The Leadership Pod

What are the top soft skills you need in a post-pandemic world? This year has certainly caused a lot of disruption in the business world and in our professional lives. This disruption has led to the rise of certain soft skills that are becoming more important in the workplace. As an emerging leader, you need to be on top of the current soft skills that you need to survive and thrive in the world o...

How can you get promoted in 2020 during the pandemic? This year has certainly brought about many challenges for emerging leaders. Many employees have lost their jobs. Some have been forced to work from home. And a number of professionals who were expecting to get promoted this year have had their promotions put on hold. If you were waiting to get promoted in 2020 and it didn’t happen, you might be...

Most people at one stage or another in their career want to know how to build strong relationships in business. How do you get people to know you, like you and trust you in business?  You may have been overlooked for promotions. Or perhaps you’ve seen high-level projects being awarded to people who are less skilled than you. In both these cases, I guarantee that the person who won the promotion or...

How to maintain a professional image when you work from home. This is a question many emerging leaders are asking themselves in 2020.  When you work from home, it’s tempting to opt for comfortable clothing such as activewear, loungewear or pyjamas. However, these outfit choices can have an impact on your level of productivity and confidence when you work from home. A 2020 study by CouponFollow wit...

Why is your professional image important in the workplace? Why should people care what you wear to work? Your professional image and your appearance play an important role in your leadership brand and reputation. They send a message to your coworkers, boss and clients and also impact how you feel about yourself. As you advance into leadership, it’s important you understand the image you’re putting...

In the workplace, you might come across a situation where you and a coworker have a difference of opinion. This is a situation where you and your colleague cannot agree on an issue. You’re in a disagreement deadlock. Disagreement deadlocks are difficult situations to be in. They can quickly lead to tension. They erode productivity in the workplace. They can also damage relationships. As an emergin...

Learning how to disagree assertively with someone at work is a key skill that emerging leaders need to master. As you climb higher in the corporate world, you need to make your opinion known. You need to look like an independent thinker if you want to establish the reputation as a leader. And disagreeing with people at work when you need to or want to is a great way to do this. However, disagreein...

What are the benefits of disagreeing? Why do you need to disagree as a leader? Many people avoid disagreeing. It can be daunting, especially if you’re disagreeing with somebody more powerful than you. However, in leadership, it’s critical that you develop the skill to disagree when you need to and want to.  Holding back from disagreeing can lead to many negative repercussions in leadership. The ma...

How to become more visible at work is a question many emerging leaders ask. As you progress in your career and step up to leadership positions, it’s critical that you become more visible in the workplace.  However many emerging leaders are apprehensive about doing this because they don’t want to be self-promotional. Becoming visible in the workplace does not mean you have to be self-promotional. T...

Many emerging leaders, job seekers and entrepreneurs want to be more visible on LinkedIn. It’s an incredibly important part of building your personal brand and online presence. When you build a strong personal brand online, it can lead to new job opportunities and clients. There are many ways you can increase your visibility on LinkedIn to strengthen your personal brand. In Episode 033 of The Lead...

Learning how to increase your visibility on LinkedIn is critical for emerging leaders today. Your online presence, and in particular your LinkedIn presence, plays a huge part in your overall leadership brand and leadership reputation.  However many emerging leaders neglect LinkedIn. They don’t think it’s important. And they don’t use it consistently to build their leadership brand. I’ve successful...

How to be more confident at work. Confidence is an illusive quality that many of us want because we feel we don’t have it. It’s a life-long journey for many professionals whether they’re a new or experienced professionals.  Confidence in the workplace, or overcoming lack of confidence in the workplace, are critical issues for emerging leaders to fix. Not feeling confident when you need to can dama...

What are the leadership branding mistakes you should avoid? As an emerging leader, there are a number of common leadership branding mistakes that I’ve come across. These mistakes can immediately detract from your personal brand as a leader. Leading to unnecessary obstacles in your leadership journey. If you’re an ambitious, proactive emerging leader and you aspire to career advancement, you absolu...

Personal branding for leaders is a must for new and emerging leaders. Your personal brand, or leadership brand, should communicate your identity, what you represent and the value you bring to a team, company or client. This is how you build your visibility and influence to get promotions and new clients faster and easier.  However many emerging leaders don’t define or build their leadership brand...

Are you looking for an effective technique to delegate assertively at work? As a leadership coach, I’ve found that many emerging leaders don’t delegate effectively. Either they avoid it because they don’t know how to do it, or their attempts at delegating are not effective As an emerging leader, it’s critical that you know how to effectively delegate to your team. You need to ask them to perform t...

Why do leaders need to communicate assertively? Why is assertive communication important in leadership? There are a number of reasons why you should learn how to communicate assertively as a leader. However, many shy away from it, especially if they’re coming from a more passive style of communication. Assertive communication is a critical skill for all emerging leaders to develop. It helps you co...

Are you curious about how to have a difficult conversation at work? Do you avoid difficult conversations? Do you get daunted at the thought of having an assertive conversation with somebody?  Most people do.  However, the ability to have assertive or difficult conversations is critical for emerging leaders.  In the workplace, people will overstep your boundaries. You will need to make assertive re...

How can you lead authentically? How can you lead by your values? This is a common question I receive from many emerging leaders. You want to feel like you’re presenting a true version of yourself at work. You want to know how to remove your mask and lead more in flow with who you are. You want to show your true self in your workplace interactions. All of this is absolutely possible. You can lead a...

How to future proof your leadership career is a topic that many emerging leaders are thinking about right now. We’re in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and as a result, there is an incredible amount of change happening in the workplace today. Many jobs are becoming obsolete or changing because of automation and artificial intelligence. As an emerging leader, it’s critical that you learn how to fu...

How to encourage employees to speak up in meetings is a common question for new leaders. In order for you to get the most from your team and encourage creative thinking or innovative problem solving, you need to get your team to share their thoughts and opinions.  However, it isn’t always easy to get people to speak up in meetings, especially if people are introverted, from a non-English speaking...

How to think creatively and innovatively in business. How can you unleash your creative thinking as a leader? Creativity has been ranked by LinkedIn as one of the top soft skills to learn in 2020. It can help you brainstorm new ideas with your team, come up with innovative solutions or brilliant ways to solve problems.  As a result, many emerging leaders are discovering how important creativity is...

Why is business etiquette important in the workplace? Why should emerging leaders have skills in business etiquette? Many new leaders and young professionals think that business etiquette is old, stuffy and out-of-date. They think that skills in business etiquette will not prepare them for modern professional life. They overlook this very important skill-set and as a result, often damage their pro...

What is the impact of Covid-19 on workplace communication? How has workplace communication changed during Covid-19 crisis we’ve been facing the past few months? As many teams have been forced to work remotely or from home during this pandemic, they’ve been physically separated from their coworkers. This has resulted in teams not being able to communicate the way they normally would if they were in...

Do you have an unfair boss who doesn’t recognise the hard work you do? Do you want to know how to deal with an unfair boss and get them to see the value you contribute?  Having an unfair boss is a difficult situation to be in as an emerging leader. If left unresolved, it can lead to you feeling a lot of stress and anxiety in the workplace. It can also lead to you being held back in lower level pos...

How are first impressions formed? How long does it take to form a first impression? What is the psychology behind first impressions? When you know how first impressions are formed, you can control the first impression you give and you can control the first impression other people form about you.  First impressions are incredibly powerful for emerging leaders. If you can control the first impressio...