Leadership

Leadership demands many social obligations. In my experience, senior executives can sometimes be, well, not exactly anti-social but perhaps uncomfortable in business social settings, like conference receptions or cocktail parties or industry events.

They know they have an important obligations, roles and duties in these situations — representing the company, meeting as many people as possible, remembering names and faces, impressing people with their charm and authenticity, oh, and not spilling anything while ”gripping and grinning.”

Some leaders are able to handle all of this better than others. It’s more difficult for those who moved up the ranks from being a technical expert to join management and lead people if they aren’t naturally adept in social situations. You’ve probably heard this old joke before, but I’ll tailor it here:

“How do you tell an outgoing thought leader from an introverted one? They stare at your shoes during a party.”

Are you maximizing your personal impact in different social situations by being extroverted–and that does not imply you should be wearing a lampshade as a party hat– or is your natural shyness a hindrance to getting the most out of every event? Do you need some guidance and tips to help you maneuver around social obstacles outside the office?

Ask, assess, then act. We’re here to help!

See related posts:
Part 2: Being a Social CEO–At Least Virtually
Part 3: Do Keep Up!

Is the challenge information overload…or the difficulty in evaluating it objectively?
Illustration by hikingartist.com

An article in the August edition of The Atlantic talked about a brainy computer scientist and astrophysicist, Larry Smarr, who was instrumental in the development of the internet. He’s now turning his research skills inward and is documenting minute details about his body and then monitoring and measuring any changes. No body part or organ or bodily function will be spared careful, objective analysis.

Mark Bowden, author of the article, ”The Measured Man,” commented that Smarr is ”in the vanguard of what some call the ‘quantified life,’ which envisions replacing the guesswork and supposition presently guiding individual health decisions with specific guidance tailored to the particular details of each person’s body.”

Smarr may be taking self awareness to an extreme. But how much information is too much information, when it comes to knowing yourself? Can you know too much about yourself as a leader?

The bigger risk, in my opinion, is to know too little. As a leader you need a clear picture of who you are and who others think you are, a picture based on actual data, not like Dorian Gray.

Once you’ve gathered sufficient data — whether qualitatively in performance feedback sessions, systematically with 360 degree reviews or more immediately with the Thought Leader Zone self-assessment tool — you need to evaluate the evidence objectively.

That analysis should be the basis for fully understanding any reputational opportunities you have so you can capitalize on them or any reputational risks you might have so that you can better manage or mitigate them.

Do you have all the information you need about yourself as a leader? Do you need specific guidance tailored to your specific details? Ask, assess, then act. We’re here to help.*

*Performance feedback sessions: We help executives and senior-level leaders assess and improve their communication strategy and technique. Sessions can be conducted face-to-face, via video conference or with consultative assessments of existing recorded or written communications. Contact us for more details.