July 18, 2024 • 27 mins
What are the core skills that can propel your career to new heights?
Join me, Damaris Ramirez, as we explore the indispensable qualities women need to thrive, both in corporate environments and entrepreneurial ventures. From leadership and networking to the power of continuous education, I delve into how self-awareness and empathy can make all the difference. I'll highlight stories of influential women who've paved the way for us and share Sheryl Sandberg's impactful quote on leadership. Plus, we'll break down ten essential leadership skills—including strategic thinking and emotional intelligence—that are critical for anyone aiming to be an effective leader.
Ready to master the art of presentation and make a lasting impact? This episode equips you with actionable strategies to deliver compelling presentations that can catapult your career forward. From meticulous preparation and the smart use of visual aids to the importance of a good night's sleep and personal storytelling, I've got all the bases covered. Whether you're presenting a new idea or leading a team, these insights will help you leave a memorable mark. So, grab your coffee or tea, and let's talk about how you can elevate your career to the next level!
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome to Amigas let's Talk, the show
where we discuss life andbusiness and everything in
between.
I am your host, damaris Ramirez, and every week, we will bring
you stories and insights,hopefully to inspire you to
think differently.
My goal is that every womanlives her best life.
So, amiga, grab a cup of coffeeor tea and let's talk.
(00:21):
Hello, amiga, welcome toanother inspiring episode of
Amigas let's Talk.
Hello, amiga, welcome toanother inspiring episode of
Amigas Less Talk.
I am your host, damaris Ramirez, and today we're diving into a
topic that's close to my heart,that is, career advancement and
professional development forwomen.
We're going to discuss whyleadership skills, networking
and continued education areimportant for career and
(00:44):
business success.
You're going to also hear aboutsome incredible women who've
paved the way, recommend somemust-read books and highlight
alternative forms of education,and at the end, I'll also give
you some upcoming events thatyou won't want to miss.
Okay, let's start withleadership skills.
This is what I believe isneeded for any career
(01:06):
advancement or careerdevelopment, career growth,
whether that's in an office orin your own business, and I want
you to recognize that careeradvancement is not just about
climbing the corporate ladder.
It really requires you to havecontinuous learning and
self-improvement.
One of my favorite quotes is bySheryl Sandberg and she says
(01:31):
leadership is not about being incharge, it's about taking care
of those in your charge.
So leadership starts withself-awareness and empathy
taking care of the people thatwork for you or the people that
you are going to lead.
When I was in management, I wasmanaging large medical practices
(01:52):
and I took that very seriously.
My goal during those years wasto inspire, to guide, to manage
my team, and with over 15 yearsof leadership, I also realized
that not all the skills that Ineeded I had learned in school.
So sometimes, as you havecareer growth, you may be placed
(02:18):
in a job where you might nothave the skills, and that was
true for me.
Sometimes I get students thatask me, that get promoted or
want to apply for a leadershiprole, and they always will say
well, you know, can you tell mewhat I need to know?
How can I be successful in thisnew role?
(02:39):
What you know?
Do you have the playbook?
And I assure them that no one'sperfect.
I wasn't at first in myleadership roles.
I don't think I ever was, noone will be.
But you want to aim to be thebest and that's the best that
you can do.
But throughout the years ofbeing a leader, I was able to
(03:00):
put together 10 key skills andqualities that I think a good
leader should have, and that isusually what I give to any
student that might say at leastgive me something, damaris.
I'll say think about these 10things and how you can do these
best and you'll be on your wayto being a successful leader.
(03:23):
So the 10 skills key skills thatI recommend are number one
communication.
You need to have the ability toclearly convey ideas,
instructions and give feedback,and this effective communication
has to include active listening.
Communication has to includeactive listening, empathy and
(03:49):
also the capacity to adapt tomessages that you're going to
have to give to different typesof audiences.
Number two you need to haveemotional intelligence.
You need to understand andmanage your own personal
emotions, as well as recognizingand influencing the emotion of
others on your team.
This is going to includeself-awareness, self-regulation,
(04:11):
motivation and definitely somesocial skills.
Number three you need to havevision and strategic thinking.
If you're in leadership, thecompany's expecting you to be
the guy, the person that's goingto work with the team to show
them what, every day, remindthem of the company vision, the
(04:33):
strategic thinking, and if youhave your own business, then
that's all that's going to be onyour mind every day, so that's
not going to be an issue.
But when you're working in acorporation, you have to
remember to maintain that visionand strategic thinking.
And that means that you have tohave the ability to set clear,
(04:54):
compelling vision that theyunderstand, that they maybe can
read a mission and they need to,with that, have your team
develop long-term goals andstrategies so that they can
achieve what the goals are.
And this is going to theninvolve foresight, planning and
(05:15):
then your ability to anticipateand adapt, as there are changes,
which usually in any companythere will be some.
Number four you need to haveintegrity and ethics.
