One of my favorite parts of being an executive communication coach is hearing important questions from ambitious leaders and aspiring leaders:
- How do I highlight my strengths without sounding arrogant?
- How do I build executive presence?
- How do I balance warmth with authority as a leader?
These questions come up constantly, and for good reason. They matter.
But then there are the topics that almost nobody asks me about directly, even though I know they’re on people’s minds. One of the best examples is how to navigate taboo topics at work. Interestingly, “taboo topics” is one of the most searched terms on the Talk About Talk website (just click the 🔎 at the top), and one of the most popular podcast episodes we’ve ever released. People clearly want guidance, but they rarely do they ask me about taboo topics out loud. (Interesting, right?)
That’s exactly why I recently created a new free guide called How to Navigate Taboo Topics.
Click Here to Get the Free Guide
I hope you’ll check it out and share it with colleagues who might find it helpful.
This week, I also released a new podcast episode where I answered five real questions from leaders I coach. Rather than interviewing a guest, I opened up my coaching playbook in this episode and tackled some of the communication challenges I hear most often.
Click Here to Listen to the Episode
Here are my answers to 3 of the questions that I answered in this episode:
- How to change others’ outdated perceptions of you?
- How to tell your story when things don’t go according to plan?
- Can you be both authentic and strategic?
1️⃣ How to change others’ outdated perceptions of you?
One of the questions came from a leader who felt trapped by an outdated reputation. She had grown, developed new skills, and wanted to be seen differently, but the people around her still viewed her through the lens of the role she held years ago.
I have three suggestions (of course 3!):
- Reinforce your new and improved identity every way you can, both directly and implicitly. Be consistent and be relentless.
- Formalize your new skill set by earning a credential (formal training, becoming a member of an association, etc.)
- Leave! Sometimes it takes a catalyst like a new job at a new place to catalyze a new professional identity.
By the way, I suggest you try these in this order!
I recently coached an executive who was ready to move from being known as a technical expert to being recognized as a strategic business leader. We didn’t start by changing her résumé. We started by changing the way she talked about herself. Within a few months, she noticed colleagues were acting different around her and even introducing her differently, simply because she had become more intentional about her own narrative.
People don’t automatically notice your growth.
Sometimes you have to help them see it.
2️⃣ How to tell your story when things don’t go according to plan?
Another question focused on layoffs and career transitions:
I love this question. Whether you were fired, laid off, or you quit, your story is yours to tell.
There are two things I want you to think about here: the WHAT and the HOW:
WHAT
- Briefly label what happened.
- Memorize a sentence or a phrase that is true, valid and optimized for your context (down-sized, let go, etc.)
HOW
- Keep it brief. Don’t dwell. The longer you explain, the worse it sounds.
- Never, ever trash your past employer. Never.
- Focus on learning. “What I learned from this experience is…”
- Focus on what’s next. Shift the conversation to the future.
Your narrative can be more effective when it’s focused on the future.
3️⃣ Can you be both Authentic and Strategic?
The final question in the episode was my favorite.
Can you be authentic while also communicating strategically?
This is about integrity, isn’t it? It’s also about definitions.
- Authenticity is being true to yourself, not misrepresenting yourself
- Strategic is about being disciplined. Thinking about what you say, and how.
There’s one more important definition to consider here:
- Transparency is how much you filter. This is what you need to be strategic about.
Here’s how I encourage you to think about it:
Always be authentic – all contexts. But you don’t need to be fully transparent.
In fact, I discourage you from being fully transparent!
If you shared every thing about you, every thought you have, it would be overwhelming, confusing, and/or irrelevant.
Whether you’re interviewing for a promotion, speaking in the boardroom, delivering difficult feedback, or simply introducing yourself to someone new, your goal isn’t to share every thought in your head.
Your goal is to communicate the version of yourself that is both true and purposeful.
Now you’ve had a sneak peak of my answers to a few of the questions I answered in this Q&A episode. Thanks again to my clients who submitted these and the other questions.
I hope you enjoy this episode as much as I did! I invite you to listen to the episode on, Spotify, Apple, YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.
Click Here to Listen to the Episode
Now, I have to ask:
Do YOU have a question for me?
Please hit reply and ask me directly. You can also DM me on LinkedIn. I 🩵 love hearing from you!
Have a great week!
“TALK” soon,
Dr. Andrea Wojnicki Executive Communication Coach – Talk About Talk
