7 Ways to Inspire your Team this Year
As a Boss Lady, I happen to have a lot of mentees and team members look up to me. And by all means, I want to inspire my team and bring out the best in them. For one, I want to inspire them to keep putting out great work, and secondly, I want to remember that they are not tools for work but human beings. I have to be sensitive to them. In my Boss Lady life, I have taken a few notes that I will like to share with other Boss Ladies to help them serve their team better. Here are seven ways to inspire your team this year. ?? Don’t Talk Down On Your Team So, remember we are raising leaders – people who can stand tall with us. The word superior mustn’t necessarily be taken literally in a way that it makes those who work with us feel the exact opposite of that word. You always want to make your team feel respected as humans with differences. Don’t display any character that puts down people. For example; Don’t make a joke about a team member’s religion. Everything is about inspiring confidence. Language tops it. Always be polite even when you are giving criticism. Ever heard of commend and recommend? (Ask a Toastmaster ?). Christine Porath in her TEDx presentation on incivility in the workplace says, “How you show up and treat people means everything. Either you lift people up by respecting them, making them feel valued, appreciated, and heard or you hold people down by making them feel small, insulted, disregarded or excluded. And who you choose to mean everything”. Show That You Want Them To Succeed I know we say professionally, “don’t refer to yourselves in the workplace as a family” but to get people to grow an organization with you. You have to be all about the people who are all about your work. The CEO of House of Tara – Tara Durotoye said she learned very early as an entrepreneur, that for the people who leave their homes every day to come to a workplace there has to be more. She learned to stop referring to the company as ‘my company’ but ‘our company’. You have to make people see a greater reason for coming to work. Make them buy into the vision, and show them that you care about their personal affairs. Ever heard of Linkedin’s Tour of Duty? Where employees are moved up the ranks periodically depending on their career goals. That’s a way to identify with the needs of the team. Learn more in The Startup of You by Reid Hoffman. Sir Richard Branson says, “Train people well enough so they can leave. Treat them well enough so they don’t want to”. Always find ways to add value to your team. Constantly Give Kudos For A Job Well Done I read the One-minute Manager many years ago, about effective people management. How the one-minute-manager was able to, in one minute dish out praises, and just in the same vein dish out reprimands, – an intentional leadership style. Team Leaders have to praise team members as a habit, not only reprimand them. It creates conditioning – that they are appreciated and valued, and reinforces learning. Many times I have realized I hold the keys to many team members happiness and self-esteem, and the worst thing to do is abuse that privilege. Many people are going through stuff or trying to believe in themselves. Realize they could use some hope from you. The toastmaster’s sandwich method of ‘Commend and Recommend’ is the recommended feedback standard, especially when there’s a reprimand coming. You have to always find the good in a team member’s work first, and commend it before reprimanding. Commend their good intentions, or make reference to their usual good works. There has to be something to commend. Then move unto how they can do better. Notice I said ‘how they can do better’ not necessarily focusing on what they did wrong. Remember they have to feel good about themselves at all times. Set High Standards For People Experience I worked with a friend last year and was so impressed by her high standard of people experience. It inspires loyalty, as even I look forward to working with her again and again. I like it that House of Tara refers to her HR Department as the People Experience Team because this aptly puts their job. In fact, I was so impressed by this that at a Managers’ Training on Empathy and Emotional Intelligence I used HOT as a case study. Now that we have established that incivility is a no-no! And that this whole article is about inspiring team members. We are well on our way to implementing a culture. How do you mark the workers’ special days? What are the benefits put in place? Do you show interest in their work process or just the end result? How do you react at a failed expectation? Do they feel anxiety or inspiration towards work? Do they feel treated better by other work teams/workplaces? Do you deliberately paint them in a bad light before people? It is when we can genuinely answer these questions as boss ladies, and take action to get our people to experience right, then we will be doing right by the people who work with us. Don’t Set Unreasonable Goals Ahan! So, there’s this impossibility fairy who told us doing the impossible means setting unreasonable goals. The truth is being Miranda Priestly is no longer cool. Of course, it turned Emily into a go-getter but wasn’t Miranda only trying to get Emily fired at first by driving her nuts with unbearable tasks? Oh! look at me talking to only those who have seen ‘The Devil Wears Prada’ While we want to keep team members challenged, there is a difference between being motivated and being anxious. You want people to go out of their way but within reason. Don’t push people. Don’t set