You need to lead with honesty,fairness, a strong moral
principle, and because theintegrity is going to build
(05:36):
trust with your team and sets apositive example that then
others can follow.
Number five you're going toneed to be able to delegate and
empower your team.
So that means you're going tohave to trust them with the
responsibilities that you givethem, and you're going to have
to also provide them theresources that they're going to
(05:58):
need to succeed Really.
An effective leader is able torecognize from their team the
strengths that the members haveand then leverage them
appropriately so that you canuse them in a very successful
way.
The number six key skill tobeing a good leader is that you
(06:20):
want to be inspirational andmotivational to your team.
You want to be encouraging.
You want to motivate them sothat they can achieve their best
.
This is then going to includeyou recognizing them and
celebrating all theirachievements.
You're going to provideconstructive feedback and
(06:41):
definitely fostering a positiveand very inclusive work culture.
Then, number seven the numberseven skill will be
accountability.
You, as a leader, need to takeresponsibility for your actions
and decisions, and you need toalso hold others accountable in
(07:01):
a very fair and constructivemanner.
This is going to include owningup to any mistakes that you
make and then learning from them.
Number eight skill for a leaderis going to be to have good time
management.
You're going to need to be ableto effectively manage time and
(07:22):
the map and use the correctresources to maximize your
productivity and then achievethe company goals, and that's
going to be so important.
You're going to have to maybesometimes help your team
prioritize tasks.
You're going to have to ifthere's different layers of
management.
You might have to help themdelegate effectively, and you
(07:46):
want to definitely do timemanagement, and hopefully that
will help your team avoidprocrastination.
The ninth skill is continuouslearning, so you need to commit
that you're going to haveongoing personal and
professional development, andthis is because a good leader is
always going to seek out goodknowledge and skills and
(08:09):
experiences, because they wantto stay ahead, they want to be
able to improve their leadershipcapabilities so that they could
be a more successful leader.
And then the last one a skillthat I mentioned is you need to
stay in tune with innovation andcreativity, so you want to
(08:30):
encourage and foster a culturein your team of innovation.
This is going to involve youbeing open to your team,
bringing in new ideas.
Maybe sometimes you might haveto take calculated risk, and you
want to support your team inany creative ideas that they
have if they're within the scopeof your vision and mission of a
(08:54):
company, and that's you beingan effective leader.
Right, an effective leader isgoing to be the cornerstone of
an organization and it's goingto take them to success.
So you want to create acollaborative environment that's
going to drive both theindividual and the collective
achievements of the team.
So I always recommend look, ifyou start with these 10 key
(09:18):
leadership qualities that I justmentioned, you're going to be
able to inspire your teamwhether it's a team of one or a
team of a hundred to reach theirfull potential, and that's
going to help them navigatechallenges with confidence, and
that's what you want from anyteam Amiga.
Another component that's goingto be really important for
(09:39):
career growth and professionaldevelopment is your ability to
network.
So you want to bring and builda strong network that is going
to help you to open new doors tonew opportunities and, like
Oprah Winfrey said, surroundyourself with only people who
(10:00):
are going to be able to lift youhigher.
Participating in networking iscrucial, especially for a small
business and its owners.
It's going to provideinvaluable opportunities for
growth and development.
It's going to allow you toconnect with like-minded
professionals in your industry.
It might even bring you somepotential clients and it's going
(10:24):
to help you create a supportivecommunity that then can offer
you advice, share experiencesand also maybe provide some
mentorship.
These connections are maybegoing to lead to some
collaborative ventures,partnerships or even referrals,
(10:45):
so it's going to be essentialfor you to expand your business
reach and your customer base.
And this is one of the waysthat you can do it, and
definitely try to go tonetworking events or groups that
help business owners stayinformed about the latest
industry trends, thetechnologies, the best practices
(11:05):
.
This is going to enable you tostay competitive and innovative
in your field.
Also, what networking can dofor your career or your small
business is enhance yourpersonal and or your
professional brand.
What's going to happen is thatby you actively engaging in
(11:25):
networking activities with otherpeople, other business owners,
you're then going to establishyourself as a leader, maybe a
subject matter expert, throughthese trusted authorities in
your industry.
Then the visibility is going tohopefully get you to attract
(11:46):
media attention, maybe speakingopportunities and invitations to
participate in panels andconferences.
This will also further amplifyyour influence and credibility
and I think it fosters a senseof community and support and it
takes away from feeling isolatedthat some of us sometimes
(12:10):
encounter in this journey ofentrepreneurship.
So, through these sharedexperiences and collective
wisdom, I think it's easier forus business owners to navigate
these challenges effectively andbe able to celebrate our
successes together with ourpeers, who are the people that
(12:30):
can understand and appreciateour journey.
I want to recommend to you areally good book by Larry James.
It's called the Art ofNetworking Beyond the Handshake,
and I like this book because itgives us practical tips on how
to build and maintain aprofessional network.
