building eminence and board_wheeler

8/8/2019 Building Eminence and Board_Wheeler

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/building-eminence-and-boardwheeler 1/32

Building Eminence and Your

Board - Keys to Career Success

Tina Wheeler Audit Partner, Regional Women¶s Initiative Leader

June 20, 2009



Copyright © 2005 Deloitte Development LLC. All rights reserved. 1

Agenda

Building Eminence

Building Your Board

Basic Rules f or Success




Building Eminence




What is Eminence?

Eminence is what you are known for«

Having a position of great distinction or

superiority± Prominence, Prestige, Respect, Influence, Leader

Having specialized knowledge± Knowledge, Specialization, ³Go-to´ Person

Interactions with people± Communication, Counseling, Training

Having talent± Musician, Athlete, Multi-Lingual




Why is Eminence Important?

Sense of purposeSets you apart

Personal development

Career advancementSupport f irm strategy

Grow the practice

Y ou can shape your own eminence«




What are You Known f or?

SAP ExpertRecruiting Superstar

Health Care Specialist

Counseling and Mentoring

Oracle Expert

Training Facilitator

Effective Conflict Resolution

Network Expert Proposal Involvement & Success

Workpaper Quality

Client Relation Skills




How to Establish Eminence

Gain enough experience to be able to identif y what you are good at and enjoy most

Talk to your counselor and mentors to gather their input and ideas

Ask f or an assignment in an area of specialized interest (i.e., insurance, network)

Seek specialized training (i.e., industry)

Make time f or things that interest you and

build on your strengths (volunteer to teach trainings, participate in recruiting, get to know the new hires, seek out technicalmatters f or research, etc.)




Building Your Board




What is a Personal Board of Directors?

A group of individuals with whom you havespecific and strategic relationships with and who can serve as advocates for you

Be strategic when thinking about who is already on your board and who you wouldlike to have on your board

Think about short-term as well as long-term career goals




Who Should Be On Your Board?

Examples of Board members to include:Leaders within your engagement teams

Colleagues and mentors that are inside andoutside of the Firm

Specialists or leaders that f it in with your background and area of eminence

Individuals with diverse backgrounds including other functions and service lines

Leaders in other off ices and regions

Individuals who have worked with you in acapacity outside of client engagements




Example Board of Directors Layout

My Goals

Within your geography

Outsideyour geography

Knowledge of Me

Outside theCompany

Within the Company

Outside of your dept

Specialists / Leaders

Career Role Models




There are many different types of networks. Inquire with the people you know to obtain

knowledge by leveraging your internal and external networks.

Co-workers within your

function Employees within other

functions Counselor/mentor Family members Friends f rom college /high

school

Co-workers within your

function Employees within other

functions Counselor/mentor Family members Friends f rom college /high

school

Client contacts

Acquaintances at socialgatherings Colleages at business

conferences / associations or community organizations

Friends of f riends or f riends of family members

New neighbors on your block

Client contacts

Acquaintances at socialgatherings Colleages at business

conferences / associations or community organizations

Friends of f riends or f riends of family members

New neighbors on your block

Visibility and inf ormation are key to networking and f inding potentialopportunities that can turn into a rewarding career or saleVisibility and inf ormation are key to networking and f inding potentialopportunities that can turn into a rewarding career or sale

InternalInternal ExternalExternal

Your ability to continue to grow and move in your career depends on your ability to builrelationships

Your Network




Networking is done with a goal in mind. Align networking with your personal and

organizational goals.

Establishing your network

Plan your network like everything else ± build

your personal ³Board of Directors´

Approach networking like you would a pro ject

Assess your network regularly ± identif y gaps,

develop a plan and execute on building and

strengthening these relationships

Networking is a deliberate eff ort. Use your

consulting skills to transf orm your relationships.

Building your network

Find out and remember what makes each

individual tick. Be a ³People Collector´

Remember little things and document it f or

future reference

Think ahead. An analyst or junior client now

could potentially move into a CXO position in the

future.

Figure out what you can do f or the other person

rather than waiting until you need them to help you




What Next?

Once you start building your board, you cansee where you have gaps to f ill

Think about creative ways to expand themembers of your board

Establish touch points with the members of your board to keep communication open,bounce ideas, and gain insight

Restructure your board every two to threeyears to align with your goals





Some tips f or success are included in thenext section, however remember that success should be def ined on your ownterms. We hope you take this opportunity to

self reflect and determine which areas whereyou can f ocus to enhance your professionaldevelopment.





