Eureka Moments in Executive Consulting
Posted on Wed, Feb 08, 2012
By Scott Weighart, Director of Learning and Development
One of my favorite things about attending our Speak Like a CEO Boot Camp is watching our executive clients have a eureka moment—some sudden epiphany about who they can be as a leader.
At one recent event, we worked with a gentleman who already had exceptional executive presence. Within a minute or two of meeting him, I could imagine him being the CEO of a large company—and maybe he will be someday.
He was so good, in fact, that you had to wonder why he came. He was already a great communicator. The answer? He knew he could get better. So it was a real treat to be in the room when that happened.
During the Boot Camp, we ask the participants to develop a three-minute presentation. It’s a real presentation that they will be giving to a decision-making audience within weeks—nothing hypothetical about it. Using a presentation structure that we provide, the participants create some speaking notes, take some practice time, and then they stand and deliver with no help from PowerPoint slides.
When it was his turn, the gentleman who had impressed me did exactly what I thought he would do: He hit it out of the park. His fellow participants and the executive coach in the room gave him rave reviews.
The fun part about all of this is that he was stunned with the outcome. “I’ve never done a formal presentation in this style—by just having a handful of notes and speaking directly to the audience without the help of slides and charts.”
“But that’s what was so great about it!” someone said. “You were very natural and authentic. Your executive presence just stood out. You really connected with us!”
Suddenly he saw himself very differently. He already knew that he was good at impromptu talks—chats with college seniors about careers, for example—but it had never occurred to him to think about how the formal presentations were not so different. Now he could see that creating a strict script and data-heavy visuals were actually not helping him—they were making him uptight and less connected to the audience.
Leaders who attend our workshops or sign up for executive consulting have different motivations. Some know that they need to work on their leadership communication skills to make them every bit as strong as their technical skills and functional expertise. Others know that they are already good, but they are tantalized by how much they could drive economic value into their business by being truly great.
Either way, it’s a great idea to give yourself opportunities to see how good you are, get real feedback, and expand your thinking about the kind of leader you can be. If you work with experts in executive consulting, your whole career can change with just one eureka moment.