(12:51):
It also emphasizes theimportance of having genuine
connections, how we need to haveactive listening and how can we
provide value to others.
I think it also exploreseffective techniques in
communication how do you followup, how do you leverage social
media to enhance your networkingefforts.
(13:14):
And I think that James, theauthor, really has a good
approach in that networking is alifelong skill and that it goes
beyond superficial interactions, because instead, what you want
to do is create meaningful andmutually beneficial
relationships.
(13:34):
And I think that's where a lotof times people think oh, I want
to be like that person, I'mgoing to call them, I want them
to be my mentor.
But what I want you to think iswhat can you also offer to that
person and you know it mightnot be the skill, because they
might be more advanced, butmaybe you're better at computers
(13:57):
, maybe you come from adifferent industry that you can
share ideas or maybe share yourcontacts For career growth or
professional development.
We need to master presentationskills.
We have to be able to delivercompelling presentations for our
career advancement.
So a couple of the tips that Ican give you to help you with
(14:21):
this area.
This is something that I do allthe time.
I do it from the small scale,one-on-one, to hundreds of
people in a room.
Now, did I get there overnight?
Absolutely not.
I remember the days where Icouldn't even have a one-on-one
meeting with a doctor.
So what I would ask you to dois don't give up, just keep
(14:43):
doing it, and I promise you thatit will get easier.
But let's talk about how can weprepare, because I still do
some of these things today.
So the first thing ispreparation.
Right, you want to start foryour presentation by doing
research.
You want to research your topicthoroughly.
You want to start with anoutline of your main points.
(15:06):
Then you want to practice yourspeech multiple times, maybe in
front of a mirror if you have to.
You want to use tools likePowerPoint or Keynote so that
you can create the deck, thevisual aids that are going to be
able to enhance your message.
But once you have a topic thatyou've studied, that's why
(15:26):
that's number one, the researchand the deck preparation,
preparation you're going to getcomfortable with the topic,
because the worst is presentingon something that you have not
studied, that you don't know.
I truly believe you should notbe presenting on a subject that
you do not know.
It is not something where youcan have the attitude I am just
(15:49):
going to wing it.
Let someone else.
If that's the case that you'renot comfortable, then let
someone else who does have theknowledge and is a subject
matter expert present, becauseotherwise the audience will be
confused.
So, even though in thebeginning you might not be as
confident, you still should knowyour subject.
(16:11):
So that's what I want to sayabout researching and preparing
your presentation.
The next, really important alsofor presentations dress for
success.
Choose an outfit that makes youfeel comfortable, confident,
professional.
I would say in the beginning,if you're the kind of person
that's still nervous andpresenting, just stick to the
(16:33):
classic Classics, right.
Maybe you want to just weardark colors, a suit.
Maybe you don't want to wear adress.
Maybe you don't want to wearheels.
I want you to feel comfortable.
Your hair again have it neat,keep it away from your face so
that you can see, so that itdoesn't distract you or your
(16:57):
audience.
Then, the day before make sureto get a good night's sleep.
This is not the day where youwant to stay up all night
practicing your presentation.
You're going to do that daysbefore because that day before,
the exact night before, you needa good night's sleep.
All you're going to do duringthe day is maybe review your
(17:19):
notes one last time.
Don't overdo it.
You want to relax.
You want to visualize yourselfdelivering a successful
presentation.
If you can do it in a roomwhere you're going to present,
that's the best thing to do.
When I'm asked to speak and I'mtraveling somewhere, I'm always
(17:40):
going the day before and even ifI've been there before, what I
am doing is I'm going into thatroom, even if they're setting up
the room.
I might knock on the door andsay hey, do you mind?
I'm the presenter tomorrow?
Can I come in just for a coupleof minutes?
What I am doing is I'm walkingaround the room.
This is weird, but this is whatI do.
(18:03):
I want to warm my body in theroom.
I want to feel the room.
I don't want the day of thepresentation to be my first time
in that room.
I'm going to walk up to thestage.
If there's a platform, I'mgoing to step on top of the
platform so that I can see whatam I going to be seeing tomorrow
, where am I going to stand,where's my PowerPoint
(18:26):
presentation going to be, howmany people are going to be in
this room.
So I mentally prepare myselfthere's going to be 500 people
here or 300 or 600.
I'm basically just preparing mybody for what it's going to have
the next day and that way I'mfeeling comfortable and I
started feeling a little morecomfortable with presenting.
(18:48):
And then, of course, afterdoing it for many years now,
could I do impromptu in a room?
Of course I can't, but in thevery beginning, this is the
technique that helped me to getmore comfortable.
But I will tell you, as I saidbefore, I still do this today.
(19:11):
When I know I'm going topresent the next morning, I'm
just walking in for two minutes,five minutes, kind of just
making sure I'm comfortable inthe room or that there's not
something weird that they'repreparing the room right.
