How you can assist the organisation to be better?
Thank you Nicole Hollows, CEO Sunwater and Gov Inst for another amazing Women in
Nicole spoke about her journey to CEO & firmly believes that it’s not about just being your best in your world but how you can assist the organisation to be better.
She freely admits that she didn’t have the confidence to put her hat in the ring for the top jobs but was invited & encouraged to apply. Nicole asked for all of us to look out for talent & call out talent particularly when the person is reluctant to self-promote, otherwise exceptional people are being missed.
Working harder does not make you the best, she has learned to be self-aware; give yourself time to think, people’s perception of you is important, own your perception.
It doesn’t have to lonely at the top, there are Coaches, mentors and sponsors. It’s ok to ask for help.
10 learnings that Nicole shared with us:
Enjoy & be passionate about what you do, but be aware that there are always compromises, there are always parts of the role that you don’t like.
Have confidence to step up, grab opportunities to learn across the business
Embrace change, change is a constant in business
Work hard, make the most of your opportunities, if you fail then treat is as a learning opportunity
Be authentic & true to yourself
Don’t ever forget to learn & develop yourself and others. Keeping up & maintaining your credentials is not enough.
Integrity is everything
Understand what success is for you (where do you add value)
Communicate, communicate, communicate
Don’t sweat the small stuff.
Q. What’s hard about being the CEO? A. There’s always going to be someone unhappy with your decision, so you must communicate the “Why”.
Q. What are the best Soft Skills? A.
Know your impact on others
How people perceive you
How you performance manage … ensure it’s constructive.