Monthly Archives: January 2018

How to Ace Your Interview

How To Ace Your Interview



On this episode of The Ultimate Leadership Podcast, career coach and bestselling author Thea Kelley shares her expertise on how to build a proactive strategy prior to your interview to finally get that job.

On today’s podcast:

  • Why is interviewing so terrifying?
  • It’s not enough to be qualified for the job
  • Find out what your key selling points are
  • REV selling points
  • How to come across as authentic
  • Don’t recite, be conversational instead

Links:

Why is interviewing so terrifying?

It’s very natural to be nervous about an interview. A lot of it is about fear of the unknown, a lack of control. You don’t know what to expect.

You should take control by having a proactive interview strategy. This is where leaders have an advantage because they are used to strategic planning.

You won’t get the job just by being qualified

The company may be interviewing an average of five candidates, all of whom are qualified.

Your task is not just to show that you’re qualified, but to stand out. To make yourself memorable as the best candidate.

It’s not a matter of magic, it’s a matter of having a proactive strategy. Most candidates will go to an interview without an overall strategy.

Brand yourself

Strategy has to be complemented with authenticity. Strategic planning has a lot to do with strengths and weaknesses.

You need to make an effort to identify what makes you stand out. What are your key selling points?

Start with making a list. You can ask yourself these questions:

  • What do I do better than most?
  • What skills do I have that are hard to find?
  • What’s my most impressive accomplishment in the last 5 years?
  • Is there anything impressive about my career trajectory?
  • What would my clients or managers say it makes me especially valuable?

Be REV: Relevant, Exceptional and Verifiable

The best key selling points to emphasize in an interview or on a resume need to be REV: Relevant, Exceptional and Verifiable.

The first interview question is important. You can answer it with an introduction that focuses on your key selling points. Right off the bat, you’re hitting the interviewers with a few memorable points about you.

You should use stories and examples from your work that illustrate your top selling points.

People tend to remember what they heard first and what they hear last. So you should end your interview by bringing your key selling points up again.

How to come across as authentic

Authenticity starts with telling the truth but goes beyond that. You can tell the truth and still come across as not being authentic.

One of the things that makes people sound inauthentic during an interview is reciting. It appears that they don’t have faith in their communication abilities enough to say it in a natural way.

If you’re reciting something you’ve memorized, you are not as believable.

Being conversational is part of being authentic. Painting a picture with stories and examples also makes you more authentic.


Interview with Tom Goodlet, author of MentorU, on mentorship

Mentorship for Business Leaders with Author Tom Goodlet



One of our most popular interviews last year was with Tom Goodlet. As we look at our goals for 2018, mentorship remains critical to our success as leaders so I wanted to repeat this episode so that we can keep the lessons in mind as we plan for the year ahead.

 

Mentorship is key to successful professional development and as leaders, we have the responsibility to offer ourselves as mentors to the next generation of business leaders.

But what is involved in a mentor-mentee relationship and how do you go about finding a suitable individual to work with?

To answer these questions we spoke to Tom Goodlet, co-author of the book MentorU.

Learn:

  • Why is mentorship so important?
  • Chris’ mentorship story from his time in the military
  • How do you find a mentor?
  • Tom’s formula to a CLEAR and successful mentor relationship
  • How do you develop trust in following the guidance of a mentor?
  • What is the responsibility of the mentee?
  • Tom’s book, MentorU

Links:

There are many factors that go into defining our achievement. You should have a solid skill set and business expertise. One of the key ways you can develop this knowledge and these skills is by making mistakes. As we reflect on these mistakes we grow and know what to avoid in future.

Making mistakes is a part of our growth. But another way that we gain the required expertise and grow professionally is by finding a mentor.

Usually, there are two big failures in the business world. Firstly; the individuals don’t use and benefit from mentorship. But secondarily, the people that could be mentors aren’t stepping up to take that responsibility.

Aligning yourself with a mentor will allow you the opportunity to learn from their knowledge. They can guide you in developing future opportunities in your career and business.

So how do you best find a mentor? When you find a mentor, how do you know that they have your best interests in mind? How do you develop the trust in following your mentor’s guidance?

In today’s show, we’re going to answer those questions and more.

Today’s guest is Tom Goodlet – an Author of ‘MentorU’, Speaker and Associate Minister at Harborside Christian Church.

Tom’s expertise is in the religious institutions industry. He is skilled in Theology, Leadership, Event Planning, Discipleship, Pastoral Counseling, Curriculum Development, Mentorship and Volunteer Management. For more information about him and his book MentorU checkout www.mentoru.info.

Why is mentorship so important?

Mentorship is a dynamic tool that stands above the rest. Tom highlights the 2 main strengths of mentorship:

  1. Mentorship allows you to go deep and grow fast. There are great resources available through conferences, podcasts, blogs etc. but with mentorship, you hone in on the mentee and you can be laser-focused on their growth. It’s an efficient way to learn and grow because the topic is ‘you’.
  2. You get a sense of accountability. You have somebody to discuss mistakes made and learnings that come from business experience, dissect what has happened and learn from it. Being held accountable for your goals and actions keeps you focused on growth and the ability to analyze and reflect on mistakes helps you to learn.