Even that, make sure that thatis the room, so you know where
to go the next day.
So that's a big advice.
(19:33):
The day before is a veryimportant day, okay, and then
the next thing I wanted to talkabout is speaking when you're
speaking.
If you need to speak with indexcards, then that's fine.
You should still study yourslides and that way either you
have a copy of the presentationor you have a copy of the cards.
(19:53):
If that's going to make youfeel better, copy of the
presentation or you have a copyof the cards.
If that's going to make youfeel better, that's fine.
Break down your cards to justthe key points.
You want to try to memorize thekey points.
Have an idea of it.
But one thing I would highlysuggest you do not do is read
your slides word for word.
No one wants to go to apresentation where they could
(20:14):
have just read them slides bythemselves, right?
So you don't want to put themin that position and you want to
be able to do your educationalsession as if you're telling
them a story.
Use the story method, add somepersonal stories.
Maybe you could also have aopener to your speech.
(20:39):
That might be helpful.
And so consider reallyimagining yourself in the space
and preparing ahead of time, andconsider reading also this book
Talk Like Ted the Nine PublicSpeaking Secrets of the World's
Top Minds, written by CarmineGallo.
I like the book.
(21:00):
It provides a lot of insightinto how to deliver a powerful
presentation that's going tocaptivate your audience.
Amiga, in my own career andbusiness journey, I started as a
healthcare administratorbusiness journey I started as a
healthcare administrator andthrough hard work and
determination, I was able tobalance my professional life
(21:20):
with my roles as a mother, awife and a business owner, to be
able to then continue myeducation and begin to pursue a
PhD in education with a focus inorganizational leadership,
which is what I'm currentlydoing today.
But I also want to talk to youabout the fact that college is
(21:45):
not the only path to success,and there are countless ways
that you can educate yourselfand advance in your career.
Ways that you can educateyourself and advance in your
career we all know now, with theWorld Wide Web, the internet
offers a wealth of resources,from online courses to webinars,
to e-books and workshops, whereyou can learn from other women,
(22:11):
from other professionals thatalso have fantastic ways to
teach you and to give you theopportunity to gain additional
knowledge.
The reality is that there's afact that 70% of learning comes
(22:31):
from on-the-job experience, notreally through formal education.
So, even though I considermyself a professional student, I
also believe that you can besuccessful without really having
an academic education.
This means that you can learnand grow for your career in many
(22:53):
ways now, means that you canlearn and grow for your career
in many ways now and definitelyyou should do it every single
day.
I highly recommend that, foryour advancement in your career
and professional development,that you also consider
Toastmasters.
This is going to help youimprove in your leadership
skills and your speaking ability.
They also have otheropportunities for you to work
(23:18):
with these small businessassociations and they also have
workshops that might be usefulto you.
I also wanted to give you someupcoming events, and they're not
all necessarily maybe in yourarea, but the first one is the
Women's Leadership Conference.
(23:38):
That is a virtual event thatanybody can join and that's
going to be on August 15th, Ibelieve the tickets begin at $50
.
The other two are more local tome.
One of them is in New York Cityand that one is Career
Development Workshop and that'sgoing to be an in-person event
(23:59):
on September 10th and I thinkthat one begins at $75.
And then the last one is in NewJersey, in the state that I
live, and that's a NetworkingBrunch for Women Entrepreneurs,
and that one's on October 5thand those tickets begin at $30.
Now, I'm not presenting in anyof those conferences, but I did
look them up and they seem likeconferences where you would be
(24:24):
able to get some additionalprofessional advice and career
experience from some successfulwomen.
As a half of the world'spopulation, we bring unique
perspectives and skills andstrengths that enrich our
communities and drive innovation, and I truly believe that by
(24:46):
advancing our careers and ourprofessional lives, we can break
the barriers of the traditionalgender roles and we should
challenge the status quo right.
We want to pave the way for thefuture generations.
I think our growth andadvancement is going to allow
women to achieve the economicindependence we're going to be
(25:08):
able to reduce poverty.
We're going to be able toenhance the ability to
contribute to the household andthe community.
Additionally, education andcontinuous professional
development equip us to be ableto have the tools to advocate
for our rights and we're able tovoice our needs.
(25:31):
It's important because when wehold these leadership positions,
we inspire other women andgirls, and research shows that
in the workplace, diverseleadership teams that include
women are shown to performbetter, fostering a more
inclusive environment that'sgoing to benefit everyone.
(25:51):
Growth has empowered me tofulfill my potential.
I am able to pursue my passions, I lead a fulfilling life that
has included world travel andhome ownership, and that's what
education has done.
So, whichever form of educationyou consider, please, you want
(26:12):
to take advantage of what'savailable.
Remember that careeradvancement is a journey, not a
destination.
