by Caroline Leach | Nov 30, 2023 | Leadership
How can you lead successfully in a diverse world? This was the topic of a vibrant panel discussion recently at the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Speaking to Executive MBA students, we talked about what defines a high-performing and inclusive business; examples of successful equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) practices; and key leadership traits to foster inclusion.
High-performing and inclusive leaders lean into:
1. Humility
2. Empathy
3. Curiosity
3. Authenticity
4. Vulnerability
In our complex world, leaders can’t always know all the answers. Problem solving is a collaborative effort. It means ensuring a wide range of voices and views are involved in giving input and making decisions.
I learned so much from fellow panelists TeNita Ballard, MBA, John Iino, Terra Potts, Alexis Tirado, and Mark Zee.
It was a delight to help organize this panel with school EDI leaders Mana Yamaguchi (and panel moderator) and Purvi Mehra MD, along with career development school rep Ryan Hayes.
The Career and Leadership Development director Tom Larsen along with Jasmine Perrett were instrumental in bringing the experience together.
Many thanks to all who were involved!
A special bonus: it was also hashtag#BruinFamilyWeekend. My son Connor Leach and I enjoyed chatting with and hearing from faculty, staff, parents, and students. Connor is a UCLA anthropology and history major. So proud of him, and energized by the learning scene!
by Caroline Leach | Oct 31, 2023 | Social Media
As a busy leader, how can you get more done?
How can you be more effective in less time?
Here’s a two-word solution: SKIP PERFECTION.
Get a project, a task, or an email to “good enough” place, and call it complete.
Submit that deliverable, and move on to the next task.
Because that frees up your time for the real work of leadership: spending time with people:
* Sharing a vision
* Inspiring action
* Giving feedback
My LinkedIn content creation journey is an exercise in skipping perfection.
In July and August, I posted daily as an experiment. More here: https://lnkd.in/g6qsVmJS
Now I’m posting a few times a week, a more sustainable cadence.
What enables me to do this?
* Not overthinking or overdoing
* Considering the ROI of more effort
* Tapping “post” before I feel fully ready
Of course, this doesn’t mean doing sloppy work or abdicating responsibility.
It simply means asking: what is the true level of effort needed?
It may be much less than we think.
P.S. Perfection is a theme I’ve explored before: https://lnkd.in/gVpwuJjv. So it’s no surprise that this week I was drawn to the Hidden Brain podcast episode on “Escaping Perfectionism.” Psychologist Thomas Curran joined to talk about the dark side of perfection and better ways to walk through life. Highly recommended!
by Caroline Leach | Sep 25, 2023 | Social Media
A lot can happen in 3 months.
You can end the year strong.
BTW, calendars are an artificial construct.
But the psychology of a season and a 90-day time frame is powerful.
Here are a few questions that can help you define your autumn intentions:
š How do you choose to lead?
š What do you want to change?
š What are you saying “yes” to?
š What are you saying “no” to?
by Caroline Leach | Sep 13, 2023 | Careers, Leadership
What’s your personal brand?
Excited to speak on this topic today for UCLA Anderson Executive Education.
We each have a personal brand, whether we actively cultivate one or not.
A personal brand is our reputation. It’s:
* what people think of us
* the values we hold dear
* the value we bring to our work
What do you want people to think when they think of you?
And why should you care about this?
It’s because a strong personal brand has several benefits:
š building trust with people who may hire and promote you
š attracting sponsors who will champion your career growth
š accelerating the overall development of your career trajectory
Your personal brand can precede you, and open doors.
You communicate your personal brand in every interaction you have.
What do you want people to say about you?
by Caroline Leach | Sep 11, 2023 | Change, Leadership, Learning
When you’re on unfamiliar ground, how do you lead through discomfort?
Our inner critics can come out when we’re learning something new. When we’re leading through a challenge. When we’re not sure what to do next.
This inner critic may be trying to protect us from disaster by telling us we don’t know what we’re doing. We’re going to fail. We should stop right now.
But, really, how true is that inner critic?
What if we just kept going instead?
Of course, it can help to assess risk. It can be valuable to make course corrections. It can be wise to seek feedback and advice.
But overall, keep moving forward.
This uncomfortable feeling has surfaced for me as I commit to learning Spanish over the next few years.
I’m taking Spanish 1 at a local community college. More here: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/leachcaroline_learning-spanish-activity-7103129806455672832-8RjY?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_desktop
After the first week of class, my inner critic was in overdrive. It’s hard to memorize the vocabulary and accent marks. I’m not pronouncing the alphabet correctly. I didn’t get 100% on a few of my homework assignments.
The conclusion? I should just quit now.
But what if I got curious instead? What if I looked at the discomfort head on? What if I saw being uncomfortable as a sign of growth?
And the most important: what if I let go of perfection on my learning journey?
It takes time to learn anything new. There are going to be difficulties along the way. And I’m here for it. I’m okay being uncomfortable for a while.
How about you?
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