6 ways to work towards your BIG dreams: DIANA MGENI
They call me a dreamer as I live in the world of fantasy, devoid of impossibilities. Several ideas that constantly run in my mind have not always matured to fruition, and for this reason, they have constantly reminded me to re-evaluate my view regarding the dreams and come back to what they consider as reality. They laugh at me and talk behind my back that one day I will get tired of dreaming and stick to the fact that I can never make it out. With all these hindrances trying to make me give up. I never stopped dreaming. So I decided to do something about it. Here is my strategy… List down my dreams I will come up with a table that will contain my dreams, how I intend to work towards accomplishing them, the benefits and the challenges that I would face and how am going to overcome them. I stand to derive from doing them, complete with the targeted start and end time for each of them. Tell my friends how I feel My friends are not going to stop me from achieving my dreams. I will tell them this in no uncertain terms that I am tired of their mimics and nothing will stop me from dreaming big. I wouldn’t care if I lose them as friends or not because I believe real friends are supposed to give you support or encourage you in what you do. I’d rather walk alone believing in myself than walking with people who discourage and see failure you in whatever you do or want to do. Attribute myself Going forward, I will put more emphasis on the below attributes as the guiding principles towards achieving my dreams: Believe – I’ve to make the decision to start believing in myself that my dreams will come true no matter how long it will take all I need is to give out my best with full of optimism. Trust – It’s written in the good book of life that we need to trust in the Lord with all your heart and soul and He shall make our paths straight! I have to always put lots of trust in Him and include him in each and every step that I take knowing that God helps those who help themselves. Focused – I am going to remain focused on the task at hand towards achieving my dreams and take each step with positivism without wavering. Am never going to stand or turn around and listen to the barking dogs to disrupt my mission to remain focus in what am doing. Competitiveness -The current world is very competitive. I am going to remain a life to the challenges that come with it while at the same time be ready to be challenged. The need to rise with every fall, learn from my mistakes and those of others and be ready to change in doing good is also going to be key to ensure my dreams succeed. Perseverance – Success does not come overnight and neither is the road to it straight. I need to be able to withstand each storm that comes my way and overcomes it with full of confidence and never accepts to remain down since every successful person has a story to tell. Research Constant research on the subject of my dreams is now going to become an integral part of what I do towards achieving my dreams. [bctt tweet=”The current world is very competitive.” username=”Diana Mgeni”] Reading how the people who had the same dreams as mine how they were able to manage to get through their storm and be able to succeed in what they do. I will seek to find out the best way to actualize my dream and build an understanding of the same with the interested parties. Ask for help This help can take the shape of; financial, knowledge base and social input. I wouldn’t be shy to try to ask for any assistance from the people around me or my role model. This is from the realization that there are other interested parties to the success of my dreams whose input will always remain valuable to me. A step in the dark As I embark on the tasks towards achieving my dreams, I need not to be scared of the outcome provided that it has come from my very best of input. I must be prepared to showcase to everyone my work and be ready to accept both the critics and compliments from them full of positivism bearing in mind that you need them to grow since not everyone will like or support you in whatever you need. Even if my crowd is small those that will listen to me; it is an achievement and will always appreciate them. With all these, I believe that I can make my dreams come true! So let’s keep dreaming! This article was written by DIANA MGENI. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
DAISY ADUL: CEO Kenya’s first cloud-based salon software shares her takeaways from the SLA x Dark and Lovely Accelerator residency
