Today I met with an image consultant in hopes of improving my image. Past managers and mentors have told me that I lack executive presence, diplomatic skills, sophistication, inter-personal skills, and energy to advance to the executive level. Today's meeting was my attempt to find out what I can do to address these concerns.
The coach and I first discussed the current situation and explored the internal and external factors that may be hindering my progress. The external factors we identified are micro-managing manager, the current organization structure, the organization culture, and newness of my role to the organization. My role is perhaps not well received by the organization because it is a new role in this organization. The functional leaders are not accustomed to having a project manager run projects. They are probably feeling threatened by my role. The way to address these external factors is to have one-on-one off-site meetings with functional leaders to understand how they perceive my role and how I could help them better in serving the organization. The key is to be sincere in these meetings and don't put them on-guard.
The internal factors we identified are lack of confidence and professional aloofness. The way to address these internal factors are to be more transparent, share personal stories with employees, employ self-deprecating humor, and allow people to connect with me. The time spent with people is not a waste of time, but it is an opportunity to connect with them. These are some of the self-limiting beliefs that I need to overcome.
To address the issue of low energy level, the coach recommended I practice speaking at one octave stronger and use mid-torso (the energy zone) when speaking. The coach recommended using hand gestures at the mid-torso level while communicating.
Then we talked about how to develop a professional image. The coach recommended using power color when choosing clothes. Black, grey, chocolate, olive, and burgundy are some of the power colors. When choosing clothes, I should choose shirts and pants that match tone on tone. The shoes should be leather, hard soled, and in great repair. This connotes success and confidence. The buttons on the shirt should match the color of the shirt. On Fridays, I can wear super dark jeans with good Italian shoes and good leather belt.
We also talked about sending 360 degree surveys to MBA cohorts, current colleagues, past colleagues, and friends to get more data on how people perceive me. This will provide us with rich data to identify patterns of behaviors that are helping and hindering my progress.
The coach also recommended the following books to help improve my likability and image.
1. Likability Factor by Tim Sanders
2. Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John Maxwell
3. What go you hear won't get you there by Marsha Goldsmith
4. Primal Leadership by Daniel Goldman
Emotional intelligence is an art. It is such a crucial part of leading a happy and successful personal and professional life. I want to improve my emotional intelligence.
The coach and I first discussed the current situation and explored the internal and external factors that may be hindering my progress. The external factors we identified are micro-managing manager, the current organization structure, the organization culture, and newness of my role to the organization. My role is perhaps not well received by the organization because it is a new role in this organization. The functional leaders are not accustomed to having a project manager run projects. They are probably feeling threatened by my role. The way to address these external factors is to have one-on-one off-site meetings with functional leaders to understand how they perceive my role and how I could help them better in serving the organization. The key is to be sincere in these meetings and don't put them on-guard.
The internal factors we identified are lack of confidence and professional aloofness. The way to address these internal factors are to be more transparent, share personal stories with employees, employ self-deprecating humor, and allow people to connect with me. The time spent with people is not a waste of time, but it is an opportunity to connect with them. These are some of the self-limiting beliefs that I need to overcome.
To address the issue of low energy level, the coach recommended I practice speaking at one octave stronger and use mid-torso (the energy zone) when speaking. The coach recommended using hand gestures at the mid-torso level while communicating.
Then we talked about how to develop a professional image. The coach recommended using power color when choosing clothes. Black, grey, chocolate, olive, and burgundy are some of the power colors. When choosing clothes, I should choose shirts and pants that match tone on tone. The shoes should be leather, hard soled, and in great repair. This connotes success and confidence. The buttons on the shirt should match the color of the shirt. On Fridays, I can wear super dark jeans with good Italian shoes and good leather belt.
We also talked about sending 360 degree surveys to MBA cohorts, current colleagues, past colleagues, and friends to get more data on how people perceive me. This will provide us with rich data to identify patterns of behaviors that are helping and hindering my progress.
The coach also recommended the following books to help improve my likability and image.
1. Likability Factor by Tim Sanders
2. Everyone Communicates, Few Connect by John Maxwell
3. What go you hear won't get you there by Marsha Goldsmith
4. Primal Leadership by Daniel Goldman
Emotional intelligence is an art. It is such a crucial part of leading a happy and successful personal and professional life. I want to improve my emotional intelligence.
No comments:
Post a Comment