New leaders need strategy, structure, and confidence
You’ve been promoted because you have deep experience and subject-matter expertise. You know what you’re talking about and have proven that you can manage a team.
Now, success requires a powerful trifecta of skills, so that your competency shines through, and so that you leave a presentation proud of your work and proud of how you represented your team.
It’s not just in the way we present to our team or peers, although that’s still important.
When we step into a senior-level role, one or two levels down from the C-Suite, we need to adjust our messages to a high-level, high-stakes audience with limited time and unlimited ability to make an impact.
Maybe it’s a 1:1 with your C-suite leader, or presenting to the board of directors or a sub-committee.
In my work with executives over the past twenty years, I’ve found that the more senior the person we’re addressing, the less of their time we have.
These are the questions new senior leaders should ask themselves:
Strategy:
Are you delivering the right material to the audience? What key points do you need to hit and how can you anticipate objections?
Structure:
Is your structure clear, concise, and easy to follow? Does your impatient audience know where you are in the presentation and where you are taking them?
Confidence:
How comfortable are you thinking on your feet when the tough questions start coming? How many of those questions have you anticipated, and how can you confidently acknowledge when you don’t know without letting it impact your credibility?
Strategy, structure, and confidence.
These are the skillsets we need to cultivate in order to successfully move into the most senior positions. It’s not just about doing your best for yourself, it’s about confidently representing your team and their hard work, and making a positive impact on your organization.
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