Therefore, equip yourself withthe knowledge, surround yourself
with supportive people andnever stop striving for your
goals, and I want to concludethis episode with Michelle
Obama's statement there is nolimit to what we, as women, can
(26:36):
accomplish.
Thank you for making Amiga'slet's Talk part of your day.
We hope you enjoyed listeningto today's episode and be sure
to hit the subscribe button toget notified when we release the
next one.
And if you know someone whowould enjoy the show, please
share it with them.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks for listening, andremember to smile, listen and be
(26:57):
patient today.
Until next time.
Bye.
Hello and welcome to Amigas let's Talk, the show
where we discuss life andbusiness and everything in
between.
I am your host, damaris Ramirez, and every week, we will bring
you stories and insights,hopefully to inspire you to
think differently.
My goal is that every womanlives her best life.
So, amiga, grab a cup of coffeeor tea and let's talk.
(00:21):
Hello, amiga, welcome toanother inspiring episode of
Amigas let's Talk.
Hello, amiga, welcome toanother inspiring episode of
Amigas Less Talk.
I am your host, damaris Ramirez, and today we're diving into a
topic that's close to my heart,that is, career advancement and
professional development forwomen.
We're going to discuss whyleadership skills, networking
and continued education areimportant for career and
(00:44):
business success.
You're going to also hear aboutsome incredible women who've
paved the way, recommend somemust-read books and highlight
alternative forms of education,and at the end, I'll also give
you some upcoming events thatyou won't want to miss.
Okay, let's start withleadership skills.
This is what I believe isneeded for any career
(01:06):
advancement or careerdevelopment, career growth,
whether that's in an office orin your own business, and I want
you to recognize that careeradvancement is not just about
climbing the corporate ladder.
It really requires you to havecontinuous learning and
self-improvement.
One of my favorite quotes is bySheryl Sandberg and she says
(01:31):
leadership is not about being incharge, it's about taking care
of those in your charge.
So leadership starts withself-awareness and empathy
taking care of the people thatwork for you or the people that
you are going to lead.
When I was in management, I wasmanaging large medical practices
(01:52):
and I took that very seriously.
My goal during those years wasto inspire, to guide, to manage
my team, and with over 15 yearsof leadership, I also realized
that not all the skills that Ineeded I had learned in school.
So sometimes, as you havecareer growth, you may be placed
(02:18):
in a job where you might nothave the skills, and that was
true for me.
Sometimes I get students thatask me, that get promoted or
want to apply for a leadershiprole, and they always will say
well, you know, can you tell mewhat I need to know?
How can I be successful in thisnew role?
(02:39):
What you know?
Do you have the playbook?
And I assure them that no one'sperfect.
I wasn't at first in myleadership roles.
I don't think I ever was, noone will be.
But you want to aim to be thebest and that's the best that
you can do.
But throughout the years ofbeing a leader, I was able to
(03:00):
put together 10 key skills andqualities that I think a good
leader should have, and that isusually what I give to any
student that might say at leastgive me something, damaris.
I'll say think about these 10things and how you can do these
best and you'll be on your wayto being a successful leader.
(03:23):
So the 10 skills key skills thatI recommend are number one
communication.
You need to have the ability toclearly convey ideas,
instructions and give feedback,and this effective communication
has to include active listening.
Communication has to includeactive listening, empathy and
(03:49):
also the capacity to adapt tomessages that you're going to
have to give to different typesof audiences.
Number two you need to haveemotional intelligence.
You need to understand andmanage your own personal
emotions, as well as recognizingand influencing the emotion of
others on your team.
This is going to includeself-awareness, self-regulation,
(04:11):
motivation and definitely somesocial skills.
Number three you need to havevision and strategic thinking.
If you're in leadership, thecompany's expecting you to be
the guy, the person that's goingto work with the team to show
them what, every day, remindthem of the company vision, the
(04:33):
strategic thinking, and if youhave your own business, then
that's all that's going to be onyour mind every day, so that's
not going to be an issue.
But when you're working in acorporation, you have to
remember to maintain that visionand strategic thinking.
And that means that you have tohave the ability to set clear,
(04:54):
compelling vision that theyunderstand, that they maybe can
read a mission and they need to,with that, have your team
develop long-term goals andstrategies so that they can
achieve what the goals are.
And this is going to theninvolve foresight, planning and
(05:15):
then your ability to anticipateand adapt, as there are changes,
which usually in any companythere will be some.
Number four you need to haveintegrity and ethics.
You need to lead with honesty,fairness, a strong moral
principle, and because theintegrity is going to build
(05:36):
trust with your team and sets apositive example that then
others can follow.
Number five you're going toneed to be able to delegate and
empower your team.
So that means you're going tohave to trust them with the
responsibilities that you givethem, and you're going to have
to also provide them theresources that they're going to
(05:58):
need to succeed Really.
An effective leader is able torecognize from their team the
strengths that the members haveand then leverage them
appropriately so that you canuse them in a very successful
way.
