evesdropping

Meeting Richard Branson

2010-03-11T12:42:00.003Z

What a whirlwind month and an eye opener too ! I was honoured to be invited to a charity event hosted by Richard Branson in Verbier, Switzerland to raise money for sustainable development in emerging countries. As some of you know, it is part of our mission, going forward, to take our work to developing parts of the world through the use of technology and we have already established some key relationships with this in mind. Our chosen charity is Microloan Foundation and you can read more about their inspirational work here www.microloanfoundation.org.uk

However, I want to focus here on the lesson I took away from Verbier. Imagine the scene ….the Ball was on top of the mountain and they opened up the bubble car for us to get up there dressed in our finery. First snag …high heeled shoes don’t work too well in deep snow and ice in the dark! So, we wore our snow boots with our party dresses and changed into shoes when we got there. What a giggle!

I was dumb struck as soon as I walked in …not only was it a very small, intimate and very beautiful environment but most of the guests were A listers ….including Princess Beatrice! Now then, I am used to mixing with successful people but this was in a different league. One of the auction bids for a holiday on Necker Island reached the £40,000 mark! Richard Branson was the first person to walk up to me and say hello and, needless to say, he is warm and charming but what a pattern interrupt as I stepped off the bubble car!

As you may know by now I tend to observe and analyse and ask myself questions. My first thoughts were that I felt out of my comfort zone …I realised that we are more comfortable in our own environment and know what to talk about in our usual social circles but what do you talk about to people who are operating in a different social stratosphere? I decided to calibrate, mingle and walk my talk …I decided to be an equal and go and find out about the people as individuals and humans with the same human foibles that we all have.

Once I had got over being ‘star struck’ I had a ball (excuse the pun) and made some very interesting new friends.

Also, in hindsight, I recognize that the whole experience was highly motivating for me. It was good to be reminded that ..no matter how well you think you are doing there is always another level to aim for.

Where in your life could you get out for your comfort zone and take your life to another level?

Back to normality we are buzzing with activity for International Women’s week with free places on our Grab Your Future live webinars (see below) and our Gender IQ platform is really taking off and seems to be ticking the right boxes for Organisations who are asking the question ‘where do we go from here if we want to move from talk to action?’

Places are booking up fast for the June, Authentic Leadership seminar. Isn’t it time you really got to know yourself in beautiful surroundings with wonderful supportive women to create a blue-print for the rest of your life? Join us!

And don't forget to 'live with passion'!

Queen Bee syndrome

2010-02-28T21:41:00.003Z

Have you ever been taken aback by the seemingly disproportionate amount of back-biting that seems to go on sometimes amongst a group of highly successful women who are in the same work or social group? Have you ever had a female boss who distances herself from supporting and mentoring more junior women?

This is actually a well known syndrome called 'Queen Bee syndrome' and Wikipedia has this definition: 'A queen bee is the leader of a female group, a clique's leader, usually a popular lady. Characteristics often associated to her are a pleasant appearance, charisma, skill in manipulation, and monetary power. She is sometimes portrayed as the Head Cheerleader, Prom Queen, Homecoming Queen, etc. The queen bee has substantial influence and power over the clique, and is usually envied and looked upon as a role model by clique members and at times by outsiders to the clique. Her actions are closely followed and imitated, even though they may not be of a positive nature. The social role of the outcast is defined as anyone that the queen bee dislikes. Clique members may victimize the outcast in order to continue their membership in the clique, or to receive praise from the queen bee.'

Why do some women feel the need to prove themselves slimmer, smarter, more attractive or successful than others? It is a question that still puzzles me after almost a decade in this work. However I do see certain commonalities amongst people in this group. Firstly, they seem to have a high need for significance and also a high need to prove themselves to the world.

If you have been on the receiving end of this behaviour it can be very painful as it seems to have no basis in fact or reality is driven purely by emotional greed. This can be difficult in a business relationship as these kinds of emotions can be highly destructive, not just to the individual but to everybody involved.

If you know or are involved with a Queen Bee, the best thing you can do is continue to work on yourself so that you can rise above it.

Remember what Jim Rohn once said 'work harder on yourself than you do on your job' and in that way other peoples negativity will just float over your head.

Leading amongst car crashes

2010-02-21T21:28:00.007Z

This blog will be a little philosophical....no don't go away, there is an important lesson here for me and maybe for some of you too!

If you are following me on Face book you will know that, on Saturday, I had a fit of spontaneity ...the sun was shining and the Sea was calling, so rubber hit road and off we went to Brighton!

However, it turned out to be a remarkable journey because almost every 5 miles there was a car crash. Crashes appeared to be happening for no apparent reason...no ice, no rain, no snow...just random and spontaneous events. If you believe in energy cycles you would put it down to the waxing and/or waning of the moon.

Then, today, I heard that one of my best and oldest friends had been involved in a serious car accident and so I went to see her. The experience of seeing an old friend in shock and pain left me shocked too ...the sort of shock that makes you re-evaluate and celebrate your life and hug your kids.

Before seeing my friend this morning I had done two hours planning. If you attended my web presentation last week - Grab Your Future by the Horns - you will know that I am a firm believer in planning and staying focused. My plan had been to do 4 hours work before Monday morning. BUT ...the 'shock' of my friends crash was threatening to eclipse all plans.

I had an interesting conversation with my inner voice that went something like this 'sod the work...friends and family are all that matter, work isn't important' but 'work is important ...there are people who like to read my blog' and then 'so, I dont care, I don't want to do it, I want a glass of wine instead and to carry on feeling sad and shocked'

But then I remembered what I had told the delegates in the web conference last week ..'if I get into every' ...wait for it, these were my exact words 'emotional car crash with those I love (especially with 3 teenagers), I will never move ahead.'

So it was with reticence (and a glass of wine) that I sat down to write this blog. I hope that by doing so it has helped you too, to remain on track, ....even when the emotional car crashes are frequent.

