Being spoken to differently from our male colleagues, trying to establish our own leadership style that looks and feels so different to our male peers, expending great energy to stay level or get ahead, being seen as equally credible and capable, and being sought out in private for our counsel but not advocated for in public by the very same leaders… these are just some of the challenges that tech women leaders have en route to becoming a CTO.
When we feel like our own thoughts, values and decisions are constantly challenged, daily, it’s easy to feel defeated and wonder whether our efforts are worth the fight. And this weight can leave us feeling triggered or silenced.
More strategic, less doing
Stepping up into a CTO role demands of leaders a more strategic focus and less doing of tasks that their team members, when emotionally connected, are confident and capable of delivering on. It requires a mindset shift, to see your role as someone who enables and empowers others, and know that your value is to influence and support at the most strategic level.
In building teams and increasing the capability of what they can do to meet business targets, leaders have multiple challenges and dilemmas around team member performance. We want to give people autonomy, but sometimes the standard of work our direct reports deliver falls short of our expectations. We want our people to show up committed and passionate but we end up scratching our heads wondering why we’re not getting through to them. We need more time to be strategic and get ahead of mission-critical events and targets, but we keep getting pulled into meetings to put out fires and de-escalate issues.
Work less hard at unlocking productivity and creating accountability
Leaders who use coaching skills in their conversations with their direct reports and their peers find they have to work less hard at unlocking productivity and creating accountability. Leaders who coach use proven conversation structures that tap into the personal values of each team member to create ownership, emotional connection and creative solutions.
As Aspiring Women CTO’s guest speaker, Sehaam Cyrene PCC shares the competencies and skills of Leaders Who Coach™ and how they can support Aspiring Women CTOs to achieve their goals — key techniques that you can easily adopt and apply to create momentum, tackle difficult conversations, drive better performance and improve business outcomes. Ultimately, these approaches help leaders unlock productivity and create accountability more easily within their teams and direct reports.
Learn more about CPD Certified Leaders Who Coach™ described by leaders as “transformational” and “life-changing”.
Stay in touch:
Leaders Who Coach Enrichment Cohort 2022
* OPEN FOR ENROLMENT — STARTS 20 APRIL *
Aspiring Women CTO Members: message us to claim your 20% discount.