The number six key skill tobeing a good leader is that you
(06:20):
want to be inspirational andmotivational to your team.
You want to be encouraging.
You want to motivate them sothat they can achieve their best
.
This is then going to includeyou recognizing them and
celebrating all theirachievements.
You're going to provideconstructive feedback and
(06:41):
definitely fostering a positiveand very inclusive work culture.
Then, number seven the numberseven skill will be
accountability.
You, as a leader, need to takeresponsibility for your actions
and decisions, and you need toalso hold others accountable in
(07:01):
a very fair and constructivemanner.
This is going to include owningup to any mistakes that you
make and then learning from them.
Number eight skill for a leaderis going to be to have good time
management.
You're going to need to be ableto effectively manage time and
(07:22):
the map and use the correctresources to maximize your
productivity and then achievethe company goals, and that's
going to be so important.
You're going to have to maybesometimes help your team
prioritize tasks.
You're going to have to ifthere's different layers of
management.
You might have to help themdelegate effectively, and you
(07:46):
want to definitely do timemanagement, and hopefully that
will help your team avoidprocrastination.
The ninth skill is continuouslearning, so you need to commit
that you're going to haveongoing personal and
professional development, andthis is because a good leader is
always going to seek out goodknowledge and skills and
(08:09):
experiences, because they wantto stay ahead, they want to be
able to improve their leadershipcapabilities so that they could
be a more successful leader.
And then the last one a skillthat I mentioned is you need to
stay in tune with innovation andcreativity, so you want to
(08:30):
encourage and foster a culturein your team of innovation.
This is going to involve youbeing open to your team,
bringing in new ideas.
Maybe sometimes you might haveto take calculated risk, and you
want to support your team inany creative ideas that they
have if they're within the scopeof your vision and mission of a
(08:54):
company, and that's you beingan effective leader.
Right, an effective leader isgoing to be the cornerstone of
an organization and it's goingto take them to success.
So you want to create acollaborative environment that's
going to drive both theindividual and the collective
achievements of the team.
So I always recommend look, ifyou start with these 10 key
(09:18):
leadership qualities that I justmentioned, you're going to be
able to inspire your teamwhether it's a team of one or a
team of a hundred to reach theirfull potential, and that's
going to help them navigatechallenges with confidence, and
that's what you want from anyteam Amiga.
Another component that's goingto be really important for
(09:39):
career growth and professionaldevelopment is your ability to
network.
So you want to bring and builda strong network that is going
to help you to open new doors tonew opportunities and, like
Oprah Winfrey said, surroundyourself with only people who
(10:00):
are going to be able to lift youhigher.
Participating in networking iscrucial, especially for a small
business and its owners.
It's going to provideinvaluable opportunities for
growth and development.
It's going to allow you toconnect with like-minded
professionals in your industry.
It might even bring you somepotential clients and it's going
(10:24):
to help you create a supportivecommunity that then can offer
you advice, share experiencesand also maybe provide some
mentorship.
These connections are maybegoing to lead to some
collaborative ventures,partnerships or even referrals,
(10:45):
so it's going to be essentialfor you to expand your business
reach and your customer base.
And this is one of the waysthat you can do it, and
definitely try to go tonetworking events or groups that
help business owners stayinformed about the latest
industry trends, thetechnologies, the best practices
(11:05):
.
This is going to enable you tostay competitive and innovative
in your field.
Also, what networking can dofor your career or your small
business is enhance yourpersonal and or your
professional brand.
What's going to happen is thatby you actively engaging in
(11:25):
networking activities with otherpeople, other business owners,
you're then going to establishyourself as a leader, maybe a
subject matter expert, throughthese trusted authorities in
your industry.
Then the visibility is going tohopefully get you to attract
(11:46):
media attention, maybe speakingopportunities and invitations to
participate in panels andconferences.
This will also further amplifyyour influence and credibility
and I think it fosters a senseof community and support and it
takes away from feeling isolatedthat some of us sometimes
(12:10):
encounter in this journey ofentrepreneurship.
So, through these sharedexperiences and collective
wisdom, I think it's easier forus business owners to navigate
these challenges effectively andbe able to celebrate our
successes together with ourpeers, who are the people that
(12:30):
can understand and appreciateour journey.
I want to recommend to you areally good book by Larry James.
It's called the Art ofNetworking Beyond the Handshake,
and I like this book because itgives us practical tips on how
to build and maintain aprofessional network.
(12:51):
It also emphasizes theimportance of having genuine
connections, how we need to haveactive listening and how can we
provide value to others.
I think it also exploreseffective techniques in
communication how do you followup, how do you leverage social
media to enhance your networkingefforts.
(13:14):
And I think that James, theauthor, really has a good
approach in that networking is alifelong skill and that it goes
beyond superficial interactions, because instead, what you want
to do is create meaningful andmutually beneficial
relationships.
