How Much Hidden Potential & Wisdom Is Buried In Your Organisation?

You would be surprised how many women I coach who are suppressing their voices in the workplace, and therefore their ideas, thoughts and their message. This can have a deep reaching impact on your organisation’s success, not to mention their health and wellbeing. I’ve had some clients present with physical conditions as a result of them not speaking up, not expressing their needs, their suggestions, not speaking up when they are being bullied, or missing out on promotions because they’re too shy and are holding back.

All of this is costing you as an organisation. Costing you diversity of thought. Costing you promoting more female leaders. Costing you that brilliant, innovative idea that never gets expressed.

The two key ways I work with organisations and their staff to help encourage self expression.

Firstly to work 1:1 with the person to see what’s holding them back. For me, for many years, it was the fear to speak up to older men as this had not been a good experience for me growing up, and my brain had stored that program .

Secondly, through an innovative program called WomanSpeak, to help women re-wire their brain around public speaking, although it equally applies to speaking up in meetings, to clients, to colleagues.

How do we rewire their brain?

It’s not a painful process I assure you, it’s actually quite the opposite. We change the association of speaking up having a negative consequence, to associating it with a positive experience. After learning a range of tools to help them speak spontaneously with confidence, they have the opportunity to stand up and do a brief presentation, and then are celebrated wildly, and receive feedback on what they have done well. They also get feedback on how to take their talk from good to great, but this is done through receiving ‘refinements’ – what we’d like to see more of (which is a great strategy on how to give feedback and leave the person inspired!).

I have just completed a 16 month WomanSpeak Circle where I’ve presented twice each month to a group of women around Australia, as I wanted to improve my ability to articulate myself when put on the spot. The other day I was asked to speak briefly at a casual networking event, along with a range of other speakers. They all got up one by one, and either spoke very briefly, or referred to notes which made them sound a little scripted. I hadn’t even thought of what I was going to say, but got up and spoke for about 5 minutes. Afterwards, I had people come up to me to say that I’d spoken so well, and with such warmth.

So now I want to help other women to tap into their inner wisdom, show their true capability in their career, and help them inspire others.

If you’d like to find out more about introducing  WomanSpeak training into your organisation, you can find out more here.

(Remember to get your copy of Careers Awakening: How To Align Your Career With Your Soul Purpose here.)