Daisy Adul is an experienced professional in marketing and client relations. She is also the founder of Uneeq Salon software, Kenya’s first cloud-based salon software. With a demonstrated history of running sales and operations for several organizations, Daisy has built a team that prides itself in offering a unique and customized experience for customers while guiding them to achieve their maximum potential.additionally has a track record of exceeding targets. Having worked within the Logistics industry with multinationals such as FedEx Express, Bollore Logistics for over a decade, inherently understanding how vital customer service, marketing, strategic planning, and implementation is to a business. Daisy is one of the top 5 She Leads Africa x Dark and Lovely Beauty Accelerator, finalists. In November 2018, she attended the accelerator residency boot camp at the L’Oréal HQ in Johannesburg, and she shares her experience in this article. Tell us about your business Uneeq is a software company providing affordable and convenient cloud-based business solutions such as inventory management, customer data collection, invoicing, payroll, financial reports, branch management, appointment scheduling and so much more within the beauty and wellness industry. [bctt tweet=”I am highly driven by what the world has to offer and hope to leave it better than I found it – @daisy_adul ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] How did you hear about the SLA x Dark and Lovely Beauty Accelerator Being a follower of She Leads Africa on social media, I have always followed the remarkable work they do with women across Africa. I receive their monthly newsletter, and so this is how I found out. At the time I didn’t think much about it, but after watching Accelerator programs held in the past, I was sure this is exactly what myself and the business needed. Talk about perfect timing. What are your 5 key tips for submitting a winning application? The first thing which you cannot stress enough is your story. [bctt tweet=”Anyone can come up with a great idea, and anyone can be an entrepreneur but what sets you apart and what exactly is it that makes your business a need rather than a want.” username=””] Secondly, it’s your pitch deck which is basically a layout of key information about your business that aims to attract potential investors. Your pitch deck should be captivating enough. Keep it short and simple but highlight key points such as what problem it is your trying to solve and the solution. Know your market, your competitors, challenges you face and some of the steps you have taken to overcome these challenges. [bctt tweet=”Be real. As simple as that. Do not oversell your business at the same time do not sell yourself short.” username=””] Highlight your milestones or personal success within your business or as an entrepreneur. Nobody wants to be associated with a boring brand. Tell us about your experience during the SLA x Dark and Lovely Beauty Accelerator residency. In one word, eye-opening. When I first came to the program, I thought I knew exactly what I was doing regarding my business and its structure. It gives you clarity on some key things we usually tend to overlook in our businesses. Meeting other fabulous boss ladies doing phenomenal things within their space and realizing that I am not alone in this was cool. The assurance that in one way or another, we all face challenges in our businesses, but we can’t give up. After all, the motherland needs more women in leadership positions. Support from the entire team at SLA and experts from Dark and Lovely also made the week bearable. Moments of self-doubt became winning moments, and courage to speak up about my business is something I take home with me. What was your highlight of the residency program Definitely learning how to create an excellent pitch deck. As a business owner, what would you say is your unique selling proposition? Being the first Salon software within the Kenyan market and across East Africa is something we pride ourselves in. But that isn’t enough, ensuring that this software is integrated for the African market through understanding the missing value chain from 3 fronts that are salon owners, customers and technicians are the extra miles we have gone. What’s the most important thing the SLA Accelerator residency has taught you? Tomorrow is always a better day. During the week we all had low moments, and at some point, I wanted to give up. But surprisingly enough on the last day when presenting our pitch decks, I was not the same person who had walked into L’OREAL office on Monday. I was bold, confident and passed on the exact message I had been struggling with which is simply how brilliant my business is. I learned how to stop selling myself and my business shortly. One of your exercises during the residency was to create a vision board for 2019. What’s that one goal you MUST achieve in 2019? What is most important to me currently is self-development in all areas of my life. And so the one thing I intend to accomplish in my 2019 is to get recognition for my business in various platforms for women in business through growth and restructure. What’s your secret sauce? How do you get your glow up? Staying Authentic and being unapologetic about wanting more. Are you a Tea or coffee gal? Definitely a coffee girl. “Behind every successful woman is a substantial amount of coffee” –Stephanie Piro, Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
