Amiga, Let's Talk
Amiga, Let's Talk
Mastering Leadership and Presentations to Elevate Your Career
What are the core skills that can propel your career to new heights?
Join me, Damaris Ramirez, as we explore the indispensable qualities women need to thrive, both in corporate environments and entrepreneurial ventures. From leadership and networking to the power of continuous education, I delve into how self-awareness and empathy can make all the difference. I'll highlight stories of influential women who've paved the way for us and share Sheryl Sandberg's impactful quote on leadership. Plus, we'll break down ten essential leadership skills—including strategic thinking and emotional intelligence—that are critical for anyone aiming to be an effective leader.
Ready to master the art of presentation and make a lasting impact? This episode equips you with actionable strategies to deliver compelling presentations that can catapult your career forward. From meticulous preparation and the smart use of visual aids to the importance of a good night's sleep and personal storytelling, I've got all the bases covered. Whether you're presenting a new idea or leading a team, these insights will help you leave a memorable mark. So, grab your coffee or tea, and let's talk about how you can elevate your career to the next level!
Hello and welcome to Amigas let's Talk, the show where we discuss life and business and everything in between. I am your host, damaris Ramirez, and every week, we will bring you stories and insights, hopefully to inspire you to think differently. My goal is that every woman lives her best life. So, amiga, grab a cup of coffee or tea and let's talk. Hello, amiga, welcome to another inspiring episode of Amigas let's Talk. Hello, amiga, welcome to another inspiring episode of Amigas Less Talk. I am your host, damaris Ramirez, and today we're diving into a topic that's close to my heart, that is, career advancement and professional development for women. We're going to discuss why leadership skills, networking and continued education are important for career and business success. You're going to also hear about some incredible women who've paved the way, recommend some must-read books and highlight alternative forms of education, and at the end, I'll also give you some upcoming events that you won't want to miss. Okay, let's start with leadership skills. This is what I believe is needed for any career advancement or career development, career growth, whether that's in an office or in your own business, and I want you to recognize that career advancement is not just about climbing the corporate ladder. It really requires you to have continuous learning and self-improvement. One of my favorite quotes is by Sheryl Sandberg and she says leadership is not about being in charge, it's about taking care of those in your charge. So leadership starts with self-awareness and empathy taking care of the people that work for you or the people that you are going to lead.
Speaker 1:When I was in management, I was managing large medical practices and I took that very seriously. My goal during those years was to inspire, to guide, to manage my team, and with over 15 years of leadership, I also realized that not all the skills that I needed I had learned in school. So sometimes, as you have career growth, you may be placed in a job where you might not have the skills, and that was true for me. Sometimes I get students that ask me, that get promoted or want to apply for a leadership role, and they always will say well, you know, can you tell me what I need to know? How can I be successful in this new role? What you know? Do you have the playbook? And I assure them that no one's perfect. I wasn't at first in my leadership roles. I don't think I ever was, no one will be. But you want to aim to be the best and that's the best that you can do. But throughout the years of being a leader, I was able to put together 10 key skills and qualities that I think a good leader should have, and that is usually what I give to any student that might say at least give me something, damaris. I'll say think about these 10 things and how you can do these best and you'll be on your way to being a successful leader.
Speaker 1:So the 10 skills key skills that I recommend are number one communication. You need to have the ability to clearly convey ideas, instructions and give feedback, and this effective communication has to include active listening. Communication has to include active listening, empathy and also the capacity to adapt to messages that you're going to have to give to different types of audiences. Number two you need to have emotional intelligence. You need to understand and manage your own personal emotions, as well as recognizing and influencing the emotion of others on your team. This is going to include self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation and definitely some social skills.
Speaker 1:Number three you need to have vision and strategic thinking. If you're in leadership, the company's expecting you to be the guy, the person that's going to work with the team to show them what, every day, remind them of the company vision, the strategic thinking, and if you have your own business, then that's all that's going to be on your mind every day, so that's not going to be an issue. But when you're working in a corporation, you have to remember to maintain that vision and strategic thinking. And that means that you have to have the ability to set clear, compelling vision that they understand, that they maybe can read a mission and they need to, with that, have your team develop long-term goals and strategies so that they can achieve what the goals are. And this is going to then involve foresight, planning and then your ability to anticipate and adapt, as there are changes, which usually in any company there will be some.
