This blog post is part of the Next Top Credit Union Executive competition originally posted October 01, 2013.
The end game is around the corner, and there is not time to reinvent yourself. In fact, you are as ready as you are right now, in this moment! These guidelines will help you prepare for the next step in the process of becoming the Next Top Credit Union Executive.
- Be clear on why you get up in the morning: What gets you out of bed each day? What is your first thought as your feet hit the ground? Whatever that thought is will organize you for the day. “I have a great day ahead of me” produces a different mood than, “Another day of the same old stress.” Moving to the end zone in this competition necessitates a mood of greatness throughout the day. Believe me, your mood enters the room before your body does, and your stakeholders, who are also your voters, feel your mood everyday.
- Be comfortable in your own skin and in your own greatness as a human being and a leader. Show us who you are during the competition. An easy and courageous practice is to ask others, “Why do you hang out with me?”; “What is a leadership attribute of mine that you appreciate?” In the next week, ask 10 people some version of these questions. Write down what they say and be aware, as you move through your day, how these attributes show up. During this competition, and after, you need to be comfortable in your own leadership attributes. This is not the time to be so humble, self-deprecating or shy that you underplay your strengths.
- As you write your blogs and produce your video and presentation, bring forth your most embodied leadership attributes. This is not the time to create or start a practice of new attributes; highlight the best you have now, and show them to the judges. We want to see you comfortable in your own skin.
- Surround yourself with people who support you, will provide generative feedback, are unconditionally in your corner, and will provide you with grounded assessments on your video, blog, and presentation.
- Work with your DDJ Myers coach so you understand your blind spots and how to best organize for the final presentation on stage. Your coach will support you in how to present to a room during a lunch session, which is, by the way, very different than having an audience with their full attention on you without a meal on the table. Your coaches just finished a program with participants of an emerging leader program who will present at a breakfast next week. During practice presentations, the presenter worked through distractions to stay on course and present. In #1, I asked you, “What gets you up in the morning?” Preparing for a presentation such as this is the perfect time to begin a daily practice being clear on why you get up in the morning.
- Be prepared for anything. You should know your presentation so well that if the video fails or the projector bulb pops in the middle of your slides, you are still able to easily move on. Leaders remain centered in the midst of chaos so practice, practice, practice.
So, what do all these tips and suggestions have to do with The Judges Perspective? How you practice now will be how you are on stage as the Next Top Credit Union Executive in November.
Be comfortable in your own skin, own your true self, and move with ease!
Deedee