YETUNDE TAIWO-SHORTERS: 7 POWERFUL WAYS TO LEVEL UP YOUR PERSONAL BRAND IN 2019
It’s Yetunde Shorters here, chiming in sharing with you, as we plan for the New Year, seven powerful ways to level up your personal brand in 2019. This year flew by so quickly that we couldn’t even catch a breath, but it’s never too late. You can start now and start today, and let’s plan for manifestations in 2019. Below are my suggestions of 7 powerful ways to level up your purposeful personal brand in 2019. PLAN AHEAD Planning means take the time one of these days before the year is over and sit down and plan for the things you want for your brand or your business. Plan what your social media would look like, what each quarter would look like, and what products you’re going to launch. Write it out. You have plenty of time to do that this year so that you can be prepared and schedule things for next year. That way, you save yourself some time. [bctt tweet=”You can start now and start today, and let’s plan for manifestations in 2019 – @Yetunde .” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] MANAGE YOUR TIME Manage your time like a boss. We all have 24 hours in the day. If you’re a solopreneur or you have a small team, you have 24 hours a day. You have a lot to do. What that means is you need to be conscientious of how you spend your time. What are you doing with your mornings? Do you find yourself on Facebook or Instagram immediately? STOP IT!!! The first 90 minutes set the tone. Be intentional about those 90 minutes. CONNECT, BETTER That means online and offline. Sometimes we get caught up in posting, and we forget that we have to engage other people, so dedicate 20 to 30 minutes of your time per week and go back to the people that follow and engage on their pages. Like the comments, like their pictures, read stuff, and leave your thoughtful feedback. Also, do this in live events. That means go out more, look for networking or marketing events that you can be a part of. MAP OUT YOUR SYSTEMS If you are going to be doing events, a photo shoot or consulting with clients, write out what that looks like. For example, when a client inboxes you, what is your response? Or when a client responds to you. What do you reply to that? Write it out step-by-step. Having automated content helps in a way that when anything happens, you’re literally just cutting and pasting again saving you time. Or you can use e-services to create an auto send out. DOCUMENT IT This is one of the things that were actually in the recent book I had with the Better Business book. I shared the 10 things I’ve learned from my 10 years in business. If I knew then, I would have documented any good thing that happened in my business. When you’re going to do a review of the year or an analysis to a client, you can go back and have documentation. [bctt tweet=”Documenting things is a great way to track your progress – @yetunde” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] So, at the end of the year, if you have to do a year in review, you have all your ducks in a row. You have content for your portfolio. You have content for testimonials. It’s a great way to track your progress. TRACK AND ANALYZE This often depends on how engaged you are on social media or your newsletter or in person, to see what’s working. Test it out and then come back and take off the things that are not working. Tracking and analyzing helps you see that your efforts are being put to good use. That way, you will get into the quality of what works for your brand, and so you just rinse and repeat and use the things that work over and over again. AUTOMATE YOUR PROCESSES Create your automation systems. What does it look like when someone signs up for your newsletter or signs up for talking to you, what is that process? If there’s anything you can automate, which means use a mailing service where something is automatically sent to them without you, your business can function without you; you automatically automate all the stuff that you want your customers or potential clients to know. Again, you have a plan ahead, manage your time like a boss, map out your systems, connect better and more, document the milestones, track and analyze often, automate, engage, and convert. These 7 steps are what you need to level up for your brand in 2019. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
Entrepreneurs…Take care of your mental health: Here’s why
