Women’s Leadership: Leading More Strategically

In executive coaching and leadership workshops, I frequently notice a key area of women’s leadership that needs a boost: strategic leadership development. Whether it’s an executive presence that’s weak, an executive voice that lacks authority and confidence, or women in leadership who aren’t coming across as strategic thinkers, learning how to lead more strategically should be central to women’s executive coaching initiatives and women’s leadership training.

Here’s the thing: we know through SHAMBAUGH’s research and our women’s leadership program, Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL) Program, as well as our eWILL coaching and development training, that plenty of women are strategic thinkers. But in some cases, they don’t come across that way—and this can be particularly problematic in key leadership meetings and moments. Unfortunately, since perception that someone isn’t “showing up strategic” ends up becoming their team’s reality, this Sticky Floor ends up holding many women back from realizing their true executive and leadership potential.

Leading more strategically is also critical to lead and thrive in a hybrid workplace. Below are some methods that leaders can leverage for inclusive leadership and gender equality. Our executive consultants use these strategies in SHAMBAUGH’s executive programs for women, to coach women in leadership on how to improve their strategic leadership ability a hybrid setting:

Stand Out with Executive Presence

The idea of “showing up strategic” is more important than ever today for leaders who must ensure that their leadership tactics translate to employees working remotely or in a hybrid arrangement. Small tweaks to women’s leadership style—to create a stronger and more impactful executive presence—can result in meaningful differences in how they are perceived as leaders throughout their organization. Executive presence affects a leader’s ability to influence others and to get promoted.

Executive presence may sound mysterious but the concept can be quite simple: it’s about the way leaders carry and conduct themselves in conversations to increase their credibility, and the persona they convey in meetings and other workplace interactions. While an executive may pride herself on her technical skills and ability to get the job done efficiently, this doesn’t equate to having a strong executive presence. To develop your executive presence:

• Work on your self-confidence—before you have the conversation affirm you’re differentiating qualities and how you can bring value to others, state your opinions firmly, and back them with strong rationale.
• Communicate with a sense of authority—shift your persona from being overly helpful and polite to being decisive.
• Ask thoughtful strategic questions—avoid the tendency to routinely defer to or blindly agree with others.
• Don’t personalize business—view what happens through the lens of business goals rather than becoming emotional about situations.

 

Hone and Own Your Executive Voice

Leading more strategically also requires developing and then continuing to finetune your executive voice—your ability to “command the room” and provide teams and colleagues with clarity, accountability, and alignment through your communication and leadership. I often boil this concept down in our women’s leadership training by pointing out that executive voice involves these five critical components:

• What you say—focus on solutions, not problems.
• How you say it—be concise and stay on point.
• To whom you say it—know your audience and be relevant.
• When you say it—consider issues that might affect the timing of your message.
• Understanding the proper context in which to say it—know the big picture so your ideas fit the agenda.

 

In my next post, I’ll provide actionable strategies on knowing and leveraging your value in a hybrid work environment. If you or your team have experiences with this topic or advice that you’d like to share about it, please reach out to me at info@shambaughleadership.com.

Contact me at info@shambaughleadership.com or link to SHAMBAUGH’s offerings to learn more about SHAMBAUGH’s Coaching and Development Programs on Executive Presence,  Women in Leadership and Learning (WILL) Program and eWill Virtual Coaching and Development Program, Accelerating Gender Equity, Inclusive Culture, and Fundamentals of Leadership in a Post Covid Work Environment. I’d be happy to speak at your company on how women can champion their life/career and lean into their highest leadership.    

Rebecca Shambaugh is President of SHAMBAUGH Leadership, and Founder of Women in Leadership and Learning. Rebecca is a contributing writer to Harvard Business Review, the HuffPost, and a TEDx speaker. Rebecca has been featured on CNBC, Forbes, Training Magazine, and US News and World Report.  She is author of the best-selling books It’s Not a Glass Ceiling, It’s a Sticky Floor and Make Room for Her: Why Companies Need an Integrated Leadership Model to Achieve Extraordinary Results.

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