Tag Archive for 'bamboo leader'

Toastmasters: Your first year as a leader: Stretch your comfort zone

Published on in Resources. Closed Tags: , , , .

Leadership is an elusive skill. Libraries and MBA programs are crammed full of leadership and management theories, that are difficult to apply in your day job. Young leaders today are facing a dual challenge. Firstly, after scrambling through a competitive education system to reach the workplace they are faced with the demoralising thought that much of their formal education is ill-suited to the rigours of company life. Secondly, in a swirling competitive global market they need to upgrade their soft skills – including leadership – so that they are ready to capture the opportunities that are available for people with a keen sense of learning and getting ahead.

  • White belt: The first six months
  • Yellow belt: Six months to One year
  • Orange belt : After one year

In this 21 minute presentation, Warwick John Fahy shares his experience on how to grow your skills as a leader within the context of a Toastmasters club. You can download this training here (MP3, 19.1MB)

Warwick John Fahy is a Distinguished Toastmaster with almost 10 years experience as a Toastmaster delivering speeches in both English and Mandarin. Warwick was awarded the Presidential Citation in 2007 for his leadership in doubling the number of clubs in China and helping China move to district status.Warwick is an executive speech coach working with senior executives in multinationals across Greater China to help them become more influential with their key stakeholders.


Other Toastmasters trainings:

Why CEOs need to build executive presence among their senior executives

Published on in executive presence, presenter and You the Presenter. Closed Tags: , , , , , , .

One of the biggest problems that multinational companies face is having senior executives who lack executive presence. Productivity, profit and morale are all tied in with this concept. Companies urgently need to address this problem because it can increase efficiency in project execution, distribute key messages properly and improve morale through all levels of management.

Gives a Personal Brand

One of the most important things about executive presence is creating a personal brand. Executives create a message simply by the way people see and hear them, as well as think about them. Having a personal brand gets an executive noticed, which allows them to build a successful career and drive progress in their business. Executive presence and personal brand extend to all stakeholders, like customers. This gives the executive a distinct advantage as they project authority to individuals who they have never met, nor worked with. Many call this the “WOW” factor and people with it get listened to more and are often seen as a centre of influence. A personal brand is ingrained with a person’s executive presence; one cannot exist without the other. An executive with presence has a clearly defined awareness of who they are and the value they can bring their company.

Creates Credibility

If an executive shows up to talk with their team wearing a Hawaiian shirt, with cargo pants and sandals on, the executive team may not see the senior executive as a leader. If the company culture supports suit-wearing , dressing too casually will impact how people judge and respect the executive. This could lead to a lack of credibility and result in the executive being unable to motivate his team. All companies have a template of what a leader should be and successful executives match this image. However, executive presence comes from more that dress sense. Credibility is extremely important and something that comes when the executive is seen a true role model. Executives who cultivate their image as a role model are more highly regarded both inside and outside the firm.

Connecting With the Team

One of the most important aspects of executive presence is that it allows the executive to connect directly with their team. They make that person feel as though they are the most important person in the world. A skill that former President Bill Clinton was famous for displaying. This connection, or charisma, is based on superb listening skills and when carried with sincerity becomes an accelerator that drives the team to achieve outstanding results. While over-use of emails tends to diminish this impact, a high performing executive will use a blended approach. Encouraging team members who are located in different sites, while maximizing face time to ensure the team can see and feel the important the executive places on them. These personal connections result in higher performance and productivity. An executive with presence engages their team and keeps motivation high – through good and bad times.

Conclusion

The greatest business leaders all have executive presence. Richard Branson and Steve Jobs use their executive presence to influence their team members as well as their stakeholders. This results in successful companies with highly committed people and a loyal customer base. Today’s executives need to raise their game to match this high benchmark, as the future of their business growth depend on it.

Resource Box

Warwick John Fahy coaches senior finance executives to influence key stakeholders, like clients, regulators, and investors with the innovative model: “The Bamboo Leader –  8 executive presence competencies for multinationals in Greater China”. To arrange an initial free “Build Executive Presence” consultation (value 200 Euros), call Jeremy Potts today +86 21 6101 0486 or download a free White Paper on Building Executive Presence at http://www.thebambooleader.com

Warwick is the author of the acclaimed book, The One Minute Presenter – 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world. For free executive speaking tips visit http://www.oneminutepresenter.com/blog

For a media interview call +86 1391 786 7502.

Copyright 2010 Warwick John Fahy All rights reserved.

Executive Presence for CFOs in China Part 1 of 3 : Executive Credibility

Published on in executive presence. Closed Tags: , , , .

3019047854_bc612513dd A company’s finance director or CFO has always played a key role in the growth of the business in China. Aside from the usual finance related tasks, a demanding role is played dealing with regulators, media and overseas board of directors. This more visible and public role puts more pressure on CFOs to build executive presence. Many companies have found their growth constrained when their finance director is unable to take this role. Shielding finance directors from conferences and media sessions prevents companies from maximizing the potential of their CFO.

What is Executive Presence?

Executive presence is something that is not taught in business schools, but every successful leader has it. Top executives command people’s attention when they walk into a room. When there is a crisis situation, the team turns to them for an opinion. Executives with presence are placed in high profile, high stakes roles to drive the company’s reputation and business forward. Executive presence can be created by looking at it from three perspectives : executive credibility, positive image projection and executive connections. This posting will look at the first perspective:

Executive credibility

Every company has a culture that includes norms on how to dress. The key to success is to first fit in to get ahead. For an executive working in finance, dress like a finance executive: well fitting suits in blues, grays and blacks will fit in. Conservative colored shirts – blues and whites work in every situation while some executives can carry more colorful shades like pink or lilac strips. Ties allow more room for self-expression with a mix of the above colors used on various patterns like stripes, checkerboard, dots and paisley. In finance, clients expect a safe and traditional approach to business and that is reflected in the dress-sense.

Creative executives in advertising or online marketing have a greater scope to be individualistic. Out of the box thinking can be manifested in clothing colors, and hair styles. In this type of industry, where creativity Is valued, this type of presentation is acceptable. However, even in these industries as you move up the organization, executives tend to converge to a dress-code.

Look around at industry and company norms, and dress a little smarter than is expected. As Jeffrey Fox says in his book, How to become CEO, “look sharp and be sharp”. Invest in quality clothing, polish your shoes and groom your hair and fingernails. Successful executive presence starts with an executive look. The first step is to look like a confident executive. Stand out by paying close attention to the small details of personal grooming.

For part 2 read here and for part three click here.

Resource box:

Warwick John Fahy coaches senior finance executives to influence key stakeholders, like clients, regulators, and investors with the Wheel of Influence. 

Warwick is the author of the acclaimed book, The One Minute Presenter – 8 steps to successful business presentations in a short attention span world.

Copyright 2010 Warwick John Fahy All rights reserved.