Chris’ mentorship story from his time in the military:

When I was in the military, I had a Chief Master Sergeant who was complaining about a process.

I said ‘Chief, I think we need to try this.’

For dramatic purposes he slams his hands on the table and says ‘Sergeant, I’ve tried that a hundred times and it doesn’t work.’ And I felt about 2 inches tall.

But then he said ‘But who’s to say it doesn’t work the 101st time? Go ahead and give it a try.’

Well it didn’t work the 101st time, but he didn’t stifle my creativity.

And then after that process, we got to chat about it and he helped me reflect on what the challenge was. But I think that was a very valuable teaching moment for me.

Mentorship is a safe place to look at and learn from mistakes. We learn more by doing and so you should not be afraid of failure.

It’s not failure unless you give up. So long as you do dissect it and learn from it, it’s not actually a failure. Good mentors help you along, give you encouragement and see you through the dark time of mistakes to see the potential success that comes from learning experiences.

We need that cheering section, that mentor by our side to help get us into the celebration part of the process.

How do you find a mentor?

We have to be honest with ourselves going into mentorship. We know mentorship is beneficial for everybody, but not everybody is ready for mentorship.

You need 2 things:

  1. There are some requirements you want to meet – Tom uses the acronym ‘CLEAR’ to help you identify who your mentor should be. More on that below.
  2. It requires some resolve; some courage to take the step to commit to mentorship and the journey of working with your mentor to learn and grow.

Tom tells us we want to be able to make a CLEAR choice of who should be our mentor:

  • C: Connect – who do you naturally connect with? You don’t want to force a relationship with your mentor. You want to find a mentor that you are comfortable with and enjoy spending time with.
  • L: Learn – who can you learn from? Or who can learn from me?
  • E: Excited – who would you be excited to mentor you? You don’t want to have to manufacture excitement to work with a mentor. Find a mentor you are excited to work with.
  • A: Authentic – you want to find a mentor who is not trying to be somebody they are not. Somebody who is not in denial of their weaknesses. Someone that knows their strengths.
  • R: Reliability – you want to have a mentor that you can rely on to meet with you.

The other point that Tom makes is around resolve. Fear is often the indicator that we’re on to something good – if you are nervous or it feels risky to ask somebody to be your mentor, you are probably on the right track. Like asking somebody out on a first date.

If you can show the resolve to get past that fear, you’re likely to be setting up a relationship that gets you excited and motivated to make the most of mentorship.

How do you develop trust in following the guidance of a mentor?

If your mentor gives you some advice that you can’t see the value in yet, it’s important to trust the guidance of your mentor.

Tom suggests that time is the major factor. Mentorship is not something you should rush. You have to develop a relationship organically and not meet too frequently. Allow time to build trust with your mentor by meeting just every couple of weeks and allowing time to see the results of the advice given.

Taking the time to get to know each other is essential to have an understanding and trusting mentor relationship.

What is the responsibility of the mentee?

The nice thing about mentorship is that you have accountability both ways. As the mentee, you are responsible for being prepared for your mentorship meetings, ready to report how your career or business is developing. Your mentee is going to hold you accountable to actions, homework, follow-up.

Another responsibility of the mentee is to bring questions. You have to be prepared to get the most out of the time you spend together, so coming with a list of questions to ask your mentor/mentee is important.

Tom’s book is loaded with mentorship questions to help you in this.

Tom’s book, MentorU

Tom co-wrote MentorU with his friend and mentee, Matt Gardner.

It’s a universal first step for anybody who wants to start mentoring that leads to the individual’s next step because everybody’s next step is going to be different. Through the book, you build towards a strategic growth plan for the individual being mentored.

If you’re being a mentor, you’re always fed more when you’re feeding. Every time Tom has mentored somebody else, he has grown immensely. Mentoring delivers value both ways.

The book provides expert guidance on conducting a productive mentor-mentee relationship.

You can find MentorU on Amazon. You can connect with Tom on LinkedIn.


How to Hone Your Presentation Skills w/ TEDx Director Tricia Brouk

How to Hone Your Presentation Skills w/ TEDx Director Tricia Brouk



TEDx Director Tricia Brouk shares useful tips on how to hone your presentation skills and give a killer TEDx performance.

On today’s podcast:

  • Fine-tuning your presentation skills
  • Steps to giving a killer presentation
  • Knowing who you are as a speaker
  • Finding an event where the theme resonates with you
  • Should you use PowerPoint slides during your talk?

Links:

Getting your story out

People want to know how to develop their presentation skills so that they can get to the TEDx stage.

When Tricia first started working with speakers they had a lot of amazing ideas to share. She wondered “How can I get these ideas on the stage so that more people can be moved by them”?

She takes the idea and helps the presenter get the story out.

First steps on the journey to becoming a TEDx speaker

You have to be sure that your idea is uniquely yours. You should watch other TED talks and events.

Find out if many people have already talked about this. If they have, find a new idea.

When you become a TEDx speaker you elevate your credibility immediately. You have to be ready to take responsibility for what will happen once you become a TEDx speaker.