(13:34):
And I think that's where a lotof times people think oh, I want
to be like that person, I'mgoing to call them, I want them
to be my mentor.
But what I want you to think iswhat can you also offer to that
person and you know it mightnot be the skill, because they
might be more advanced, butmaybe you're better at computers
(13:57):
, maybe you come from adifferent industry that you can
share ideas or maybe share yourcontacts For career growth or
professional development.
We need to master presentationskills.
We have to be able to delivercompelling presentations for our
career advancement.
So a couple of the tips that Ican give you to help you with
(14:21):
this area.
This is something that I do allthe time.
I do it from the small scale,one-on-one, to hundreds of
people in a room.
Now, did I get there overnight?
Absolutely not.
I remember the days where Icouldn't even have a one-on-one
meeting with a doctor.
So what I would ask you to dois don't give up, just keep
(14:43):
doing it, and I promise you thatit will get easier.
But let's talk about how can weprepare, because I still do
some of these things today.
So the first thing ispreparation.
Right, you want to start foryour presentation by doing
research.
You want to research your topicthoroughly.
You want to start with anoutline of your main points.
(15:06):
Then you want to practice yourspeech multiple times, maybe in
front of a mirror if you have to.
You want to use tools likePowerPoint or Keynote so that
you can create the deck, thevisual aids that are going to be
able to enhance your message.
But once you have a topic thatyou've studied, that's why
(15:26):
that's number one, the researchand the deck preparation,
preparation you're going to getcomfortable with the topic,
because the worst is presentingon something that you have not
studied, that you don't know.
I truly believe you should notbe presenting on a subject that
you do not know.
It is not something where youcan have the attitude I am just
(15:49):
going to wing it.
Let someone else.
If that's the case that you'renot comfortable, then let
someone else who does have theknowledge and is a subject
matter expert present, becauseotherwise the audience will be
confused.
So, even though in thebeginning you might not be as
confident, you still should knowyour subject.
(16:11):
So that's what I want to sayabout researching and preparing
your presentation.
The next, really important alsofor presentations dress for
success.
Choose an outfit that makes youfeel comfortable, confident,
professional.
I would say in the beginning,if you're the kind of person
that's still nervous andpresenting, just stick to the
(16:33):
classic Classics, right.
Maybe you want to just weardark colors, a suit.
Maybe you don't want to wear adress.
Maybe you don't want to wearheels.
I want you to feel comfortable.
Your hair again have it neat,keep it away from your face so
that you can see, so that itdoesn't distract you or your
(16:57):
audience.
Then, the day before make sureto get a good night's sleep.
This is not the day where youwant to stay up all night
practicing your presentation.
You're going to do that daysbefore because that day before,
the exact night before, you needa good night's sleep.
All you're going to do duringthe day is maybe review your
(17:19):
notes one last time.
Don't overdo it.
You want to relax.
You want to visualize yourselfdelivering a successful
presentation.
If you can do it in a roomwhere you're going to present,
that's the best thing to do.
When I'm asked to speak and I'mtraveling somewhere, I'm always
(17:40):
going the day before and even ifI've been there before, what I
am doing is I'm going into thatroom, even if they're setting up
the room.
I might knock on the door andsay hey, do you mind?
I'm the presenter tomorrow?
Can I come in just for a coupleof minutes?
What I am doing is I'm walkingaround the room.
This is weird, but this is whatI do.
(18:03):
I want to warm my body in theroom.
I want to feel the room.
I don't want the day of thepresentation to be my first time
in that room.
I'm going to walk up to thestage.
If there's a platform, I'mgoing to step on top of the
platform so that I can see whatam I going to be seeing tomorrow
, where am I going to stand,where's my PowerPoint
(18:26):
presentation going to be, howmany people are going to be in
this room.
So I mentally prepare myselfthere's going to be 500 people
here or 300 or 600.
I'm basically just preparing mybody for what it's going to have
the next day and that way I'mfeeling comfortable and I
started feeling a little morecomfortable with presenting.
(18:48):
And then, of course, afterdoing it for many years now,
could I do impromptu in a room?
Of course I can't, but in thevery beginning, this is the
technique that helped me to getmore comfortable.
But I will tell you, as I saidbefore, I still do this today.
(19:11):
When I know I'm going topresent the next morning, I'm
just walking in for two minutes,five minutes, kind of just
making sure I'm comfortable inthe room or that there's not
something weird that they'repreparing the room right.
Even that, make sure that thatis the room, so you know where
to go the next day.
So that's a big advice.
(19:33):
The day before is a veryimportant day, okay, and then
the next thing I wanted to talkabout is speaking when you're
speaking.
If you need to speak with indexcards, then that's fine.
You should still study yourslides and that way either you
have a copy of the presentationor you have a copy of the cards.
(19:53):
If that's going to make youfeel better, copy of the
presentation or you have a copyof the cards.
