The recent ‘Make your own luck’ conference organised by my friend Rina Goldenberg and her wonderful team at Voice at the Table was a most inspiring day. I was thrilled to meet some of you there.
We listened to a combination of keynote speakers and panellists bringing alive the theme of how to take charge of your career and make your own luck.
Our speakers included Helena Morrissey, CEO of Newton Investments and Chair of the 30% Club, Marianne Abib-Pech, Founder of LeadTheFuture, Suzanne Doyle-Morris, CEO of InclusIQ, Eilidh Milnes, the speaker for confidence and Jayne Constantinis, presenter and communications expert.
Below I share the pearls of wisdom and experience offered by our speakers and panellists that I hope you will find useful to reflect on for yourself.
Your voice matters!
‘It is no longer a battle of the sexes. What happens next is up to us, take responsibility and be bold. Find a way to persuade others to your point of view.’
‘Ask for what you need from your manager. Challenge is good and if you need encouragement as we all do – ask for it.’
‘Be open to opportunities and make the choice to make your own luck. Lean in and choose the environment where you are heard. Create your own seat at the table.’
‘Put your hand up when the opportunity arises, keep your eyes open’
‘To make change – you need measurable goals.’
‘Change is a mind-set. Influence is earned through networks, collaboration and local power, not distant power.’
‘Take ownership of your career. Write down one thing that you can do to make your own luck in the next 12 months’
Developing self-awareness
‘The truth can be painful sometimes. Face it. Allow it to help you make choices.’
‘Be yourself! Speak up!’
‘Look inside of yourself, develop your own self-confidence. Be out there and assess the environment. Take care of yourself – it is a marathon, not a sprint.’
‘The challenge is being savvy – knowing what to say, when to say it and how to say it.’
‘Build on your success. Know your strengths and what motivates you. Develop your self-awareness with the result of having unshakeable self-confidence.’
‘Choose your moment to interject – observe the environment.’
‘It is a gift to help someone raise their self-awareness. Be honest with yourself. Going through failure is important as is the need to bounce back’.
‘Set yourself goals. Visualise yourself where you want to be e.g. the corner office by the time I am 35 years old!’
‘Be systematic in your purpose and enjoy the journey.’
‘Take time out to discover what might be holding you back. Ask yourself:
- What is my biggest fear?
- Can I get over it?
- What do I need to do pro-actively?’
‘Write down all the positive feedback you have received and keep it. Write down all the rejection and criticism you have received and throw that list away!’
‘Know that you can take rejection because it is part of life. What are you loosing when you don’t try?’
Step up to the plate
‘If you hook onto something, go for growth. What potential for growth is there in this product / service / market?’
‘Hone the ability to ask for and act on feedback. Feedback is a propeller for progression as it helps you to moderate behaviours.’
‘Take a step back and think about, am I making the right decisions?’
‘Get into the mind-set of your bosses and work on solutions that will make their day easier’
Innovate!
The mind-set required for us to be innovators includes that of:
- An immigrant where they work hard and don’t take anything for granted
- A waitress who looks for ways to serve people
- An artisan who is passionate what they are doing and become subject matter experts
The key skills for us to develop to be more innovative include creativity, communication and collaboration as suggested by Daniel Pink.
3 top tips to innovate more
- Engage widely
- Read widely
- Listen widely
Confidently forward
‘Don’t let people steal your happiness’
Boosters for confidence:
- Increase your visibility
- Find a sponsor
- Don’t be afraid to ask
- Be a networking superstar
To learn more, visit my earlier blog post and interview with Eilidh here.
Speaking with impact
The keys to success in speaking with impact are:
- Preparation – research your audience, plan your content and check the practicalities
- Structure – plan a bigger opening and bigger closing and create chapters in your speech just like a book. Use stories to bring colour to your speech.
- Performance – dress appropriately, pace yourself and don’t be afraid of stumbles or hesitations, which is more natural. Lift yourself at the moment of performance (like a big cat). Stand in a relaxed and powerful stance.
To learn more visit my earlier blog post and interview with Jayne here.
It was indeed a great event and this is a super overview. Thank you for the shout-out Jane. And well done to all on the organising team.
You were terrific Eilidh and I enjoyed your energising speech very much which was thought provoking and provides some great insights.