I remember the first time I met him at a friend’s house. He was incredibly smart, charismatic and passionate—all the things I believed it took to own a successful business. As the night when on, I realized my original assumption was correct. I pulled out my phone and did a quick search of the guy that had caught my interest—not in a romantic way, but in an intriguing “I’m fascinated by you” kind of way. He was the real deal. According to his digital footprint, he’d been in local and national media, he had thousands of followers on social media, and his business was a real business—systems, staff, and everything. I was impressed. Wary of coming across as odd, or romantically interested, I resolved to secretly follow his business ventures from that day on. Imagine my shock, when, only a year after our meeting, I came across a press release that he was going out of business. I read the contents of the press release, and I was dumbfounded. It went into great detail about his frustration with the lack of support, the personal financial difficulties he’d had to endure, the debt he went into for the sake to maintain his business, and the toll all of it had taken on his mental health. He was tired, and he was closing shop and taking some time for himself. At 32 years old, he was moving back in with his parents and going to figure out his next move. There, in an open letter for the world to read, he bravely committed to doing what many entrepreneurs are never taught to do—take care of self first. [bctt tweet=”Self-management is one of the most critical skills for successful entrepreneurship. It’s something that no school or book can teach you completely- @andrena_sawyer” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] The truth is, it is incumbent on you, as an entrepreneur, to get a hold of your emotions, triggers, and mental health, because, at the end, the stresses of entrepreneurship and seeming failure has led some to suicide and on the lesser end, it may lead some to avoidable (and unavoidable) depressive breakdowns. Whether it’s due to the notorious end of the year burnout, or the hustle and bustle of peak seasons. The bottom line is that you sometimes get to a point where you realize that you simply cannot continue to fake it until you make it. In those moments, it is not your business acumen, the number of followers you have, or even your five-star ratings that will save you. Salvation becomes dependent on two things: your ability to separate self from your work, and how well you’ve developed your self-management skills, which are just as instrumental to your success as any other part of your entrepreneurship journey. During the holiday season, the temptation is always to reflect on the successes and failures of our businesses, adjust and get right back to work for a successful new year. I hope that every entrepreneur adjusts that process slightly and prioritize self-management. Doing so just might save you and your business. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
DAMI ELUYERA: HOW I FOUND MY WAY
Late November last year, I spent time at Aunt Olivia’s vineyard. After a week of living in luxury, I was forced to review my life and identify opportunities for change. I was on a mission. I narrowed down my goals for 2018 and subconsciously carved out life just like Cindy’s, Aunt Olivia’s daughter. Prioritized on my list were: Marry Chike Quit Karte Carbon and become my BOSS. Move to the U.K. I was pumped. As January 1st, 2018 rolled around, my resignation letter was prepped and ready to be sent. Plus, the advertising industry was so not my thing. Drowning in my misery, I booked a late lunch with an old friend, Dorcas, who had just flown in from New York. To keep this story short, lunch with Dorcas taught me a few things that changed my life forever. COMPARISON For too long, I had compared myself with online/Instagram personalities, which is probably why Chike left me for Suzana, but that’s another story altogether. I was so desperate to shine that I hadn’t realized that my light was hidden in my purpose. If I lived within purpose, building on my passions and sharpening my skills, I’d shine in my own “little corner.” However, if I chased glam, copying everyone else, I’d never be the best but at best, second best. When I finally figured out that pottery was my thing, I still couldn’t take action. Think about it for a second – Who was going to buy my pottery? [bctt tweet=”If I lived within purpose, building on my passions and sharpening my skills, I’d shine in my own “little corner.”” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] FEAR I wasn’t a trailblazer of any kind, but I knew failure didn’t go well with my character, so Karte and I were in this for the long haul, I guess. After pouring out my heart to Dorcas on my “inability to fly,” she took a chance on me and placed a pottery order. It was just for fun, but I was so excited, I think I outdid myself. Sometimes, we’re afraid of taking action because of the unknown. What if we bet on ourselves, take action and discover the UNKNOWN? VISION [bctt tweet=”When you clarify your vision, you kick out your fear” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] After that initial experience, I began to chase a new dream. I mapped out my vision and set goals for myself. Today, Karte is history, and I’m living a life I always dreamed. Listen, Oprah, Beyonce, Jim Carey and others who have visualized their success never lied. Visualize your future. Pencil it down and watch it become a reality. “Stop comparing yourself to others. Your magic is like none other. Start chasing your dreams and thrive in the presence of fear.” This article was written by Dami Eluyera. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