Take Action ± Don¶ t wait f or an invitation or leave hints and expect others to read your mind ± make your aspirations clear and beproactive.

Self Promote ± Know how to sell yourself ina way that¶ s comf ortable f or you.

Accept Uncertainty ± You will f igure it out and learn as you go along.

Have Vision ± Have a basic sense of what you want and where you want to go.

Be Confident in your Abilities - Don¶ t

think of yourself as an imposter.





Recognize Opportunities - Take action to seek out opportunities and do not wait f or them to fall in your lap. Learn to recognizeopportunities that do come your way so youcan use them to your advantage.

Get Over the Fear of Rejection ± Put yourself out there and make a request or present an idea. The answer ³no´ is not theend of the world.

Take a Risk ± Fear is part of success; don¶ t let it paralyze you.

Don¶t Anguish ± Don¶ t let everyone aroundyou see your anxiety or f rustration.





Follow the Team Leader ± Be supportive of the team and keep the big picture in mind.

Know Your Surroundings - Understand theculture, politics, and surroundings of your

workplace.Stay Connected ± Maintain regular contact

with your clients and colleagues.

Speak Up ± Be conf ident and enthusiasticwhen speaking and suggesting ideas. Also,don¶ t be af raid to give your opinion and askquestions during meetings.





Make Your Presence Known ± Do this through choice of seating, eye contact,appearance, and verbal discussion.

Rally Support - Find a supporter f or your

idea that is a representative f rom thestructure that must approve it. Discuss during a ³pre´ meeting in preparation f or ³the´ meeting.

Define Success on Your Own Terms -What makes you happy?





Build Relationships ± Invest in building relationships. When you need a relationship,it¶ s too late to build it.

Be Known for Something ± Understand

what gives you the most satisfaction andwhat you are good at so you can differentiateyourself .

Have a Mentor ± Identif y at least one

mentor and reach out to that person on aperiodic basis to gain insight and discuss career navigation.





Focus on Your Strengths ± Don¶ t dwell onchallenges, learn f rom them and move on

Dress the Part - Dress f or the job youwant; not the job you have.

Be a Woman ± Do what is natural f or you.

Be Yourself ± These tips are about learning to make noise and learning to make choices,however should not change the person youare.

Laugh ± Don¶ t take yourself too seriously.




Gender Differences

What differences between men and womenhave you observed?




Possible Mistakes

Making mistakes is something that we all do and it is important that we learn f rom them. Sometimes we may unintentionally makemistakes that hinder our career and

professional development. Some possiblemistakes are included in the next section andwe suggest that you think of some situations where you may have made similar mistakes

and what you can do to help prevent them f rom occurring in the future.




Possible Mistakes

Personalizing the off ice too much Dismissing your idea by saying, ³Someone

may have already thought about this already«´

Starting conversations with a ³but´ phrase

³I don¶t mean to interrupt you, but«´

Competing intentionally and unintentionally

with other womenRelying on just one person¶ s expertise when

making major decisions




Possible Mistakes

Not asking questions f or fear of sounding stupid

Embellishing when bearing responsibility f or a blunder

Asking permission instead of inf orming others of your intentions (when applicable)

Ignoring the importance of network

relationshipsApologizing f or unintentional errors




Possible Mistakes

Talking too fastMinimizing your work or position (remember

your elevator speech!)

Tolerating sex discrimination or sexualharassment

Giving away your ideas

Being too hesitant if not 100% certain about

something




Suggested Reading

P lay Like a Man Win Like a Woman - Gail Evans

She Wins, Y ou Win - Gail Evans

Nice Girls Don¶t Get the Corner Office 101:Unconscious Mistakes Women Make That SabotageTheir Careers - Lois P. Frankel, PhD

A Woman¶s Guide to Successful Negotiation: How to

Convince, Collaborate, & Create Y our Way to Agreement - Lee E. Miller & Jessica Miller




Suggested Reading

The P ower of P ositive Confrontation: The Skills Y ouNeed to Know to Handle Conflicts at Work, at Home,and in Life - Barbara Pachter

The Girls Guide to Being a Boss: Without Being a Bitch- Caitlan Friedman & Kimberly Yorio

Women Don¶t Ask-Negotiation and the Gender Divide- Linda Babcock and Sara Laschever




Find Your Passion

³ Good business leaders create a vision, articulate the

vision, passionately own the vision, and relentlessly drive it to completion.´

- Jack Welch, f ormer CEO of General Electric




Questions?

building eminence and board_wheeler

Documents