Welcome to my Insider Notes where I'm sharing speaking tips, podcast episodes, and leadership insights.
The best leaders make people feel seen
|
Reader, Last year, when my mom died, I walked into her wake and saw flowers from Julia Rock. Julia and I weren’t best friends. We hadn’t worked together for years. We hadn’t even had that many conversations. But she saw that my mom had passed, found the funeral home herself, and sent flowers without asking me for a single detail. I still remember it. And during our conversation for this week’s episode of Your Next Move, I realized that moment explains Julia’s approach to leadership better than any framework could. People want to know that you see them. That can mean knowing what someone wants next in their career instead of assuming they want to stay on your team forever. It can mean recognizing someone in the way they prefer instead of handing everyone the same gift card. Sometimes it means noticing that someone is going through something difficult and taking five minutes to show them you care. The work may be hard. But a lot of good leadership comes down to paying attention to the human beings you’re responsible for leading. In episode 143, Leadership Isn’t Complicated. It’s Hard. with Julia Rock, we talk about what good leadership looks like when you strip away the titles and corporate programs. Listen to episode 143 of Your Next Move wherever you listen to podcasts. Until next time, Kimberly P.S. If you’re reading this thinking, “I need Kimberly’s help with this,” start here:
|
Kimberly Brown, @kimberlybonline
Welcome to my Insider Notes where I'm sharing speaking tips, podcast episodes, and leadership insights.
Reader, I recorded a podcast episode this week with handwritten notes and a nervous stomach. [Click here for the links to listen to episode 139] And right before I hit record, I turned the camera on, looked at myself, and thought, "Ooh girl, you ain't put no makeup on. Go put some concealer on." Some people would have just recorded. See me in the raw, take it or leave it. That's not me. I got up, put a little something on, made sure my skin looked how I wanted it to look, and then sat back...
Reader, Let me guess: you've sat through at least one virtual presentation where the speaker was framed like they were in witness protection. Camera pointing up their nose. Terrible lighting. Background that looked like a crime scene. You could barely see their face, let alone connect with what they were saying. And here's what kills me: that speaker probably had brilliant content. They might have spent hours preparing. But because they treated the technical setup as an afterthought, their...
Reader, I need to tell you something that might surprise you. When I first started developing my public speaking skills over a decade ago, I thought the benefit would be simple: I'd be less nervous when presenting. Maybe I'd sound more confident in meetings. That's it. That was the extent of my expectations. But what actually happened? The ripple effects went so far beyond what I imagined. I'm talking about: Getting pulled aside by a provost who said "you sound like a leader" when I wasn't...