Lauren Lindenmulder* shares communication strategies for female leaders who want to stand out.
Photo: Sanjeri
I’m a recent university graduate with a degree in communications and journalism.
Since leadership and communication are always on my mind, I was excited to get the chance to attend the 2019 SHRM Annual Conference — and in particular the session “ Communicate Your Way to the Top: Communication Strategies for Female Leaders Who Want to Stand Out ”, presented by Carol Leonie Maria Schulte, Facilitator of Living BIG, Toronto.
She promised to educate us on effective communication strategies to be assertive and authentic, so we can speak up, stand up, and stand out.
Effective communication as a female leader in the workplace is a skill that’s more than beneficial — it’s essential.
Shulte covered what we need to focus on as female leaders and how communication is not only verbal but also vocal and visual.
The misconception is that communication is only what is said with words, but realistically that is only 7 per cent of how we portray our message to others.
Schulte says 38 per cent is vocal — think the tone of our voice, volume, and pace — while 55 per cent is with visuals, so gestures, eye contact and facial expressions.
I’m passionate about communication, marketing, and behavioural science.
This means I like to give advice, but it also means that I’m a forever-learner.
I don’t think I will ever reach a point in my career where I can sit back and say I’m confident that I know everything; in fact, I chose a field in which knowing everything isn’t possible, especially in the digital landscape.
What I have learned as a freelancer is that I will always have something to learn.
Running your freelance projects and tasks like a business is crucial, which means having a business plan in place, opening a separate bank account, and having the proper software to track your profits and losses for tax purposes.
I didn’t go to business school, so I learned all of these things from doing research and reaching out to mentors in my field.
I noticed that, when I was seeking information, I tended to reach out to women in my industry.
From the outside, it might seem like I did so because women are more open to other women asking questions (there’s no data to support this).
In fact, men are equally as likely to support peers.
One thing that really stood out to me at the SHRM session was when Schulte had us complete this sentence, “If I were braver I would _______”:
- Learn to say no.
- Start before I felt 100 per cent ready.
- Stop striving for perfection.
These were just a few of my answers.
Communication starts with bravery by going for it
Communication is my job, and I was surprised at how much I took away from this learning session.
Digital marketing, social media, design, branding, and strategy are at the heart of what I do every day, but I’m also passionate about nonprofits, entrepreneurship, startups, and community engagement.
This means my communication style suits me being my own boss.
I work with clients as partners, but at the end of the day, what my workday looks like is up to me.
Because like tends to attract like, and as I mentioned above, I tend to choose mentors and support networks made up of women who are more like me, it’s important to me to be able to understand how to most effectively work with people who are the opposite of me in every way, as well as understand and empathise with many different personality types.
I loved Schulte’s take on passive, assertive and aggressive communication on the spectrum of communication.
On one end you have passive and on the other you have aggressive.
We all know or have worked with people who are passive-aggressive, no one wants to be surrounded by them much less have them as a leader.
The “sweet spot” along this spectrum is in the middle where you are assertive.
Stop saying “I just”, “I think” or “I’m sorry”; be confident and assertive and you will rise up.
One bit of advice I wrote in a post to my sister as she prepared to go off to university: Stand up for yourself and for others.
If you don’t like something, change it; if you see something going on that shouldn’t be, stop it.
Don’t change yourself for someone else or to fit a mould because you are YOU for a reason!
Sometimes it’s easy not to speak up (passive).
Sometimes we get so passionate about something we attempt to charge it head-on (aggressive).
Being assertive means setting boundaries and sticking to them, being cool-headed but steadfast when we have to take a stand.
And as women in the workplace, we always have to take a stand.
* Lauren Lindemulder is founder of locomarketing and sisterlyblondes and Managing Editor of Workology. She tweets at @LLindemulder and her website is loco.marketing.
This article first appeared at workology.com.
