Five Steps to Take You From Invisible to Invincible

Leadership requires presence. It requires presence everyday in every situation. Good things happen when leaders step up and lead. Bad things happen when they don�t. It really is that simple. So let�s look at a tale of two invisible CEO�s.

Nel was the invisible partner. He knew his contribution to the company was important. He liked to move under the radar screen, and believed that his low profile did not hinder his leadership.

Ten years into his work as a partner, he became president of a large industry association. Now he could no longer be invisible. While he always believed that his leadership style was one of example, that style would not work with a membership that saw him on an infrequent basis.

The opportunity to introduce oneself comes to each incoming president at their installation. How would Nel meet this challenge?

You have to surrender and trust to whom you surrender. In order to push yourself to your next level of excellence you need to surrender to what you do not know. When I say surrender, I mean that you need to be willing to forget what you think you know and how you think a speech should sound. You have to be willing to say things and do things that heretofore you may have not felt comfortable doing outside your office.

Have you noticed what happens when a TV show or movie wins an Emmy or Oscar? Not one or two or three people go up for the award . . . ten people flock to the stage. Writing is a collaborative effort. You can�t do it in a vacuum. Nor can you hire a speechwriter and expect them to write a speech that sounds like you. The more you collaborate, the better the finished product.

You are successful because you pushed yourself in your work. It�s no different in giving a career changing presentation. You need to push yourself in both the content and delivery. You may be tempted to think once the speech is done, you are done. You are so wrong.

There are many things you can do as CEO. The journey from invisible to invincible is one that requires a partner. You need someone to hold up the mirror and give you an honest reflection.

You need to be done in time to practice each line. Do you want to emphasize the first word or the last word? You need to memorize the intro and conclusion. Practice in the room you will be presenting in, practice in your bathroom

His company was nationwide and he liked to get out and see clients and offices around the country. Even when he was present, he liked to hide behind his laptop.

The CFO orchestrated a coup to take over the company. If you were CEO, would an officer working under you on the organizational chart, have the access to orchestrate a take-over? Yes, the CFO behaved badly. But the CEO�s invisibility led to the company being in-trouble.

People inside your organization have an agenda, no matter how close you think you are to them.

Bill knows the company and the product. He needed to push himself to learn skills he may not have liked or liked to implement.

Add accountability to the process. A partner adds accountability in the implementation process.

Practice being less invisible in meetings, phone consultations, in one-to-one meetings with executive members. Your mantra could be, what could I do to enlarge my presence?

Nel�s speech received a standing ovation. What is more important is that Nel positioned himself as the industry�s leader as a result of learning how important the communication process is to a leader.

Nel and Bill faced different challenges. The important thing is that they, like you, remember that the journey from Invisible to Invincible is 5 hard steps.

About the Author:

As president of Electric Impulse Communications, Inc., she helps individuals and corporations supercharge their leadership performance. She can help you identify your competitive edge to improve individual and company performance. Her clients see her as someone to "think with." Her goal for you is to always, always, always speak with the clarity, confidence, and conviction to move your agenda forward.

"Nobody can do it better or makes YOU better than Leslie Ungar," says Lynda Hirsch, nationally syndicated columnist and TV guest.

Ungar hosts a monthly Time/Warner television show called Civic Forum. This show and her work within the corporate world provide access to executives and how they think. She writes a monthly column for the Florida based magazine Affluent, and is often interviewed and quoted frequently in regional and national media. Leslie always has an opinion on current events in the business, sports, and political worlds because she sees all issues through the lens of communication.

Now a member of the National Speaker's Association. Embedded with the belief that words can change your world, as a graduate student she wrote every Presidential hopeful about how they could improve their image as a candidate. Ungar serves as adjunct faculty at The University of Akron. Her undergraduate and Master's Degree are both in Communication and Rhetoric. Her dad still wants to know what rhetoric is!