My work has been a gift this evening. A poem from 'Guramayi' springs to mind:

I held a moment in my hand,
brilliant as a star,
fragile as a flower,
a tiny sliver of one hour.
I dripped it carelessly,
Oh God, I knew not, I held opportunity

And remember that the emotional car crashes will be more frequent for the female brain because of the way it is wired!

With passion!
Tracey

Women in Leadership - tear up the rule book

2010-02-07T21:18:00.002Z

The seventh tool for increasing effectiveness is to tear up the rule book. I believe that this is imperative at this time for women in leadership because the world is calling for a new model of leadership that includes women. That doesn't mean that the world wants women to lead like a 'bloke in a skirt' but requests that we own our powerful feminine force. That means being authentic and true to yourself.

So ...tear up the rule book, look for new ways to do things and lead with a feminine set of skills, traits and abilities that include collaboration, using intuition, communicating with your team and using a transformational leadership style instead of a transactional one.

This may be harder to achieve than it sounds because women face the 'double bind' which is that you will be damned if you do and damned if you don't. In other words - if you are directive and transactional you might be called too 'ballsy' and if you are collaborative and transformational you might be called too 'soft' This double bind only appears for women as a man might be called a good leader if he is direct and strong. She can't win either way and it is women as well as men who will condemn her if she 'gets it wrong'.

So what do you do? Decide who you are and plan who you want to be as well as what you want to do. Wite yourself a set of promises and goals and find an accountability partner.

Navigating the seas of politics will be easier when you accept that the Leaders' job is to set and maintain the culture. Remember - leading is about being in front and that means that there isn't anybody to follow.

If all of this sounds too conceptual then measure and assess the culture by how people are talking to each other - are they bitching and back biting or are they supportive and goal orientated?

If it is the former then you must go about tearing up the rule book and find ways to work on the culture using your femine strengths of intuition, communication, collaboration and honesty. Work on the culture until it is what it needs to be for you all to grow together.

If enough women did this we might just have a chance of making the change that the world is calling for.

With Passion!
Tracey

Special announcement - correction

2010-02-01T09:38:00.002Z

Sorry folks .. the 12th February is a Friday and my email addy is tracey@eve-olution.net ....blogging late on a Sunday, night tut tut :-)

Special announcement

2010-01-31T20:33:00.003Z

2009 wasn't the year that we sat around lamenting the reduction in investment of Leadership development. We took the opportunity, instead, to re-invent our business to better suit your 21st Century needs.

As many of you know, we are now well on the way to delivering a full suite of management development modules incorporating leading executive interviews via web technology. Thank you so much for all the positive feedback. Many companies are licensing the full suite for your internal use which is great. However, if you wish to pay for yourself you can go the website and register for one or all of the workshops here www.genderiq.tv

Also in February we are kicking off our exciting new project 'Grab your future by the horns' which is being hosted by Cisco who have kindly given us the use of their futuristic Telepresence technology (pictured above) If you would like to take part in this event then you can do so free of charge ...either by attending and experiencing Telepresence at Cisco or by dialling in from anywhere in the world at 12.30pm on Thursday 12th February.

Please don't miss this opportunity to get some great coaching on achieving your goals this year in an exciting and innovative environment.

Please mail me on tracey@eve-olution.net and tell if you are interested in attending or dialling in.

Wishing all of us an energetic, different and exciting year.
With passion!
Tracey

The Seventh Tool for Increasing Effectiveness

2010-01-03T20:29:00.005Z

Happy New Year and welcome back.

Are you energised and raring to go or suffering post holiday blues and lethargy? Most of us will be feeling the latter ....boring drudge, grey skies, early starts in the dark, missing loved ones. And then..., one or two of us might be feeling like we are ready to take on the world, jump out of bed at 5am to go to the gym before work, excited about all our plans for evolution (not passive New Years resolutions but real evolving and lasting change) and enough energy to light up the dullest office.

What's the difference between these individuals? If you are feeling like the former then I guarantee it is because you feel out of control. If you are excited and energised about 2010 I guarantee you feel in control of your life and dreams and on track for achieving them.

If you want to know how to get from passive (out of control) to active (in control and headed in the right direction) then please give yourself the gift of learning the skills and strategies that will put you back in the drivers seat. We are launching a new web based range of products that will be delivered to you at your desk and if you want to take part in our launch then you can do so absolutely FREE OF CHARGE. What have you got to lose? Email me now on tracey@eve-olution.net if you want to take part in this exciting project that I guarantee will increase the quality of your life this year. Grab your future by the horns!

So....what is the seventh tool for increasing effectiveness? This is the last one and I am in a quandary. We really MUST have physical fitness (strong body = strong mind) on our list but as that is so obvious and will be covered in the 'Grab your future by the horns' programme, I am going to cover something a little more complex here.

The seventh tool is 'tear up the rules of the game' Yes, you heard it right. Leading is about being in front. There is nobody to follow and nobody to ask. If you think about it in the extreme - it isn't the reasonable woman or man that changes the world, it is the unreasonable one. Mother Theresa wasn't reasonable neither was Nelson Mandela or anybody else who ever made a difference to their workplace or the world. The reasonable person can always figure out why something can't be done and that's good and it's logical and it makes sense but the unreasonable person looks for the only way that it can be done. Failure isn't an option with this mindset. As Eddison allegedly said, "I have not failed 1,000 times. I have successfully discovered 1,000 ways to NOT make a light bulb."

I will go into more details on strategy for remaining responsible and professional whilst 'tearing up the rules of the game' in my next blog.

Which I promise ...as I evolve...will be more frequent in 2010

Make 2010 great!

Top Executive Study on Women in Leadership

2009-11-19T19:32:00.003Z

Yes, I have been in a bloggers black hole and I can only apologise if you are still hanging out for that elusive 7th tool for increasing effectiveness. The truth is .....I have been stretched way beyond my comfort zones by the Gender IQ web project ...but I am coming out of the tunnel, rubbing my eyes and saying 'wow what a view' and I can now give you a 7th tool that that was worth the wait. Yes, my big stretch has taught me some things that I am going to share with you but not today.

