Mel Butcher and Michelle Redfern are discussing growth leadership on todays episode. They explore the idea that every employee, regardless of their department or career stage, plays a critical role in driving the growth of their organization. Growth is not limited to revenue and sales—it extends to overall impact, customer satisfaction, and internal efficiency. The episode also emphasizes that leadership manifests at all levels, from early career professionals to C-suite executives. Michelle shares insights on how understanding the business of the business and aligning with organizational strategy is essential for contributing to growth.

Episode Highlights:

Growth Leadership for Everyone: All organizations aim to grow, and this responsibility isn't limited to those in sales or customer-facing roles. Every employee contributes to this growth.

Understanding BQ (Business Intelligence): Early career professionals should focus on understanding how their role fits into the broader organizational goals. Knowing the organization's growth strategy is essential.

Positional Purpose: Each role within a company has a purpose that ties back to the strategic objectives. Michelle stresses the importance of knowing how your role contributes to the organization's success.

Collaboration and Team Contribution: Leadership is not just about doing your job, it's about helping others and collaborating effectively to ensure the team succeeds together.

Curiosity and Engagement: Being curious about the organization’s objectives and asking thoughtful questions can help employees align their work with the business’s overall goals. Managers are encouraged to foster curiosity in their teams.

Middle and Senior Management's Role: These managers are responsible for translating the organization’s strategy into action. They must ensure their teams understand how their daily work contributes to the company’s larger objectives.

Executive Leadership: For executives, growth leadership involves setting the vision, aligning resources, and ensuring the company’s strategy is clear at all levels.

Culture and Communication: Effective leaders create environments that are transparent, encourage collaboration, and enable employees to contribute to organizational goals.

Leadership Call to Action:

For Early Career Professionals:

Understand the business of the business—learn about your company’s growth strategy and how your role contributes.

Develop a curiosity about organizational objectives and ask questions about how your work ties to the company's strategic goals.

Be proactive in sharing knowledge and collaborating with your peers to uplift the team’s performance.

For Middle and Senior Managers:

Prioritize strategic alignment by translating the company's goals into clear, actionable steps for your team.

Ensure everyone in your team understands how their work impacts the organization’s broader objectives and that they’re rowing in the same direction.

Remove barriers and provide enablers that help your team thrive and contribute to growth.

For Executives:

Focus on creating a strong communication strategy that ensures everyone is aligned with the company’s vision and goals.

Build a culture where employees feel empowered to innovate, solve problems, and contribute to the organization’s growth in unexpected ways.

Read The Leadership Compass to discover more www.michelleredfern.com/books

Why You Must Know Your Positional Purpose: https://www.bebusinesssavvy.com/podcasts/be-business-savvy-create-a-career-that-soars/episodes/2148419633

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Lead to Soar podcast, host Michelle Redfern welcomes back Noa Rein, an organizational psychologist and HR advisor, to discuss navigating career crossroads. Together, they explore the concept of being the main character in your career story and the challenges of decision-making when faced with career transitions. Noa shares her expert insights on how individuals, especially women, can recognize when they are at a career crossroads, the emotions and fears that often accompany it, and how to take control of the narrative of their career. They also discuss the power of imagination, the importance of reflection, and practical tools to help people move forward with agency.

Episode Highlights:

What is a Career Crossroad?

Noa defines a career crossroad as the moment when you recognize you're in transition. It's often marked by feelings of being stuck or lost, or external events like redundancy. While change can feel overwhelming, it's crucial to see it as an opportunity for growth.

Internal vs. External Crossroads:

Career transitions can be internally generated (e.g., feeling unfulfilled) or externally imposed (e.g., being laid off). Both require self-awareness and reflection to navigate.

Recognizing Misalignment in Your Career:

Noa emphasizes that feelings of “meh” or dissatisfaction can indicate a deeper misalignment between who you are now and what you're doing. These feelings are key signals that it's time for change.

The Role of Imagination and Exploration:

Career exploration begins with curiosity. Noa encourages using imagination to explore new possibilities without the immediate pressure to act. Asking questions like "What am I longing for?" can spark powerful insights.

