less than the price of a single online course. And there are more videos added each week.
Get Connected
Find out ways to get connected here: https://leadership.today/connect
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