178 - Using Your Voice, Your Way, a conversation with Denise Duffield-Thomas (summer season)

You can’t speak with confidence if you’ve ‘lost’ your professional confidence … and I’ve had too many conversations lately about ‘how to get your confidence back’ to ignore. So in this episode I’m chatting about the times that I’ve lost my professional confidence, and some techniques I use to get it back. Listen in to hear: What’s caused me to lose my confidence at different times of my professional life, both as a business owner as well as when I was working in local government

Most people shy away from the thought of being noticed, let alone ‘famous’. But if you want to make a difference, grow a business, make an impact or even just get promoted, a bit of ‘work fame’ might be just what you need. Leanne Hughes has written the book she wishes she had 10 years ago, providing a real look at how everyday people become ‘work famous’ and in doing so, make a bigger impact in their world (without being a diva). Listen in to our discussion to hear: Why ‘good work’ no longer speaks for itself and why you need to toot your own horn a bit more

How do we find the courage, or the skill, to speak up for issues we feel strongly about when there is a real risk of consequences? That’s exactly what I’m exploring in this episode. I’ve recently decided to focus my ‘change the world’ energies into one cause - housing affordability - and in doing so I’ve had to confront my concerns about negative consequences. Being seen as ‘political’. Being seen as a left-wing hippie (proud to be one, if I’m honest). Potentially losing work because of my views. There can be real risks that need to be managed when we speak up, so I’m sharing the process, the thinking, that I’m using to feel ‘safe enough’ to speak up. Listen in to hear: Why ‘feel the fear and do it anyway’ is shitty advice

If you overthink or second guess how you're going to express yourself in team meetings, this episode is for you. In our reluctance to NOT appear 'bossy' we sometimes overthink our messages, try to facilitate a discussion when really, our recommendation is appropriate and prioritise consensus over getting things done. Inspired by a real conversation in my Communicate with Impact program, in this episode I'm sharing some practical and mindset tips to help you say what you want to say, with authority and credibility, without sounding pushy, bossy without feeling awkwardly assertive. Listen in to hear: Mindset shifts for confident recommendations How to own your expertise in meetings Language hacks to soften any potential harshness Moving from asking for permission to making direct recommendations The impact of imposter syndrome on speaking up

I've become very present, recently, to how our work-from-home, online world, is reducing our casual conversations. And with that, we're losing the key human skills of building relationships through conversations. In this episode I'm 'working out loud' on this 'trend' ... Listen in to hear: my 'evidence' for this diminishing human skill of conversations and connection why relationships are a key part of a successful (meaningful, satisfying) career or business how conversations - imperfect, flawed, unscripted - are the building blocks to relationships why I think we need to consciously create time to build relationships - and not just through asynschronous text and voice notes, or social media comments