Own Your Power: 8 Leadership Strategies for Women

The road to Leadership Success is not an easy one. It?s a journey of constant personal development, growth and improvement. But just as important as developing your mind, your skills, and your abilities ? you must also communicate that you are a leader. How you carry yourself and how others perceive you go hand-in-hand with leadership success. As you continue to pave your path to leadership, here are some leadership strategies to help you own your power and communicate that you are a leader:

1. Dress for success: Your overall appearance and dress communicates your professionalism and ability to perform adequately on the job. Unless you have a legitimate reason not to, make it a point to adhere to your company?s dress code. One of the reasons a company develops a dress code is because it wants to communicate a certain image, when you disregard that policy you?re communicating that you?re not a team player. Moreover, make it a point to always dress professionally and neatly; even on business casual days.

2. Communicate confidence: Your body language speaks loud and clear long before you open your mouth to say a word. The way you carry yourself sends strong messages about who you are and how you feel about yourself. Your presence and demeanor should communicate self-confidence. You can start to communicate self-confidence by watching your posture: hold your chin up, shoulders back, feet 12 inches apart with your weight evenly distributed on both feet. Be relaxed and comfortable in your own skin; own who you are. As you communicate self-confidence with your body language, others will begin to view you as a leader.

3. Be engaging: Whether you?re at a meeting or at a social event your interactions with colleagues and key influencers will establish a foundation for your future success in your organization. Make it a point to be engaging and genuinely interested in the person you are talking to. Dale Carnegie, a master at building relationships, said it best when he wrote the ?6 ways to make people like you? in his book How to Win Friends and Influence People:

? Become genuinely interested in other people
? Smile
? Remember that a person?s name is to that person the sweetest and most important sound in any language
? Be a good listener. Encourage others to talk about themselves
? Talk in the terms of the other person?s interest
? Make the other person feel important and do it sincerely

4. Speak with a period at the end: In addition to your physical appearance, how you speak makes an impression. Therefore, you should use language that projects that you are a confident leader. The volume and tone of your voice should also convey that you are a leader. Don?t sound tentative when you speak. Instead, speak affirmatively and with authority. You should also limit your use of phrases like ?I think? and ?I feel.? If you?re in a meeting where others are dominating the discussion, don?t always wait for everyone to finish speaking before you chime in; you may never get the opportunity. Be ready to politely, but firmly Interject.

5. Influence with your words: When you speak, don?t just speak for the sake of speaking; speak to influence. Always prepare before a meeting. Review the agenda and consider how you will substantively contribute to the discussion. Perhaps you will make recommendations to a project or ask questions that will clarify a point. You may even affirm someone else?s point of view or offer a different view point. Whatever your contribution is, be thoughtful about what you say and how you say it. In addition, understand that using too many words can kill the effectiveness of what you?re communicating. Use fewer words and get to the point. Remember, every word you speak will help to build your credibility before your peers.

6. Promote your accomplishments: Many women miss out on leadership opportunities because they are uncomfortable with self-promotion. They think that self-promotion is bragging. But self-promoting and bragging are two different things. Bragging is ego driven; self-promotion is accomplishment driven. Find and/or create opportunities where you can update key stakeholders about your contribution to successful projects. For example, speak about your accomplishments during your performance evaluation with your manager or at a status update meeting. You may even find an opportunity to share in a memo that is widely distributed throughout your organization.

7. Develop a growth plan: In this day and age, it is increasingly more important that you be strategic about your leadership path. Develop a plan and a timeframe for where you want to go and how you plan to get there. Begin by doing research. Become a student of your industry and your organization. Become familiar with trends and organizational changes. Enlist the help and advice of mentors to help pave the way. This kind of research and planning will help you to make wiser decisions about leadership opportunities that may become available to you in the future.

8. Volunteer for ?stretch? assignments: Don?t wait to be selected for a special project; volunteer to participate in one. Speak to your manager about your strengths and weaknesses and become familiar with your core competencies. When an opportunity pops up that will highlight your skills and capabilities, volunteer for it. But, don?t just volunteer for projects that will come naturally to you. Look for opportunities that will stretch you and help you learn new skills. Be aware, nonetheless, that every new opportunity is accompanied by risk. But, it?s a risk worth taking if you are ready for the challenge.

Take the necessary steps to consistently cultivate these aspects of your leadership and you will see a noticeable uptick in your ability to effectively lead and influence others over time. Which of these leadership strategies will you start to implement right away?

Ellie Nieves is a Women?s Leadership Speaker and Coach. Through her seminars and webinars she helps women to develop leadership skills, set strategic goals, bolster effectiveness and create a personal brand. For more information visit www.EllieNieves.com or e-mail ellie@ellienieves.com.

? 2012 by Ellie Nieves. All rights reserved. Reprints must include byline, contact information and copyright.

Source: http://leadershipstrategiesforwomen.com/2012/07/own-your-power-8-leadership-strategies-for-women-2/

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