Speaker 1:Number four you need to have integrity and ethics. You need to lead with honesty, fairness, a strong moral principle, and because the integrity is going to build trust with your team and sets a positive example that then others can follow. Number five you're going to need to be able to delegate and empower your team. So that means you're going to have to trust them with the responsibilities that you give them, and you're going to have to also provide them the resources that they're going to need to succeed Really. An effective leader is able to recognize from their team the strengths that the members have and then leverage them appropriately so that you can use them in a very successful way.
Speaker 1:The number six key skill to being a good leader is that you want to be inspirational and motivational to your team. You want to be encouraging. You want to motivate them so that they can achieve their best. This is then going to include you recognizing them and celebrating all their achievements. You're going to provide constructive feedback and definitely fostering a positive and very inclusive work culture. Then, number seven the number seven skill will be accountability. You, as a leader, need to take responsibility for your actions and decisions, and you need to also hold others accountable in a very fair and constructive manner. This is going to include owning up to any mistakes that you make and then learning from them.
Speaker 1:Number eight skill for a leader is going to be to have good time management. You're going to need to be able to effectively manage time and the map and use the correct resources to maximize your productivity and then achieve the company goals, and that's going to be so important. You're going to have to maybe sometimes help your team prioritize tasks. You're going to have to if there's different layers of management. You might have to help them delegate effectively, and you want to definitely do time management, and hopefully that will help your team avoid procrastination. The ninth skill is continuous learning, so you need to commit that you're going to have ongoing personal and professional development, and this is because a good leader is always going to seek out good knowledge and skills and experiences, because they want to stay ahead, they want to be able to improve their leadership capabilities so that they could be a more successful leader. And then the last one a skill that I mentioned is you need to stay in tune with innovation and creativity, so you want to encourage and foster a culture in your team of innovation. This is going to involve you being open to your team, bringing in new ideas. Maybe sometimes you might have to take calculated risk, and you want to support your team in any creative ideas that they have if they're within the scope of your vision and mission of a company, and that's you being an effective leader. Right, an effective leader is going to be the cornerstone of an organization and it's going to take them to success. So you want to create a collaborative environment that's going to drive both the individual and the collective achievements of the team. So I always recommend look, if you start with these 10 key leadership qualities that I just mentioned, you're going to be able to inspire your team whether it's a team of one or a team of a hundred to reach their full potential, and that's going to help them navigate challenges with confidence, and that's what you want from any team Amiga.
Speaker 1:Another component that's going to be really important for career growth and professional development is your ability to network. So you want to bring and build a strong network that is going to help you to open new doors to new opportunities and, like Oprah Winfrey said, surround yourself with only people who are going to be able to lift you higher. Participating in networking is crucial, especially for a small business and its owners. It's going to provide invaluable opportunities for growth and development. It's going to allow you to connect with like-minded professionals in your industry. It might even bring you some potential clients and it's going to help you create a supportive community that then can offer you advice, share experiences and also maybe provide some mentorship. These connections are maybe going to lead to some collaborative ventures, partnerships or even referrals, so it's going to be essential for you to expand your business reach and your customer base. And this is one of the ways that you can do it, and definitely try to go to networking events or groups that help business owners stay informed about the latest industry trends, the technologies, the best practices. This is going to enable you to stay competitive and innovative in your field. Also, what networking can do for your career or your small business is enhance your personal and or your professional brand. What's going to happen is that by you actively engaging in networking activities with other people, other business owners, you're then going to establish yourself as a leader, maybe a subject matter expert, through these trusted authorities in your industry. Then the visibility is going to hopefully get you to attract media attention, maybe speaking opportunities and invitations to participate in panels and conferences. This will also further amplify your influence and credibility and I think it fosters a sense of community and support and it takes away from feeling isolated that some of us sometimes encounter in this journey of entrepreneurship. So, through these shared experiences and collective wisdom, I think it's easier for us business owners to navigate these challenges effectively and be able to celebrate our successes together with our peers, who are the people that can understand and appreciate our journey.