4 Reasons why an effective On-boarding process will help you keep your employees
On-boarding is a process of integrating a new employee into the organization. We all mistake Induction for On-boarding, while the former ends in one day. Onboarding usually lasts for about six months till a year depending on the company. [bctt tweet=”Empowering an employee through an effective onboarding process to think and act like the CEO would go a long way in retention and business growth.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Here are some things to note about onboarding: 1. A good Induction is the first step to retaining your employee. Induction shouldn’t be just a storytelling session about the company rather it should integrate the staff to the company’s vision which will enable them to run with it. You would save yourself a lot of headache in micromanaging your employees if you can ensure they are well aligned with the vision. Induction shouldn’t be one-off, there should be a frequent induction program which should cascade to each department and roles. 2. It helps employees think like a business owner Empowering an employee through an effective onboarding process to think and act like the CEO would go a long way in retention and business growth. The mindset of a CEO is much more than completing tasks or meeting up with deadlines; it’s about the growth of the business. Each employee should be able to align their functions with the growth and success of the company. 3. It protects and improves your company culture A good company culture improves employee productivity which in turns drives business growth. An underlying factor for an organization’s culture lies in its Values and purpose. I’m talking about the REAL core value that forms the basis of major decisions and strategy. A proper communication during the onboarding process will prevent future cluelessness by an employee in the future. 4. Having a documented process to drive uniformity makes it more effective. It’s not enough to assume to think that line managers are helping the employees integrate better. Documenting the process starting from the induction and ensuring line managers are held accountable for following the process makes it effective. I have realized that the competency of the person managing the process goes a long way so Training is advised. With this points of mine, I hope I’ve been able to convince you why you need to revisit your onboarding process or create one if you never one before now. This article was written by Yewande Jinadu. Interested in contributing for She Leads Africa? Click here.
FACEBOOK LIVE: GIRL TALK WITH DR. FEYI AND SHE LEADS AFRICA (NOV 28)
What’s it like being a girl? There are a whole bunch of things women go through, our emotional and physical kit bags are always filled up and frankly, we all need a sister to talk to. It’s funny how we live in the century of the millennials where almost everyone is very open-minded but women are still embarrassed to talk about specific topics regarding their bodies, their sexuality and the female nature overall. Got some woman issues bottled up inside? Lighten up! We’re bringing you an opportunity to get all your questions answered. [bctt tweet=”Join our girls exclusive Facebook LIVE with Dr. Feyi on Wed, 28th Nov @ 5pm WAT. It’s a deep-dive into everything!” via=”no”] Dr. Feyishara Kuku is an OB/GYN and marriage therapist who has several years of experience in dealing with women’s health and family therapy. Join us on Wednesday, 28th November, as we host a Facebook Live Chat with Dr. Feyisara Kuku, themed Girl talk with Dr. Feyi. It’s going to be a deep dive to all the things you’re probably shy to talk about. Some of the topics we’ll cover What you need to know about Breast Cancer How to tackle Clinical & Social Depression Let’s talk about Sex and STI’s Before you say “I do”… Girl, listen Register below to access this opportunity and submit questions that you would like Dr. Feyi to answer. Facebook Live Details: Date: Wednesday, November 28th Time: GA, USA 12pm // Lagos 6pm // Johannesburg 7pm Where: facebook.com/sheleadsafrica/ [ninja_forms id=204] About Feyishara Feyishara Kuku is an OB/GYN, a marriage and family therapist and the Co-Founder of Sarthelpline. She’s also a mom and a Peace Activist. In her journey as a therapist, she has had the opportunity to work with high- achieving men, CEOs, baby boomers, college students, and affluent clients who are looking for a counseling experience that is tailored to their unique needs. She specializes in clinical issues as addictions, crisis, betrayal, trauma, faith-based issues, leadership development, stress management, maximizing productivity, divorce, finances, and career counseling.
