Women In Leadership Presents: Trusting Your Own Voice

The Women in Leadership blog series highlights the upcoming Women in Leadership session and is from the perspective of the author as they explore the topic for the month. This month's Women in Leadership (WIL) session invites you to join a conversation with Helen M, senior manager, social media about trusting your own voice.

While preparing for the upcoming event, I studied how to trust your inner voice and how to trust your own voice and speak with confidence. Trusting your voice and speaking with confidence can lead to a successful career. I thought about how I used to be too shy to speak up in meetings. Then, I thought about how as I became a subject matter expert (SME) in the instructional design world, I could trust my voice and speak with confidence while offering solutions and overcoming challenges on different projects. Check out the amazing TED Talk where Mariama Whyte talks about the fear of speaking in public and how to overcome it with practice. Mariama speaks about her own personal journey and offers information about trusting your voice. Mariama helps you learn to express yourself with self-confidence, genuineness, and influence – How to Trust Your Own Voice and Speak with Confidence Anywhere.

After listening to Mariama's TED Talk, I started reflecting on ways I had trusted my own voice to advance my career. I also thought about how people wanting to advance their careers can learn to trust their voices. I compiled the following list of trusting your own voice and speaking with confidence components:
•    Speaking with confidence – For others to hear you properly and make your voice influential, you must be aware of what you say as well as how you say it. Explain what matters to you and why in a clear and precise way. Explain your perspective and what drives it in a distinct and accurate manner.
•    Elevating others – It is difficult to know when to hold authority and when to transfer it. When using your rank and sway to transfer authority to others who may not be in the limelight, radiate strength, and confidence. Use the amplification approach where you reiterate another women's point of view while giving her credit for her idea.
•    Being self-aware – Assess yourself on what your values are and the type of leader you want to be. Then, ensure that you live those values. Make your voice your own, confirming others can respect your voice while expecting consistency.
•    Valuing your opinion – Remember that your opinion and what you have to say matters. Be mindful of the fact that sometimes remaining quiet comes at a cost. When you speak up, you may be sharing ideas and insights that others have never pondered. Preparing for meetings allows you to effectively provide a clear point-of-view while setting the tone, context, and content of the discussion.
•    Being open to feedback – Get to know the people that you work with and build deeper relationships with them. Ask them for feedback and be open to the feedback they provide. Foster a community of trust that empowers you and your coworkers to have difficult conversations. If you are not open to receiving feedback, building the trust to speak about the hard topics may be difficult.

Part of TTEC? I look forward to seeing you at our WIL Session on July 26 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. MST to hear from Helen about the reasons why our voices matter and what factors may help or hinder women's vocal expression, providing insights to help us develop and hone our leadership skills. Head to our Mosaic space for more details.