Speaker 1:I want to recommend to you a really good book by Larry James. It's called the Art of Networking Beyond the Handshake, and I like this book because it gives us practical tips on how to build and maintain a professional network. It also emphasizes the importance of having genuine connections, how we need to have active listening and how can we provide value to others. I think it also explores effective techniques in communication how do you follow up, how do you leverage social media to enhance your networking efforts. And I think that James, the author, really has a good approach in that networking is a lifelong skill and that it goes beyond superficial interactions, because instead, what you want to do is create meaningful and mutually beneficial relationships. And I think that's where a lot of times people think oh, I want to be like that person, I'm going to call them, I want them to be my mentor. But what I want you to think is what can you also offer to that person and you know it might not be the skill, because they might be more advanced, but maybe you're better at computers, maybe you come from a different industry that you can share ideas or maybe share your contacts For career growth or professional development.
Speaker 1:We need to master presentation skills. We have to be able to deliver compelling presentations for our career advancement. So a couple of the tips that I can give you to help you with this area. This is something that I do all the time. I do it from the small scale, one-on-one, to hundreds of people in a room. Now, did I get there overnight? Absolutely not. I remember the days where I couldn't even have a one-on-one meeting with a doctor. So what I would ask you to do is don't give up, just keep doing it, and I promise you that it will get easier. But let's talk about how can we prepare, because I still do some of these things today.
Speaker 1:So the first thing is preparation. Right, you want to start for your presentation by doing research. You want to research your topic thoroughly. You want to start with an outline of your main points. Then you want to practice your speech multiple times, maybe in front of a mirror if you have to. You want to use tools like PowerPoint or Keynote so that you can create the deck, the visual aids that are going to be able to enhance your message. But once you have a topic that you've studied, that's why that's number one, the research and the deck preparation, preparation you're going to get comfortable with the topic, because the worst is presenting on something that you have not studied, that you don't know. I truly believe you should not be presenting on a subject that you do not know. It is not something where you can have the attitude I am just going to wing it. Let someone else. If that's the case that you're not comfortable, then let someone else who does have the knowledge and is a subject matter expert present, because otherwise the audience will be confused. So, even though in the beginning you might not be as confident, you still should know your subject. So that's what I want to say about researching and preparing your presentation.
Speaker 1:The next, really important also for presentations dress for success. Choose an outfit that makes you feel comfortable, confident, professional. I would say in the beginning, if you're the kind of person that's still nervous and presenting, just stick to the classic Classics, right. Maybe you want to just wear dark colors, a suit. Maybe you don't want to wear a dress. Maybe you don't want to wear heels. I want you to feel comfortable. Your hair again have it neat, keep it away from your face so that you can see, so that it doesn't distract you or your audience.
Speaker 1:Then, the day before make sure to get a good night's sleep. This is not the day where you want to stay up all night practicing your presentation. You're going to do that days before because that day before, the exact night before, you need a good night's sleep. All you're going to do during the day is maybe review your notes one last time. Don't overdo it. You want to relax. You want to visualize yourself delivering a successful presentation. If you can do it in a room where you're going to present, that's the best thing to do.
Speaker 1:When I'm asked to speak and I'm traveling somewhere, I'm always going the day before and even if I've been there before, what I am doing is I'm going into that room, even if they're setting up the room. I might knock on the door and say hey, do you mind? I'm the presenter tomorrow? Can I come in just for a couple of minutes? What I am doing is I'm walking around the room. This is weird, but this is what I do. I want to warm my body in the room. I want to feel the room. I don't want the day of the presentation to be my first time in that room. I'm going to walk up to the stage. If there's a platform, I'm going to step on top of the platform so that I can see what am I going to be seeing tomorrow, where am I going to stand, where's my PowerPoint presentation going to be, how many people are going to be in this room. So I mentally prepare myself there's going to be 500 people here or 300 or 600.
Speaker 1:I'm basically just preparing my body for what it's going to have the next day and that way I'm feeling comfortable and I started feeling a little more comfortable with presenting. And then, of course, after doing it for many years now, could I do impromptu in a room? Of course I can't, but in the very beginning, this is the technique that helped me to get more comfortable. But I will tell you, as I said before, I still do this today. When I know I'm going to present the next morning, I'm just walking in for two minutes, five minutes, kind of just making sure I'm comfortable in the room or that there's not something weird that they're preparing the room right. Even that, make sure that that is the room, so you know where to go the next day. So that's a big advice.
