Moment With Manal: January 2022

Tuesday, January 25, 2022

Professional Presence In A Pandemic World

What does having a professional presence look like in a world full of zoom calls, masks and working at home?

Let’s start with presence. Presence is letting the most powerful version of yourself shine through. I like to cite the renowned leadership expert Sylvia Ann Hewlett, who defines “presence” as a combination of gravitas, communication, and appearance. Together, these elements form an impression of trustworthiness, competence, and authenticity.

Now let’s look at professionalism. Many people tie this to how one dresses. But it is more than that. It is confidence, communication and how you dress.

Confidence. If you want to learn how to be more confident, you must be willing to change your state. Your state is essentially your mood at any given time of day. Your mood is influenced by how you feel about yourself at that point in time. The great news is you are in full control of your choice. Confidence is a matter of choice. You can let go of the stories you hold at any moment and create a new experience within yourself that will directly affect your state of mind and thus, your confidence.

Communicate. To communicate effectively, it’s important to regulate your reactions, recognize emotions in others, and manage your responses. Let other people speak first. Ask questions and make them feel understood. Remember to smile, make eye contact, and lean forward. By staying in the moment and maintaining focus on the conversation, you can ask the right questions and lay the foundation for trust and openness to your influence.

Dress your part. There should be a strong connection between who you are, who you want to be, and how you look. If you want to be successful in the financial sector, for instance, you need to look like someone who understands and can be trusted with money. Identify the people who are successful where you work, and study how they put themselves together. Focusing on your appearance can also go a long way toward boosting your internal confidence. Best,

Manal (This article was published first in the Locala Magazine Oct 2021 Issue on page 29)

Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Mentally Preparing for Change

Life is ever changing but how do you mentally prepare for change?

In recent times, your life might have been impacted by the death of a loved one, you have moved, graduated or had a change in your job situation. Whether or not we are ready for these changes, we have to adapt to them.

By mentally preparing yourself beforehand, big life changes can become less traumatic and instead become rewarding experiences.

The number one factor that causes stress is unfamiliarity.

Familiar situations are comforting to us — we’ve already created neural pathways to help us deal with these situations, and our brain may even release feel-good hormones because a situation is rewarding. Unfamiliar situations are daunting — we haven’t created the neural pathways in order to deal with them, and so the brain pumps the body full of cortisol, the stress hormone, in order to make us more alert and prepared for danger.

By mentally preparing for major life changes — we can create a sense of familiarity. This can help to reduce stress — because we have a clearer idea of what we need to do.

Here are some thoughts on mental preparation.

Some changes are out of your control.

Creating backup plans is a way to mentally prepare for change. As the constant question, “What if?” — no matter how morbid the question may be. What if my parents were to die? What if my partner was to leave me? What if I was to be made redundant from my job? How would I act in these situations? What this does is allow your brain to mentally prepare for eventualities. This doesn’t mean worrying non-stop. Everyone’s life has things that happen out of their control.

For voluntary changes, make a plan of what you want this change to look like. Once the change starts occurring, there will come a point when there’s no turning back. It’s important to keep looking forward at this point — there is nothing gained from dwelling on what you could have done differently.

When it comes to traumatic events, don’t be afraid to look into counseling.

It’s important to remember that even after undergoing the biggest life changes, certain things will remain the same. Try to reinforce old healthy habits and routines where possible. Keep up old hobbies that bring you joy, listen to music you love, indulge in healthy comfort foods, and stay in contact with old friends. This will reduce the shock of a major life change by making you realize that not everything has changed.

We live in an ever changing world!

Best,

Manal

Tuesday, January 11, 2022

Practice Compassionate Listening

The list of characteristics that can turn a good leader into a great one is long, but the characteristic that tops the list is the skill of listening. Many successful leaders credit much of their success to their ability to effectively listen and luckily it’s a skill that can constantly be improved upon.

Here are a few tips on how you may be able to improve on your own listening skills, resulting in better and more effective leadership:

Consider the use of empathy. When you empathize, you create a rapport with your team, setting aside assumptions and learning about life from their point of view. This can be eye opening as a way to see different perspectives as well.

Make sure you observe body language, both yours and theirs. Remember not to fidget or gaze into space, and for heaven’s sake, put down the phone! Effective listening involves your entire body so you must be aware of your posture, facial expressions and hand gestures.

If it’s an appropriate time, offer opinions or anecdotes from your own life. This shows that you are engaged and interested in creating a continuing conversation. Be careful not to interrupt or turn their story into your story.

Thi is always the one that creates the greatest discomfort for leaders but let there be silence. The awkward pauses, hesitations and omissions can actually tell you more than the words, so let those moments happen without feeling the need to fill the silence.

Following these tips to becoming a more successful listener will allow you to engage more effectively with your team, colleagues and customers.

“The most basic and powerful way to connect to another person is to listen. Just listen. Perhaps the most important thing we ever give each other is our attention.” - Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen

Best,

Manal

Tuesday, January 4, 2022

Who Is On Your List?

Happy New Year! Are you ready for a remarkable year?

Over the holiday, I spent a little bit of time and did some internet research about leadership and who was trending in this time and season in our lives.

I have compiled a list of "most popular management gurus," "best leadership books," "top management blogs," "top leadership experts," etc. from the English language. These are based on Goodreads ratings, twitter followers, blog popularity, and google search rankings. With that said we know there are other leaders out there who are changing the world for good.

If you see people in the list below you don't recognize or aren't following, check them out. You can simply click on their name and it will take you to their website.

We're all a product of our influences, so it only makes sense to improve both the quantity and the quality of the people we listen to. I would recommend you continue to check back for our articles as well as create a personal development plan from your favorites from this list too.

The goal of learning about others and their leadership style is so that you can become the best version of yourself now. Let’s have an amazing year.

Best,

Manal