How to engage your audience

A TEDx event is a theatrical show. The best way to prepare is to work on your script first. Write your script in a way that allows you to turn it into a conversation with the audience.

You should really focus on rehearsing. A lot of people think that if they rehearse they will sound like a robot. If you rehearse so that you know the script inside and out, when you get on to the stage you can be free to express your idea.

Previews are very important. Do your talk in front of multiple audiences before you take the TEDx stage so that you can have the greatest impact.

Knowing who you are as a speaker

It’s important to know who you are as a speaker. If you are not funny naturally, don’t do a funny talk. If you are very shy, you’re going to require more practice in front of an audience.

Find someone who can help you. They can get to know who you are and then place you in an environment that is comfortable, but also theatrical, o that you can wow your audience.

If you are a speaker who works really well from bullet points, don’t memorize the script word for word. If you prefer to memorize the script word for word, make sure you are speaking as a conversation, not reciting from a page.

Finding a theme that resonates with you

Tricia asks the speakers and the audience to look beyond what they normally see. We should look beyond what is possible and potentially change the world by changing what we see in front of us.

If you are going to take a TEDx stage, find an event where the theme resonates with you. You have to be clear on what kind of event you want to be involved in.

You have one opportunity to get a TEDx video on YouTube and if it’s not good quality, it’s going to break your heart. When you are searching out TEDx events, find out who the organizer is, what the theme is, and what the production value is.

Should you use PowerPoint slides during your talk?

Should a speaker use PowerPoint slides? It’s all personal preference, based on what your talk needs. If they serve your talk, use them.

The speakers should not look back at the screen if they are using slides. They should stay engaged with the audience. The moment you turn away from the audience, you break the contact.


How to Get a ROI from LOL

How to Have a ROI out of LOL



On this episode of The Ultimate Leadership Podcast, you meet best-selling author and one woman show June Cline who will let you in on her little secret: infusing humor in your workplace will bring in a tremendous return on investment.

On today’s podcast:

Is there really a place for humor in the workforce?

  • What is your comedic style?
  • How do we interact with people whose comedy style we are not comfortable with?
  • Do you have emotional bank accounts?
  • You have to know what feeds your soul
  • June’s happiness recipe

Links:

How to have ROI out of LOL

June uses the power of laughter in order to boost company morale.

She discovered that when we start laughing and lightening up we build better relationships and are able to accomplish more.

June helps organizations and leaders to understand that their humor matters.

There has to be humor in the workplace, or we will lose our sanity. We have to be able to laugh at the situation and at ourselves in particular.

June’s four comedic styles

June speaks about four comedic styles. They are like behavioral styles, and there is no right or wrong approach.

We all possess all four styles. Depending on the situation we will gravitate our default to one style more than the other.

The first style of humor is the crazy one. Crazies are people with a bizarre, out there humor. They are typically very outrageous, and oftentimes their humor is very physical.

The crazy comedic style is the most frequently encountered.

Understanding that each one of us has his own comedic style

How do we interact with people whose comedy style we are not comfortable with?

This is the question June is answering through her work. Her mission is to heighten awareness and help people be more understanding towards each other.

We all come with our preferred comedic style. We shouldn’t be put off by someone else’s style of humor, instead we should try to understand it.

There are times when people are using humor as a weapon and are really coming after you. When that happens, you can call them out and say “That was harsh. Is that how you intended that?”

And you can come right back at them with the same intensity of what you think you got from them. But again, it may just be their style.

Emotional bank accounts

The second comedic style is the caustic one. Etymologically, sarcasm means “to tear the flesh to the bone”.

Oftentimes we hide the truth behind sarcasm when we are at work. That can be a very detrimental way to use humor. Sometimes you can be cynical without realizing it.

Caustic people tend to be more cynical, insulting, maybe even a bit more hateful. They tease, they taunt. Sometimes they are considered bullies.

Finding out about the concept of emotional bank accounts changed June’s life. For every emotional negative hit, it takes 20 positive hits or more to bring that back to equal.

The caring and cerebral comedic styles

The third comedic style is the caring one. The carings use personal, usually harmless humor. Usually, they are poking fun at themselves. They are very optimistic and are taking responsibility for their humor.

The forth one is the cerebral one. The cerebrals are too erudite. June calls cerebral humor English humor. The more you make people think about what you’ve said, they will go down a rabbit hole, and they won’t stay with you for the punchline.

The cerebrals are much more factual, data-driven, and intellectual. Their humor is dry and satirical. They love the phrase “If it goes without saying, let it”.

June’s quest for a happiness recipe

You can see the comedic culture of the company, of the team. And it blows people’s minds. Your sense of humor the way you see it and the way other people do, it can be very different.

In her book, Happiness Recipe, together with her friend Sandy Weaver Carman, June interviewed thought leaders, internationally-known speakers, and other experts to find out what their happiness recipe is.

They discovered that a lot of people don’t know what makes them happy. It’s something people should be clear on.

The top three things that make June happy are freedom, excitement, and adventure. When she realized this, she understood why certain jobs or certain people don’t work for her.