Today, I am coming out of bloggers black hole in a rage.

I recently heard about an article in de Volkskrant, one of The Netherlands’ leading newspapers. The article summarized research done on “why the flow of women to the top falters.” 831 of the most influential business executives at top companies in The Netherlands were polled. Here are a few quotes from these executives as printed in the article:

“Women are not ready [to be top executives].”
“Men choose men [for leadership positions].”
“Women cannot handle the pressure [of leadership coupled] with the private sphere.”
“The rise of ‘female-friendly behaviour’ [i.e., quotas] means concessions to quality.”
“In selecting the really senior executives, the rules are different. And those [rules] are rarely public.”
“Female directors…have negative experiences with other women at the top.”

Well, I wonder how much of this is what the top (mostly male) executives think across Europe and could this explain the lid that seems to be in place on female leadership?

In Psychology they have run experiments with fleas where they put them in a jar and put the lid on. The fleas jump up and hit the lid. After a while the lid is taken off but the fleas never jump higher then the top of the jar again.

No we're not fleas but .....

2009-10-07T17:12:00.002+01:00

All speed ahead now for the first event of the Gender IQ programme - on 15th October we kick off with a freebie video event entitled There's No Crying in Business (you can register online to attend, and all attendees will earn a discount off their first booking). Since announcing the event I have found this is a subject that makes a lot of people uneasy. In truth I am not surprised - but it is interesting to try to understand why this is. Why are we uncomfortable with obvious emotions? And why are women more prone to cry than men? All questions I will bring you answers to in the event on the 15th of course!

I borrowed the title of the event from an article by Stanley Bing in Fortune Magazine. It is well worth a read as it highlights some of the difficulties women and men face when working together in business. Take a look - and please do comment and let me know what you think. And I hope to meet with many of you in the virtual world at the free event next week. Register here!

Women in Leadership - tools for increasing effectivness

2009-09-17T21:59:00.004+01:00

We have almost completed our 7 tools for increasing effectiveness so here is a quick re-cap of what they are to ensure that they stay fresh in your minds.

Communicate clearly and explicitly
Consistent execution
Take care of yourself first
Schedule critical thinking time
Make tough decisions sooner

The 6th tool for increasing effectiveness is 'bring the I in me to work'

I have to make a confession at this point and that is that I stole this phrase from an amazing woman that I had the very good fortune to meet recently. Her name is Alison Pothier and she has enjoyed a successful career in Investment Banking and made it to Managing Director at a young age. In Alison's own words she 'didn't recognise the woman in the mirror' She knew who she was and how she got the job done but she couldn't see Alison in the mirror.

Alison has a truly compelling story to tell and if you are lucky enough to be coming on my Authentic Leadership seminar next week then Alison will be dropping by to tell you the story herself. If not, don't worry because she has promised to write it down and maybe even share a video or two with you in our next newsletter. If you are not signed up for the newsletter then please do so here http://www.eve-olution.net/

Alison's story clearly illustrates the need for us all - men and women - to insist on bringing the 'I in me' to work and that simply means being true to your own passions and aspirations. It means being authentic.

Why is this a tool for increasing effectiveness? Because nothing will give you more energy to get the job done than knowing what your own mission is and working toward it for 5 minutes a day. Having a vision is vital for the human spirit and yet most of us are walking around in a trance not even having enough energy to get through the day.

Personally, I believe that this is even more important for women who are are also emulating the male work ethic and taking on male characteristics in order to get ahead. Nothing is more powerful than your own authentic voice.

If you haven't got the time or the resources to attend one of our seminars there are hundreds of books that you can buy that will help you begin this journey to self awareness. Just take 5 minutes a day to get to know yourself so that your vision is clear and your energy, charisma and therefor your effectiveness will improve in leaps and bounds.

With passion!

Tracey

The Sound of Music

2009-08-28T10:36:00.004+01:00

I have been so busy lately and, as we know, being under pressure does not induce our most resourceful state as our primary drivers can become over-extended.. So this morning I reminded myself to breathe and took four minutes out of my daily rush to watch this - 200 dancers achieved this with just 2 rehearsals. Awesome!

Watching the video changed my state from 'hurry up' to 'relax' because it made me smile and it took 4 minutes of my time. Well, actually it is going to take 20 minutes of my time because it prompted me to want to share the lesson with you and I am now writing a blog instead of doing something else.

Which brings me to another exciting piece of news. We are in the process of bringing you some tools for managing time. Yawn, I can hear you... However, I don’t believe that any time management planner or system that I have ever seen works for women. Why? Because they are designed by men and men don't , generally, take responsibility for a sucessful home-life as well as the success of the company. The system and tools that we have created were based on my experiences juggling single Motherhood and a full-on career. I am a perfectionist for systems that work and this works for me so I am confident it will work for you too, and by that I mean - having it all without stress! If you are interested then register here and we’ll send you some information next month.

If you are waiting for the sixth tool for increasing effectiveness, don’t worry, it will be with you next week.

Meanwhile, breath right down into your diaphragm and smile your way to a wonderful long weekend with you loved ones.

With passion!
Tracey

Make tough decisions sooner

2009-08-11T21:48:00.003+01:00

I had lunch with Sarah Speake today, an awesome female leader who is...in her own words..having it all. Sarah has 2 young children and is Google's Industry Leader for Technology. By any standard this is a serious job and yet Sarah leaves the office at 5pm every day. Compare this to the lady that I met for coffee this morning who works in banking and was last week called to a 1am conference call that lasted until 4am ...no, not an International call but a UK based call and all participants were on GMT!

