Speak with confidence
Using a firm but intimidating tone when speaking with co workers at the office is the perfect way to bridge the two qualities together. According to a survey of 700 managers by Pearson, 85% considered upspeak to be a sign of insecurity and emotional weakness, which can hurt other employees’ perception of the leader.
Storytelling
The ability to analyze data and translate the numbers into a story your employees and consumers can believe in is a quality reflective of a strong, personable leader. Stories not only provide an emotional framework that help people remember what you said, but they also give you a platform to tie emotional sentiment into your business model. This creative quality also allows leaders to connect with people internally, along with applying a face to a product in the market.
Do your homework
Preparing for a meeting or a conference is the best way to both showcase your knowledge and most effectively utilize everyone’s time in the room. Basically, if you want people to take you seriously, it is important to do research in order to better understand a new market trend or the latest tactic on Twitter to drive traffic to your company’s site.
A recent study showed that Americans attend 11 million meetings every day, and unproductive meetings cost the US economy $37 billion every year. Regardless of the meeting’s nature, you need to be as informed as possible with the topic at hand. Supporting this knowledge with stats, data, and asking yourself how to improve will prepare you for any questions people may ask.
Stay informed
The main takeaway is to do anything and everything to stay as informed as possible. Since science and technology are becoming increasingly relevant in the business world, keeping up with these industries’ latest trends is absolutely vital as a leader in the company. You set the example for other entry level, upper management, and mid-level positions.
Don’t become arrogant
Balancing confidence and humility is the key to not become arrogant in the process. Truly confident people are not afraid to admit that they in fact, do not know everything. In other words, leaders who are confident but are not arrogant are willing to essentially learn from others. In fact, the best way to show your confidence is own up to you what you want to learn, need to improve on, and will ask questions to better understand how to get there.
