by Caroline Leach | Feb 16, 2025 | Careers, Leadership
Pings. Dings. Rings.
Our work days are overflowing with distractions.
In a busy environment, how can you increase your executive presence?
By doing the opposite.
By releasing the pull of technology.
By being fully PRESENT with people.
Being present is a topic Tom Larsen and I explored last fall in a talk at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Tom leads the EMBA Career Strategy & Development Team, and I’m an executive coach for students in the program.
Executive presence is about a feedback loop:
1️⃣ PLANNING: how do you want to show up?
2️⃣ EXECUTION: how are you showing up?
3️⃣ REFLECTION: how did you show up?
4️⃣ IMPROVE: what do you want to change?
Being present is part of the planning process. It’s being deliberate and deciding in advance how you want to show up.
Tom shared a story about a senior executive he’s coaching. This leader sets simple rules for how they require their team to show up in board meetings: no phones, no computers, and only the paper they need to engage in the meeting. Instead, this leader encourages the team to observe how other leaders and board members interact with each other.
Try these tips in your next video call or in-person meeting:
- Silence your phone.
- Put your phone away.
- Maintain eye contact.
- Sit or stand up straight.
- Ask clarifying questions.
Make it just you and the person or people you’re meeting with in the moment.
Put everything else aside. Just be there.
If unrelated thoughts pop into your mind, jot them down for later.
How do you also handle the reality that business moves quickly and you want to be responsive to your colleagues?
Check messages before and after meetings. Build in a few minutes between meetings, by scheduling them for 25 minutes instead of 30.
Better yet, do a calendar audit and decline meetings you don’t need to attend.
Do I always follow my own advice?
Not as often as I’d like.
But think about a meeting where you and your colleagues were fully present with each other.
How did the quality of your discussions and decisions differ from meetings where you and others were distracted?
What are your strategies for being fully present with people?
by Caroline Leach | Sep 13, 2023 | Careers, Leadership
What’s your personal brand?
Excited to speak on this topic today for UCLA Anderson Executive Education.
We each have a personal brand, whether we actively cultivate one or not.
A personal brand is our reputation. It’s:
* what people think of us
* the values we hold dear
* the value we bring to our work
What do you want people to think when they think of you?
And why should you care about this?
It’s because a strong personal brand has several benefits:
👉 building trust with people who may hire and promote you
👉 attracting sponsors who will champion your career growth
👉 accelerating the overall development of your career trajectory
Your personal brand can precede you, and open doors.
You communicate your personal brand in every interaction you have.
What do you want people to say about you?
by Caroline Leach | Sep 4, 2023 | Careers, Leadership
What are you celebrating this Labor Day?
Maybe it’s the end of a memorable, or not-so-memorable, summer. Perhaps it’s a peek into a vibrant autumn. My wish for you is exactly what you want.
For me, today marks 5 years of my business, The Carrelle Company.
The name and the business were born on Labor Day 2018. Here’s the origin story: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-name-carrelle-company-born-labor-day-caroline-leach/?trackingId=%2FYVREys1T0irvUPtHkln%2BA%3D%3D
It’s a labor of love, evolving from 3 decades in the Fortune 100. I held corporate leadership roles in communications and marketing.
It’s an ideal foundation to become an executive coach, a communications and personal branding consultant, a keynote speaker, and a university professor.
Here’s what I’ve learned, for corporate careers AND entrepreneurial ventures.
⭐ HAVE A PLAN, AND STAY FLEXIBLE
A viable business or career needs a good plan. Who are you going to serve? How will you meet their needs? How will they know about you? Why will they want to work with you?
And a plan only goes so far. Along the way, there’s feedback about what’s working. For me, executive coaching came later. My calendar showed people wanted to talk about leadership. Being flexible fueled the addition of coaching.
⭐ VIBRANT RELATIONSHIPS ARE EVERYTHING
What we want professionally usually involves getting it from another person. The strength of a network is what helps a business or a career grow and thrive over time.
In my case, some exceptional early introductions led to the establishment of key clients who continue to this day. Nurturing relationships and delivering great work are imperative. So is paying it forward to open doors for others.
⭐ DON’T FALL FOR THE “SUCCESS PORN”
Overnight success doesn’t exist, despite what our social media feeds say. “The slog” isn’t talked about much. That’s the day-to-day action toward a business or career vision. The outreach. The conversations. The proposals. And sometimes the rejection. The silence.
What really matters? Working on a business every weekday, in harmony with an overall life. Identifying opportunities, persisting through obstacles, and building on bright spots. If a door is closed, it’s possible to open a window.
What would YOU add to these lessons?
P.S. In July and August I posted to LinkedIn every day as a content creation experiment. It’s been fun and rewarding, reconnecting with many of you in the process. Going forward, I’ll post on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.
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