Anyway, I digress from our tools for effectiveness. Sarah and I spent a long time chatting about the fact that, as women, we generally have a harder time making the tough calls. Not only do we find it harder because our brains are wired for empathy and connection but we are labeled with nasty expletives when do. This is called a double bind. In other words, you can't win because you will be damned if you do and damned if you don't.

However, we must rise above the politics and make decisions that are best for the project, the business, the goal or the outcome. I often get push back on this (from men and women who have a more feminine brain) who say that people are more important than work. I think this is too black and white and too simplistic. If you care deeply about the quality of your work and the end game then work should be of value to you too. I'm not advocating putting work ahead of people but sometimes we need to make tough decisions for the sake of the business and the only way that I can do this without causing myself emotional trauma is to imagine that the business is my baby and I am responsible for its welfare. It might sound strange but re-framing it in this way shifts the emotion to another place where it can be a force that works with you rather than against you.

How many times have you procrastinated over tough decision because you didn't want to 'upset' the person or the people only to realise that because you left it so long the relationship deteriorated more than it had to?

I have learnt in my career that it is best to make the tough call as soon as you can using the emotional strategy above, if you need to, and bearing in mind that you are releasing yourself and others for even greater work than you could have done together.

The fifth tool for increasing effectiveness is make tough decisions sooner.

With passion!

Tracey

PS if you want to hear more about Sarah Speake she will be writing an article for our next newsletter and so make sure you sign up for the newsletter at our website http://www.eve-olution.net/

An amazing journey

2009-08-04T20:56:00.007+01:00

It feels like a very long time since I last blogged. A lot has been happening in my small world since I last wrote, not least a fantastic holiday with my three daughters. This was the first holiday where it felt like we were all 'mates' and I realised that our relationships have transformed from parent/child to peers.

It has been an amazing journey, juggling being a single parent and running a successful business and one that has taught me many lessons. I am proud to have developed systems for integrating my responsibilities as a parent with my responsibilities as a Director. So proud, in fact, that I am about to launch a new product that will bring that information to you. But, more about that later. What's our fourth tool for increasing effectiveness?

I realised the value of the fourth tool on holiday. For three days I didn't even want to lift my head from the poolside sunbed but on the fourth day I started to regain the benefit of an alert mind and began mulling over all the activity that I had been involved in at work. New product launches, new video webcasts, writing a book, joint ventures and new and old clients. I didn't analyse anything, I just let it all process and by day five I was sitting in a beach side cafe alone with a paper napkin, pen and a clear and concise plan in my head.Have you guessed what the fourth tool is yet? It is 'critical thinking time.'

I am sure that this seems ludicrous to some of you who don't have enough hours in the day. I know that some of you are working very long hours to get through these tough times and barely have enough time to sleep.I also know what it feels like to have a tired mind. I know that you can't think effectively when you don't give yourself time and space to do so. If you are under stress and you need to make tough decisions then it is essential that you schedule critical thinking time. At the very least you should be spending a few hours once month to think critically about the big picture and to see if there is a more effective way to reach your goals.

When are you going to do this? I do mine weekly on Sundays and daily before I start work. If I have multiple and complex decisions to make then I take a few hours to focus on the specific area of concern. This can be whilst I am running on the Downs or sitting in my garden at the weekends. The important thing is to schedule it and I know people who will set the alarm for 4 a.m. so that they can have critical thinking time.

You may not need to be so extreme but it is worth remembering that you can earn a living by working on your job or earn a fortune by working on yourself.With more passion than usual!
Tracey

Women leaders need to delegate more

2009-07-17T10:36:00.006+01:00

To finish off the third tool for increasing effectiveness I want to talk a little about delegation. I have worked with over 1500 women and it never ceases to amaze me how much we take upon ourselves and rarely ask for help. I want to pose a question to you. What else could you do with your time if you were delegating more? I am off to Corfu next week to do some snorkeling with my three daughters so there wont be a blog - some things can't be delegated but they can be deferred!

So firstly, a reminder that delegation is not abdication. We are still responsible for running a tight ship and making sure that we deliver (refer back to tools one and two for tips on how to do this) but we can't just 'trust' that things will be done the way we want them to be done. Regardless we must strike the balance between control and trust.

Here are some basic tips on how to delegate, we have already covered this in Tool One (Communicate clearly and explicitly) but it is worth reminding ourselves, especially in the current climate when everybody has too much to do and not enough time!

1. Define the task or output clearly. What results do you expect? Get agreement on the targets and objectives
2. Make sure that the person you are delegating to has demonstrated competence in that area
3. Explain the restraints and rules
4. Explain what resources the person can use i.e. people/money/tools
5. Ask the person if they have any questions or feedback
6. Specify a deadline
7. Tell the person how you will be measuring their progress. What gets measured is what gets done!
8. Tell them what the consequences of poor performance will be

It is vital that you delegate everything that somebody else can do whose time is less valuable than yours. What do I mean by this? If I can earn £25 an hour and my cleaner/ironing lady charges me £8 an hour, I have made a profit of £17 by delegating the task of cleaning and ironing.

Some of us find it natural to delegate work projects but then we get stressed out trying to do everything at home. When was the last time you asked your teenage children to do their own washing or your partner to do the shopping or the cooking? I have heard women say that they don't want to 'give up' the home responsibilities. Let's put it this way - I doubt you will come to the end of your life and wish you had done more ironing!

With passion!
Tracey

What is gender diversity?

2009-07-06T12:26:00.006+01:00

It takes a strong man...

I am going to be very short this week because I want to encourage you to read the interview within the link on what it took to get the other half of the population onto Norwegian boards. A brave man indeed!

Gender is not a silo under the topic of diversity because it affects every single human being on the planet. Put simply, we know that there are neurological and chemical differences in the male and female brain. A man can have feminine wiring and a woman can have male wiring. The trouble with the current status quo (especially in finance and law) is that only females with male wiring get promoted to senior positions. It is time for all of us in every profession, industry, vocation and in schools and in politics to educate ourselves on this fundamental information so that we can begin to widen the accepted range of leadership behaviours and styles.