If that's going to make youfeel better, that's fine.
Break down your cards to justthe key points.
You want to try to memorize thekey points.
Have an idea of it.
But one thing I would highlysuggest you do not do is read
your slides word for word.
No one wants to go to apresentation where they could
(20:14):
have just read them slides bythemselves, right?
So you don't want to put themin that position and you want to
be able to do your educationalsession as if you're telling
them a story.
Use the story method, add somepersonal stories.
Maybe you could also have aopener to your speech.
(20:39):
That might be helpful.
And so consider reallyimagining yourself in the space
and preparing ahead of time, andconsider reading also this book
Talk Like Ted the Nine PublicSpeaking Secrets of the World's
Top Minds, written by CarmineGallo.
I like the book.
(21:00):
It provides a lot of insightinto how to deliver a powerful
presentation that's going tocaptivate your audience.
Amiga, in my own career andbusiness journey, I started as a
healthcare administratorbusiness journey I started as a
healthcare administrator andthrough hard work and
determination, I was able tobalance my professional life
(21:20):
with my roles as a mother, awife and a business owner, to be
able to then continue myeducation and begin to pursue a
PhD in education with a focus inorganizational leadership,
which is what I'm currentlydoing today.
But I also want to talk to youabout the fact that college is
(21:45):
not the only path to success,and there are countless ways
that you can educate yourselfand advance in your career.
Ways that you can educateyourself and advance in your
career we all know now, with theWorld Wide Web, the internet
offers a wealth of resources,from online courses to webinars,
to e-books and workshops, whereyou can learn from other women,
(22:11):
from other professionals thatalso have fantastic ways to
teach you and to give you theopportunity to gain additional
knowledge.
The reality is that there's afact that 70% of learning comes
(22:31):
from on-the-job experience, notreally through formal education.
So, even though I considermyself a professional student, I
also believe that you can besuccessful without really having
an academic education.
This means that you can learnand grow for your career in many
(22:53):
ways now, means that you canlearn and grow for your career
in many ways now and definitelyyou should do it every single
day.
I highly recommend that, foryour advancement in your career
and professional development,that you also consider
Toastmasters.
This is going to help youimprove in your leadership
skills and your speaking ability.
They also have otheropportunities for you to work
(23:18):
with these small businessassociations and they also have
workshops that might be usefulto you.
I also wanted to give you someupcoming events, and they're not
all necessarily maybe in yourarea, but the first one is the
Women's Leadership Conference.
(23:38):
That is a virtual event thatanybody can join and that's
going to be on August 15th, Ibelieve the tickets begin at $50
.
The other two are more local tome.
One of them is in New York Cityand that one is Career
Development Workshop and that'sgoing to be an in-person event
(23:59):
on September 10th and I thinkthat one begins at $75.
And then the last one is in NewJersey, in the state that I
live, and that's a NetworkingBrunch for Women Entrepreneurs,
and that one's on October 5thand those tickets begin at $30.
Now, I'm not presenting in anyof those conferences, but I did
look them up and they seem likeconferences where you would be
(24:24):
able to get some additionalprofessional advice and career
experience from some successfulwomen.
As a half of the world'spopulation, we bring unique
perspectives and skills andstrengths that enrich our
communities and drive innovation, and I truly believe that by
(24:46):
advancing our careers and ourprofessional lives, we can break
the barriers of the traditionalgender roles and we should
challenge the status quo right.
We want to pave the way for thefuture generations.
I think our growth andadvancement is going to allow
women to achieve the economicindependence we're going to be
(25:08):
able to reduce poverty.
We're going to be able toenhance the ability to
contribute to the household andthe community.
Additionally, education andcontinuous professional
development equip us to be ableto have the tools to advocate
for our rights and we're able tovoice our needs.
(25:31):
It's important because when wehold these leadership positions,
we inspire other women andgirls, and research shows that
in the workplace, diverseleadership teams that include
women are shown to performbetter, fostering a more
inclusive environment that'sgoing to benefit everyone.
(25:51):
Growth has empowered me tofulfill my potential.
I am able to pursue my passions, I lead a fulfilling life that
has included world travel andhome ownership, and that's what
education has done.
So, whichever form of educationyou consider, please, you want
(26:12):
to take advantage of what'savailable.
Remember that careeradvancement is a journey, not a
destination.
Therefore, equip yourself withthe knowledge, surround yourself
with supportive people andnever stop striving for your
goals, and I want to concludethis episode with Michelle
Obama's statement there is nolimit to what we, as women, can
(26:36):
accomplish.
Thank you for making Amiga'slet's Talk part of your day.
We hope you enjoyed listeningto today's episode and be sure
to hit the subscribe button toget notified when we release the
next one.
And if you know someone whowould enjoy the show, please
share it with them.
I would really appreciate it.
Thanks for listening, andremember to smile, listen and be
(26:57):
patient today.
Until next time.
Bye.
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