Agency in Career Transitions:

Both Michelle and Noa discuss how understanding that you are the author of your own career story gives you agency. Reflecting on your experiences and considering alternative paths can empower you to make deliberate career decisions.

Letting Go of the Past:

One of the hardest parts of navigating a career crossroads is letting go of past investments, both emotional and professional. But letting go is essential to move forward and embrace new opportunities.

Leadership Call to Action:

1. Reflect on Your Current Path: Take a moment to assess your career satisfaction. Are you feeling aligned with your current work, or is there a “meh” sensation creeping in? Make time for self-reflection.

2. Give Yourself Permission to Explore: Use your imagination to consider new possibilities without the pressure to act right away. What are you longing for in your career? Begin by allowing yourself to dream.

3. Find Your Spark: Identify small moments or thoughts that stand out to you, like a spark on a blank page. Let those moments guide you toward deeper exploration.

4. Practice Self-Compassion: As you navigate career transitions, show yourself kindness. Let go of the narrative that you need to have everything figured out immediately. Progress, not perfection, is key.

5. Seek Support: Whether through a mentor, coach, or peer network like Lead to Soar, find a buddy who can support you through your transition. Remember, no one navigates their career alone.

Connect with Noa on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/noaerein/?originalSubdomain=au or at Career Science: https://www.careerscience.com.au/index.html

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode of the Lead to Soar podcast, Michelle Redfern and Mel Butcher discuss the persistent workplace gender gap, its causes, and actionable steps to close it. The conversation covers the current state of gender disparity in leadership roles, the impact on women's economic potential, and strategies for organizations and managers to foster gender equity. They also highlight the importance of business intelligence (BQ) skills for women and discuss resources like the Lead to Soar Summit and Michelle's book, "The Leadership Compass."

Episode Highlights

Current State of the Gender Gap: Women have lower workforce participation, higher unemployment, and hold fewer leadership positions globally.

Economic Impact: The gender wage gap leads to significantly lower retirement savings for women, contributing to higher rates of poverty among older women.

Causes of the Gender Gap:

Corporate Systems: Policies and practices that inadvertently hold women back.

Managers' Mindsets: Unexamined biases affecting decisions about women's advancement.

Women’s Skills: Lack of exposure to critical business, strategic, and financial acumen (BQ).

Actions for Leaders and Managers:

Develop a Gender Equity Strategy: Include DEI accountability and skill sets in leadership.

Implement Transparent Performance Evaluations: Ensure women are evaluated on performance, not personality.

Support Working Families: Promote shared caregiving responsibilities.

Invest in Women's Professional Development: Focus on building BQ skills.

The Importance of Strategic Networking: Aligning networking efforts with personal and organizational goals for effective career advancement.

Lead to Soar Summit: An event offering workshops, keynote speakers, and panels with C-suite women to help women develop leadership skills and build strategic networks.

Leadership Call to Action

Diagnose the Current State: Understand your organization’s leadership gender gap through diagnostics and lived experiences.

Define Goals and Design a Blueprint: Set clear goals for gender equity and create a detailed plan to achieve them.

Develop DEI Accountability: Build DEI skill sets in leaders and ensure they are held accountable for gender equity.

Evaluate and Adjust Managerial Practices: Train managers to recognize and correct biases and to actively support women’s career advancement.

Invest in BQ Skill Development: Provide women with opportunities to build and demonstrate business, strategic, and financial acumen.

Promote Inclusive Workplaces: Develop policies that support family responsibilities and career mobility for women.

Encourage Strategic Networking: Help women build networks aligned with their career goals and organizational objectives.

Join the Leadership Summits: Participate in events like the Lead to Soar Summit to gain insights and actionable strategies for closing the leadership gender gap.

Lead to Soar is a multi-platform resource for ambitious women on a leadership journey and for organisations serious about closing the leadership gender gap.

We support women and organisations in 5 ways;

The Lead to Network: https://leadtosoar.network/landing

The Lead to Soar Podcast: https://shows.acast.com/lead-to-soar

The Lead to Soar Summit: https://www.leadtosoar.com/summit

Women’s Leadership Programs: https://www.michelleredfern.com/advancing-women-in-business-sport

DEI Consulting & Advisory: https://www.michelleredfern.com/consulting

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.