Or do we have to force the issue as they did in Norway? What do you think?

With passion as always!
Tracey

Best practise for managing time

2009-06-21T20:40:00.005+01:00

Last week I said that you must cultivate the philosophical mind-set that puts you first. Since I wrote last weeks blog I have completed another Authentic Leadership Seminar for Women Leaders from diverse companies such as ...Coke, Lloyds, Cisco, Vodafone and Cigna, amongst others.

During the event last week, a large majority of our discussion time was taken up by the very important subject of work/life balance. I hesitate to use the phrase 'work-life balance' because it has become a well used cliche but when I am facilitating group discussions with women who are trying to manage the feelings of guilt spawned by a high flying career when they also have young children, it is a very serious topic indeed. These women are often the majority earners and their husbands either stay at home or earn far less. Managing feelings and expectations in these new 21st Century relationships is tricky.

It is possible to keep all the balls in the air and to feel less guilty through creating a time management system for the whole of life. One of the keys to it's effectiveness is your willingness to put your well-being first so that you have enough energy to keep all the balls in the air at the same time.

Once you have a plan for life and have identified your key roles and responsibilities you need to start getting ruthless about how you invest time.

Here are some strategies for making the most of your precious time:

1. Plan your day before it starts
2. Analyse activities and prioritise them
3. Analyse your colleagues/peers/customers to identify time wasters
4. Manage interruptions - learn to say NO!
5. Control telephone and email by scheduling block time for it
6. Learn how to terminate discussions, identity a strategy for doing this (email tracey@eve-olution.net if you need more support or tips here)
7. Delegate

The last point - delegation - is a subject in itself and I will go over this in more detail next week.

Remember that time is the only thing that is equal - you can run out of money and/or talent and you can get it all back again but time ticks away and it will never return. Spend it wisely.

For now, breathe in some sunshine and Live with Passion!
Tracey

Sir Stuart Rose says you've never had it so good

2009-06-15T09:06:00.002+01:00

Sir Stuart Rose. Executive Chairman of Marks and Spencer, recently said this "Apart from the fact that you've got more equality than you ever can deal with, the fact of the matter is that you've got real democracy and there are really no glass ceilings, despite the fact that some of you moan about it all the time. Women can get to the top of any single job that they want to in the UK. I mean, what else do you want to do, for God's sake? Women astronauts. Women miners. Women dentists. Women doctors. Women managing directors. What is it you haven't got?"

Well, all I can say is I would love to have a personal conversation with Sir Rose about Gender IQ and, yes, we do have women represented in most areas of work but ....and this is a big but...very few women, if any got to the top without feeling that they had to compromise their identity and literally morph into a bloke in a skirt.

It is time to widen the acceptable range of Leadership styles so that women can lead as women with a unique set of skills, traits and abilities.

Enough on that. Onto you and your 7 keys for increasing effectiveness. How have you been getting on implementing keys 1&2? I have had some lovely emails from people. Thank you, it is gratifying to know that this blog is helping you.

Tool Number 1: Communicate clearly and explicitly

Tool Number 2: Consistent Execution

Third Tool for Increasing Effectiveness: Manage yourself not your time
I have been re-thinking this whole subject because I have a lot of projects on the go at the moment and I am creating new products, writing a book, bringing you new web casts and being a great single parent Mum to my three daughters. Oh, and because I want to have 'it all' I am also committed to my health and fitness and having an exciting social life too.

Is it easy? Yes, but it requires discipline and the rewards far outweigh any downside associated with 'managing me'

Managing yourself is a big topic and includes both the philosophical and the practical. Next week I will focus on the practical, such as, best use of time and I will bring you some tips on terminating time-wasting discussions and controlling telephone and email.

However, before we get into the practical, we need the right mind-set. Women often look at their diaries and schedules and think 'there is no way I have time for the gym or my friends' and they leave themselves out. Bad decision!

It is vital that you take care of you first. If you don't take care of yourself you will be no good to anybody else and the impact will be felt in all of your relationships at work and at home. You must schedule time for exercise and relaxation into your diary first. Think about what sustains you and gives you energy and then ask yourself if you have more of that energy would you be more effective at work? Happy people are productive people.

Plan your week before it starts and plan each day before it starts and make 'me time' a golden rule that you never break.

I only ever speak passionately on a subject when I have direct experience of it. Like the pendulum that swings each way I know how effective I am when I am in a peak physical state and I know how ineffective I am when I tell myself the story that 'it doesn't matter' of 'I haven't got time' ....discipline weighs ounces but regret weighs tons.

Live with passion!
Tracey

7 Tools for increasing effectivness

2009-06-11T09:29:00.005+01:00

We had an overwhelming response to last weeks blog which invited you to download the free report on senior women's bench-mark competencies or Authentic Leadership. We hope you found it useful and remember we are here to support you in any way, so please contact us if you need further support or have any questions.

Onwards then with my promise to deliver the 7 Tools for Increasing Effectiveness. The first tool was communicate clearly and remember I gave you some practical steps to effective communication and I also said that you must master the inner game. How has that been going? It is so easy to let the 'chattering voice' take over at times of stress. However, blocking out unsupportive inner dialogue is a habit and it takes 21 days to make or break a habit. Give it a go!

The second tool for increasing effectiveness is consistent execution
So, you have communicated your vision to your team and everybody is fired up and ready to go. Everybody knows their role and responsibilities and you have clearly communicated your outcome and time-line.

And then.... everybody starts running around like a headless chicken! There is a big difference between being productive and being active. I would go so far as to say that lack of consistent execution is the death knell to many great plans and visions.

Put simply the basis of execution is to have 1. A plan 2. Communicate the plan and 3. Be explicit about tasks and not just outcomes. Develop a system that tracks progress on weekly tasks. Colour code for importance and colour code for progress i.e. yellow for 'in progress' green for 'complete and red for 'overdue' Share this spreadsheet with your team weekly or even daily so that everybody remains on target and accountable to each other.