Nomalanga Ndlovu: Your voice is your gold ticket
Nomalanga Ndlovu – well known as Miss Noma, was born in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. She lived most of her childhood till her early adult years in Botswana where she obtained her Law degree from the University of Botswana. She is a public speaking coach who is passionate about women empowerment and self-discovery. As a Christian, her values are based on her beliefs. Miss Noma loves to travel and meet different people. She is the founder of Outspoken Consulting, therefore, she enjoys learning about entrepreneurship. Nomalanga has had notable experiences being part of the Mandela Washington Fellow 2017 and being a Centre for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) fellow in Washington DC where she did her internship. She is also a TEDx Speaker coach. 2018 was her second year taking up the role yet to occur in Pretoria December 2018. If you’re interested in becoming a professional public speaker, you’ll learn one-too-many things from Miss Noma. Where did you get the passion for public speaking? My journey to public speaking was inspired by her childhood which had memories of her being a backbencher. I was mostly a reserved child of low confidence and participation. Although, I would always envy the children who participated. My literature teacher was the one who saw something in me and that was when I started making presentations. Since then, it has always been my mandate to help other people discover their voice and be able to sell their stories. My passion to help comes from helping people creating first impressions that will create opportunities as she believes most people will miss out on the best opportunities based on how they present themselves. Tell us about your company – Outspoken Consulting Outspoken Consulting was established in 2016, it is an organization that helps business executives and entrepreneurs to develop their ideas for presentation, customer care, and selling of brands as individuals as well as organizations. We realized a lot of business entrepreneurs and executives have great ideas however when it is time to present the idea there won’t be much focus on the customer. The sales or marketing teams at most times could not have received training on how to engage and speak with the client. We help individuals and companies: Package themselves and their product. Understand the clients they have and how to speak to them. Take their business to the next level in terms of communication. [bctt tweet=”Speaking isn’t only about opening your mouth, it is about selling an experience -@MsNomalanga ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Outspoken Consulting also has a program that is being launched in 2019 that is called the Outspoken Girls Initiative that will focus on high school girls to help them discover themselves and focus on their futures. There will be successful and experienced business women that will be mentoring them and also engaging with them one on one so that they can have an idea of what is happening out there in the real world. Outspoken Consulting goes beyond consultation work, it also has Outspoken women, which is a platform for women to network, collaborate in events. It simply offers a platform for people to meet and network and sets a tone that there is no limit in who you are and what you can do. As a result, I’ve collaborated with various companies in Harare, Zimbabwe. What strategies have you developed to help entrepreneurs develop and deliver rich presentations? The main strategies are first to discover who the clients are (business executives/ entrepreneurs /individuals), through the YOU experience. Knowing who these parties are as individual’s makes it easier to now prepare and sell their brand. We help clients sell their experiences. Also, we look a lot at relevance, when it comes to the product and the audience.” How can one develop and manage their personal brand through speaking? The most important aspect in developing a personal brand as a speaker is that one has to be very clear. You’ve got to address the following questions: What is your topic? Who are you speaking to? What is your experience? Why should they listen to you? What platforms have you spoken at? What have you done, where have you gone to? “As you develop your personal brand as a speaker, find a topic or subject, stick to it and do not speak on things that you do not know”. As you are building a personal brand, you are building perception, and perception is reality. The more you speak on a certain topic or subject, the more it settles with the external people that you are an expert in that certain field, it results in more research and speaking on different platforms. Put yourself out there, in this era of social media, make use of platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp, Facebook etc., those are platforms where one can start to grow from. It is not about waiting to be invited to speak on large platforms, it is about making yourself known and sticking to the topic or subject you want to be heard on. “Attend networking a lot of events and continuously look for opportunities.” [bctt tweet=”As a public speaker, your main strategies are should be to discover who the clients are through the YOU experience -@MsNomalanga” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Can people have a career in speaking? “Yes, people can. Speaking works differently in different countries, you can have speakers like Tonny Robins and Simon Sinek. These speakers are encouraging and motivating people, it’s working for them because of how they have branded themselves and how much value they have put in people’s lives.” “The most important aspect is HOW MUCH VALUE YOU ARE ADDING IN SOMEONE’S LIFE. I believe anyone can have a career in speaking as long as it adds value, the value added is the one that will translate into the monetary aspect that one is living on. Speaking is a career that can be penetrated but one needs to be strategic about it, which goes back to the issue of topic and