Speaker 1:The day before is a very important day, okay, and then the next thing I wanted to talk about is speaking when you're speaking. If you need to speak with index cards, then that's fine. You should still study your slides and that way either you have a copy of the presentation or you have a copy of the cards. If that's going to make you feel better, copy of the presentation or you have a copy of the cards. If that's going to make you feel better, that's fine. Break down your cards to just the key points. You want to try to memorize the key points. Have an idea of it.
Speaker 1:But one thing I would highly suggest you do not do is read your slides word for word. No one wants to go to a presentation where they could have just read them slides by themselves, right? So you don't want to put them in that position and you want to be able to do your educational session as if you're telling them a story. Use the story method, add some personal stories. Maybe you could also have a opener to your speech. That might be helpful. And so consider really imagining yourself in the space and preparing ahead of time, and consider reading also this book Talk Like Ted the Nine Public Speaking Secrets of the World's Top Minds, written by Carmine Gallo. I like the book. It provides a lot of insight into how to deliver a powerful presentation that's going to captivate your audience.
Speaker 1:Amiga, in my own career and business journey, I started as a healthcare administrator business journey I started as a healthcare administrator and through hard work and determination, I was able to balance my professional life with my roles as a mother, a wife and a business owner, to be able to then continue my education and begin to pursue a PhD in education with a focus in organizational leadership, which is what I'm currently doing today. But I also want to talk to you about the fact that college is not the only path to success, and there are countless ways that you can educate yourself and advance in your career. Ways that you can educate yourself and advance in your career we all know now, with the World Wide Web, the internet offers a wealth of resources, from online courses to webinars, to e-books and workshops, where you can learn from other women, from other professionals that also have fantastic ways to teach you and to give you the opportunity to gain additional knowledge. The reality is that there's a fact that 70% of learning comes from on-the-job experience, not really through formal education. So, even though I consider myself a professional student, I also believe that you can be successful without really having an academic education. This means that you can learn and grow for your career in many ways now, means that you can learn and grow for your career in many ways now and definitely you should do it every single day. I highly recommend that, for your advancement in your career and professional development, that you also consider Toastmasters. This is going to help you improve in your leadership skills and your speaking ability. They also have other opportunities for you to work with these small business associations and they also have workshops that might be useful to you.
Speaker 1:I also wanted to give you some upcoming events, and they're not all necessarily maybe in your area, but the first one is the Women's Leadership Conference. That is a virtual event that anybody can join and that's going to be on August 15th, I believe the tickets begin at $50. The other two are more local to me. One of them is in New York City and that one is Career Development Workshop and that's going to be an in-person event on September 10th and I think that one begins at $75. And then the last one is in New Jersey, in the state that I live, and that's a Networking Brunch for Women Entrepreneurs, and that one's on October 5th and those tickets begin at $30. Now, I'm not presenting in any of those conferences, but I did look them up and they seem like conferences where you would be able to get some additional professional advice and career experience from some successful women.
Speaker 1:As a half of the world's population, we bring unique perspectives and skills and strengths that enrich our communities and drive innovation, and I truly believe that by advancing our careers and our professional lives, we can break the barriers of the traditional gender roles and we should challenge the status quo right. We want to pave the way for the future generations. I think our growth and advancement is going to allow women to achieve the economic independence we're going to be able to reduce poverty. We're going to be able to enhance the ability to contribute to the household and the community. Additionally, education and continuous professional development equip us to be able to have the tools to advocate for our rights and we're able to voice our needs. It's important because when we hold these leadership positions, we inspire other women and girls, and research shows that in the workplace, diverse leadership teams that include women are shown to perform better, fostering a more inclusive environment that's going to benefit everyone.
Speaker 1:Growth has empowered me to fulfill my potential. I am able to pursue my passions, I lead a fulfilling life that has included world travel and home ownership, and that's what education has done. So, whichever form of education you consider, please, you want to take advantage of what's available. Remember that career advancement is a journey, not a destination. Therefore, equip yourself with the knowledge, surround yourself with supportive people and never stop striving for your goals, and I want to conclude this episode with Michelle Obama's statement there is no limit to what we, as women, can accomplish. Thank you for making Amiga's let's Talk part of your day. We hope you enjoyed listening to today's episode and be sure to hit the subscribe button to get notified when we release the next one. And if you know someone who would enjoy the show, please share it with them. I would really appreciate it. Thanks for listening, and remember to smile, listen and be patient today. Until next time. Bye.