Finally, in order to grow you must give up control. Release control by delegating not abdicating. You cannot abdicate responsibility but you must trust that the person you have delegated to will do the job and do the job well. You will know if they need extra support or knowledge because you will have created the systems for tracking as described above.

If all of this makes you groan then remember what George Bernard Shaw said 'Doing what needs to be done may not make you happy but it will make you great'

Live with passion!
Tracey

New report benchmarks senior women's leadership competencies

2009-06-03T11:12:00.005+01:00

Over the past seven years, we have had the privilege of having over 1500 hundred women go through our leadership programmes. The women have largely worked in the professions for large Blue Chip organisations and have been in the marshmallow layer, ready to take the next step into senior executive positions. In other words they are within the top 15% of employees within their organisation and already enjoying considerable success.

A significant proportion of these women also completed eve-olution's 360 degree performance review, developed in 2004 and based on well researched leadership theory. We have utilised the aggregate data from these reviews to come to some conclusions about competency benchmarks for women leaders. This information is being made available to you as we believe it may be a helpful tool to assist with drawing up a developmental plan to progress your career to a more senior executive position.

The Authentic Leadership Model

There are five broad and interrelated dimensions of leadership in this model and they are Building Relationships, Developing Self, Leading Change, Leading People and Leading Performance. We call this model Authentic Leadership because we strongly believe that women and men bring different skills, traits and abilities to the table. We hope that this will encourage you to lead in your own style, even if that differs from the traditional male model.

Building Relationships

Relationships are critical to any senior role. Your technological competence will get you a long way but your ability to form and nurture strategic relationships will be the key to your success in the long term. In relating upwards or downwards you need to know how to influence. Make sure that you have had some training and development in the area of influencing and negotiating plus development of your interpersonal skills. Bearing in mind that men and women, generally, tend to negotiate differently you need to make sure that your training includes this vital information. Also, take a look at your network. Is it political enough? As women we tend to focus on relationships with people that we like but we also need to make sure that we are nurturing relationships with people we don’t necessarily like but who we know can be useful professional contacts.

Developing Self

It goes without saying that those leaders who command respect are the ones who gain the most influence. How do we develop our personality to command respect? There is only one way to do this and that is to develop yourself. In order to lead others, we must first know how to lead ourselves. Yet how many of us take the time out to do this? In a time poor, process-driven world where output is king, the so called soft skills can be overlooked. Work harder on yourself than you do on your job!

Leading Change

Every business is currently going through change and every business needs employees who embrace and support change. It can be hard to be as flexible as the 21st century demands but it can be done. I am a firm believer in examining the 6 Human Needs to answer the question on how to be more comfortable with change. Ask yourself what you need most – certainty or uncertainty? Generally, people are more comfortable with certainty. Practise being outside of your comfort zone and being more comfortable with uncertainty. Try to reframe the process of change by seeing it as an opportunity rather than a threat.

Leading People

When you are leading your team, are you considering diversity, managing conflict well with a win/win attitude and working hard to make sure that your team functions as a highly productive whole? Managing people is an art form and this is an area where you can easily learn strategies for doing so. However, this has to be balanced with your ability to lead by example and this goes back to respect and the leadership competency of Developing Self.

Leading Performance

Profitability comes from high performance. How do you demonstrate accountability - both personally and from your team? How do you keep your team on track and focused on the goal? What do you need to know about the business, both formally and through your network? How is your financial literacy? Do you need to undertake an MBA? This is an area where business knowledge is key. Figure out what you need to know to perform and do what you need to do to get the requisite knowledge and know-how.

If you would like to know more about your individual leadership competencies we can help you with a practical step by step process. For a small fee you can take part in the 360 degree performance review and your scores will be mapped against the average scores for all the senior female leaders who have already taken part. One you have an idea of your strengths and weaknesses, as viewed by your team and line manager, we can offer follow-up coaching support to close the gap. Having the 360 degree report will give you something practical to work with over a long period of time. To take part click here.

To see the benchmark scores in all categories you, can download the free report.

Tracey Carr, CEO of eve-olution, has been working with women in leadership for the past 7 years and has run her flagship seminar Authentic Leadership (incorporating Gender IQ) for women all over Europe, in Asia and in the USA. She is also a Master Practitioner of NLP and a Professional Speaker.

Women Leaders, communicate clearly

2009-05-24T20:54:00.005+01:00

It has been a challenge to motivate myself to sit down and write this on a sunny Bank holiday weekend, especially as I am just about to head off to the Lakes for some well earned R&R! However, this very conflict leads me to my first point: Know your outcome!

Last week I said that I would give you some tips on how to communicate your expectations clearly and explicitly, but before we even get into communication strategies we have to accept that we must also manage the inner game. It is vital that we know what our outcome is. For instance; are you aiming to increase visibility for some reason or are you focused on increasing team productivity to hit targets or are you running your own business and focused on remaining profitable in a down turn? Whatever the reason, make sure that it is front of mind when you are communicating your expectations. Why? Because the power of your reasons ‘why’ will be communicated in your non-verbal body language and it is vital that you as a Leader remain congruent. If you don’t make a choice to do this, your non-verbal communication will be saying whatever is in your mind ‘did I pick up the dry cleaning this weekend’ or ‘isn’t this obvious, do I have to spell it out?’ Retain your power by focusing on your outcome. I’ll tell you mine at the end!

So, down to basics then, here are some tips on how to communicate your expectations clearly and effectively.

1. Define the task and the output. Tell the person what they have to do and how you expect the results to look. Take time to agree clear targets, goals and objectives
2. Make sure that the person has relevant experience. If you are not sure – ask!
3. Set the boundaries. What are the rules and constraints
4. Explain what resources are available i.e. money, people, materials, tools
5. Ask for feedback, try to elicit any reservations
6. Set a deadline and schedule
7. Be explicit about the measures/metrics and check for progress as you go along. Measure at intervals as well as at the end. Develop a progress chart if necessary that you and the team can use a monitoring tool
8. Be clear about the consequences for performance and non-performance – are there any bonuses/rewards or incentives?

The above list might sound like text book management-speak. However, how many of us really communicate in this way? And, as I said last week - the source of our frustration is often that our expecatons havent been met and this is often becaseu we havent communiated clealry eanough!

I promised to tell you what my outcome is for writing this blog. To reach as many women leaders as I can reach in my life-time through various channels that make it easy for them to access this information.

Would that be a better motivator than ‘Oh, boy I have to write another blog when it’s 22 degrees outside’

Please pass this on if you found it useful

With passion!
Tracey

Women leading perfomance management - rule number 1

2009-05-12T14:25:00.005+01:00

Everywhere I go I am hearing that performance management is key in the current climate. Many of our clients are under-going radical change and dealing with cut-backs/downsizing/merging or, at the very least, planning a new future with a more values based culture.

To address this need I am using the next few weeks to bring you 7 tools for increasing effectiveness. If you have access to an intranet site then please add the blog to the site or pass to your women’s networks in other ways.

This is not, of course, only necessary for women. These are essential leadership skills and so please do share them with your teams as well.

I was taught these tips by Keith Cunningham who made $100 million in the 1980’s, lost it all by 1991 and then made his entire net worth back again in 3 or 4 years. For more on Keith click here
www.keystothevault.com

Rules of the game: Number 1, communicate your expectations clearly and explicitly

If you are a leader who relishes processes and systems, then you may be thriving in this environment. However, I know there are a whole swathe of leaders who tend to be right-brained (intuitive and instinctive) by nature and don’t relish the idea of being buttoned down to KPI’s (key performance indicators)

I am also right brained. I love to rely on my imagination and instinct. As Einstein said – ‘imagination is more important than knowledge’ However, I know my weaknesses as well as my strengths and part of my job as a leader is to manage my weaknesses. Don’t try to make your weaknesses into strengths but don’t ignore them either. In other words play to your strengths and remember to manage the downside. As Benjamin Frankiln said ‘a small leak sinks a great ship.’

So, what do we do when we know that everything depends on how quickly and efficiently we deliver on our projects?

Rule number 1 is communicate.

If you have been on any of my programmes you will know what your bevioural drivers are. If you haven’t been on a programme it is easy to assess your drivers on the internet – just type into Google ‘Transactional analysis, Drivers’ and you will find on-line forms for eliciting this key information. Make sure you get coaching if you do this because it is important to understand the difference between learned behaviours and psycholgy. In other words know and understand what can you change and what you can't.

If you have a ‘hurry up’ driver then you must pay particular attention to this because your natural tendency may be to steam ahead and leave your team behind. However, we all do this to a certain extent. If you notice yourself getting irritated some of the time, it simply means that your expectations haven’t been met. Take this another step back and it could be that you haven’t communicated your expectations clearly enough.

Communicating expectations clearly and explicitly takes time and patience. What does the output look like? What are the key performance indicators? Be very explicit, not just about the activities that produce the cash but the activities that lead to better team work and better relationships in general. Be clear about the result you expect and the timeframe that you expect that result to be delivered in.

For practical tips on how to communicate your expectations clearly and explicitly watch out for next weeks blog.

With passion!
Tracey

Expert opinion in the Sunday Times

2009-05-06T10:08:00.006+01:00

I was asked for my 'expert' opinion for a Sunday Times article that ran last weekend on why so many women are opting to take the redundancy money and run. If you would like to see the piece which includes expert opinions from myself, Sarah Churchman who is Head of Diversity at Price Waterhouse Coopers and Gwen Rhys who is Chief Exective of Women in the City, please email me for a copy at tracey@eve-olution.net. The rest of the article can be found here.

Companies that are taking a short term view on this subject will face extreme talent shortages in the years that lie ahead. Money won't fix the problem either because women are rarely motivated by money alone. It takes 10 years of consistent effort to reach parity at senior levels. It can be done and has been done by Deloitte in the US who save $170 million a year on recruitment costs.

Whether you are leaving or staying in the corporate world, now is the time to take yourself very seriously indeed. True leaders will be emerging already. Those are the people who look as though they are in control, who are poised to take the big roles that fall out of the chaos. Who exude an air of confidence (not aggression) and look unruffled and charismatic. How do they achieve presence at such a time? There are only 3 things that matter: Physical, emotional and mental capacity.

Leaders now know that in order to remain focussed in a recession they must have a strong body. Being fit and healthy is the best thing you can do for yourself in a crisis. Also, as I mentioned in my last blog - those people who truly know themselves - their values/beliefs/strengths and weaknesses will know how to control and maintain presence by focussing on the inner game.

In taking care of your physical and emotional health you will have the foundation necessary to be flexible. In times of radical change this is an essential skill. Take the time to up-skill, learn how to be flexible and more entrepreneurial. Continuing education gives you options and choices about your future. Remember, there is nothing more common than unrewarded technical expertise. Think about McDonalds for a second - is that a nice place to eat? Do they serve good food?

McDonalds has made more money than anybody else in their industry in the history of mankind. It’s not about 'what' you do. It’s about 'how' you do it. You can’t play the game unless you understand the game.

If you want to learn more about all this then please come on my next seminar - June 17/18th Click here for more information.

You can also find out more about new video webcasts coming soon.

Leading or surviving?

2009-04-28T17:10:00.006+01:00

I was at a celebration event last week for the completion of the first cohort of emerging women leaders to go through a groundbreaking programme at one of our High Street Banks. I was touched and honoured to be presented with a bottle of champagne in thanks for my part but the real cheerleader is me.

I am cheering because I can see that these women have decided to step up and take the lead. Stories abound of supposed leaders who are surviving instead of leading. That is what happens when people don’t understand themselves. When people have an external locus of control and the world crumbles then they have to crumble with it. I say ‘have to’ because they have been reliant on external factors for security when the only security you can really have comes from the inside. That’s why I do strange things like jump off 40ft telegraph poles and walk on fire – not because I’m an adrenaline junkie but because I am constantly testing my inner voice.

What is your inner voice saying to you right now? Is it telling you that you can’t or that you’re not good enough? Take control of the voice. Don’t feed it with attention, starve the damn dog!

Here is an example of somebody who has decided that she is a leader in every way: Amy Bone (pictured above) is taking on an enormous physical challenge as well as holding down a busy and important role. I will be bringing you regular updates about Amy's progress over the coming months as I hope it will inspire all of us to bigger and better things – despite the recession!

In January 2010, I will be joining a team of 12 women from around the world to attempt to scale the three highest mountains in Africa (Mt Kenya, 5199m, Mt Meru, 4566m, Mt Kilimanjaro, 5895m) to raise money and awareness for three key issues facing Africa today – environment, education and healthcare. We will be only the third amateur all-female team to complete this challenge, and will complete in just three weeks. All women are paying their own expenses, so every penny raised will go directly to charity. None of us are climbers, or athletes, just ordinary women trying to do something extraordinary.

I came across three peaks by accident, after some time looking for a personal challenge to complete, and I couldn’t help but be touched by the personal stories of the communities this charity supports. The organisation was founded in 2004, focussed on generating financial support for already established East African organisations, with every mountain climbed supporting an organisation and community directly impacted by that peak. For example the communities of Mt Kenya directly benefit from that summit attempt through the support of the Laikipia Wildlife Forum. (more info on each charity will follow in subsequent updates).

As well as the physical challenge, fundraising will be a huge test leading up to this event. Personally I hope to raise at least £10,000 for my attempt, with current fundraising strategies including car boot sales, tube station collections and three peaks, three days, taking amateur climbers up the three highest peaks in the UK. This is what I perceive to be my biggest challenge at present – how to raise funds and support in what is the worst post war recession the UK has seen. It will be tough, but I am hopeful I can get there, and help add real value to the lives of many communities in Africa. I am extremely excited about this challenge, and consider myself very lucky to have been selected and have the chance to take part. You can support me and find out more at www.justgiving.co.uk/amybone1
Amy Bone is a Relationship Manager at a major High Street Bank.

Last but not least – look out for me in the Appointments section of the Sunday Times this weekend discussing the current outflux of women from the City

Live with passion!
Tracey

Women Leaders need an Organisation that supports them as women

2009-04-19T21:55:00.006+01:00

You may have noticed that I didn't blog last week. We had a very scary Bank Holiday in our family. My 18 year old daughter had a totally unexpected seizure and nearly lost her life. Thank God she is OK.

This kind of incident makes you re-calibrate everything in life and I was floundering for most of last week with questions like 'why am I trying to change the world when I could be having a simple life and spending time with my family?'

I know that you too, as women leaders, have such thoughts constantly. Not because you have dramatic incidents, necessarily, but because you are constantly re-assessing the work-life balance question.

I have been doing a lot of research on the female brain for my new book and now know that the way women think is wired into our brains. We are wired for empathy and men are wired for systemising. I am not making right or wrong judgements here - just excited to find some facts to back up the intuition, anecdotes and stories.

We also have brains that love to connect with people. With these differences making us more likely to be thinking about, and caring about home and work and family and friends all at the same time, we need employers who are Gender Intelligent.

Why do organisations need to be Gender Intelligent? Because women are no less brilliant for not being as 'focussed' as men and there needs to be more understanding between the masculine and feminine out there.

I hope that this little blog goes some way toward making you feel proud to be women leaders and not blokes in skirts. Get bolder, multi-task to your hearts content and be proud of your ability to juggle. Finally, ask for what you want.

I am very excited to be speaking with Sarah Speake (Industry Director at Google) tomorrow and she has some extraordinary stories to tell including the fact that she was headhunted for Google whilst pregnant!

Big round of applause for Google.

Don’t we all deserve the same dignity and respect? If you haven’t got it where you work .....what are you going to do?
If you missed this video last time I posted it - here it is again. PLEASE WATCH ;-)

www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuMZ73mT5zM

Michelle Obama inspires girls to become women leaders

2009-04-05T22:31:00.003+01:00

Michelle Obama made only one speech during her trip to London and that was at a girls-only, inner-city school, its pupils, of whom 20% are the children of refugees or asylum seekers, speak a total of 55 different languages and 92% of whom are from a black or minority background. And then, carefully, using personal stories and anecdotes, she drew parallels between her life and those of the girls in front of her, at times appearing close to tears.

"I want you to know that we have very much in common. For nothing in my life's path would have predicted that I would be standing here as the first lady of the United States of America. There was nothing in my story that would land me here. I wasn't raised with wealth or resources of any social standing to speak of...
"If you want to know the reason why I'm standing here, it's because of education. I never cut class. I loved getting A's. I liked being smart. I loved being on time. I loved getting my work done. I thought being smart was cooler than anything in the world."

She then went on to speak to the girls about the importance of them achieving their full potential so that they could take the reigns as women leaders for a new world and re-iterated that a Nations health is dependent on women’s participation.

I have said it before and I’ll repeat it here. As women leaders, whether we are 16 or 45, it is time for us to take ourselves more seriously than we ever have. The world is seeking a more values driven leadership and women are perfectly placed to fill the void.

The void will be filled. Nature abhors a vacuum. Will it be filled with something new or will we, because of our apathy, get more of the same?

What are you personally doing to take your life and opportunities to the next level? Do you need more education? Do you need to volunteer for a high visibility project? Do you actually need to say something that goes against the expected norm?

Please leave comments and inspire us with your stories and dont forget to live with passion!