A MINIMALIST’S PERSPECTIVE TO SETTING GOALS
Goal setting is paramount to individuals as it helps with the rebranding, focus, and orderliness of life. I mean, we all have aspirations and dreams and accomplishments we would love to attain yes? And when it comes to aiming that peak, it’s all about good intentions, yes? When it comes to sharing our aspirations with others, we get bold, we get optimistic, and we get daring, yes? Most people even go as far as creating reward systems for themselves, like when I positively tick so soon my goal list, I have to get me some Birkin Bag because I sure deserve it! Right? So why do we let the negative kill our vibe? Why is it that we often fall short of the goals we set for ourselves? How come we wonder why we are at the same place we were years past, with the same poor habits and no sign of progress? It’s simple. [bctt tweet=”Start simple and work your way from the ground up” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] The answer to the entire why questions are because as human beings, complicated is our tag names, no offense. We tend to overcomplicate and make vague the steps necessary to accomplish the goals we set for ourselves. As there are loads of various perspectives to setting goals, this article gives you another strategy to set and look at your goals progressing from a minimalist’s perspective. LITERALLY, HUG BIG PICTURE IDEAS This may be very contrary to what minimalist’s belief in but its standard. Embracing that big light bulb idea will make one hone in on what we tend to get out of this life. This idea may range from securing a major deal in your niche, wanting a big family or just being financially well off. It could be anything that tickles your fancy, just make sure you write it down on a paper with your lovely pen. Note: it’s important to take the time to grasp what you want your life to be all about, and what you would want to achieve big time. PRIORITIZE THE PARAMOUNT This is the forte of minimalists. So once you’re done listing out your big ideas and dreams’, noting the order of importance is the next step. When you create a prioritized list, you are getting rid of the confusing clutter and allowing yourself focus on what you truly want to accomplish. So this is it: you create a list of your goals beginning with the most important to achieve at this point in your life to the least important. Note: One has to realize that the goals found at the bottom of the list are still important but not as crucial as the ones found at the top. Now, success is just around the corner because you have something real, a real end goal you wish to achieve and not just wishful thinking goals. CREATE TANGIBLE STEPS Now that your priorities have been set, you can start using this information to pinpoint steps that would help you achieve the most important goal on your list. Remember, you need to take time out and think deeply for you to establish well thought out steps to achieving your goal. Now, try to begin with the most basic achievement you can think of. As with how we humans evolved, and our learning process, we started learning A, B, C before forming sentences. So start simple and work your way from the ground up. Remember with previous steps, it’s important to note them down so you can refer back to them later.It helps when you keep your laid out thoughts short, black & white and precise so it’s clear to see if you have successfully accomplished a step…or not. This phase is more or less, understanding the significance of creating a solid foundation that is easy to grasp and build upon. GET RID OF THE CLUTTER As a minimalists’ main goal is to declutter in all aspects of life, this works in setting goals as well. Any step or thing that doesn’t aid in your success should be scratched out, with every ounce of intentionality and no looking back. Anything that proves as a barrier in achieving your goals, be it an excess of social events, ideas, obligations, people or items, scratch ‘em out, please. Now don’t get me wrong, they may not be negative influencers, in general, but they may be distractive and you won’t be needing any distractions when it comes to pinpointing the goals and heights you want to attain at a certain period. We need focus vibes and not distraction vibes. [bctt tweet=”If you want to lead a simple life, scratch the reward system, let go of that chocolate and be bold.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] REWARD SYSTEM…OR NOT. Reward system is an innocent idea but totally unnecessary. For minimalists, they see value in the lifestyle they have opted in for and they know there’s a light at the end of the tunnel. They know the rewards and gains they have to look forward to by achieving their goals and so they embrace the simple idea that for every phase completed, they are a step closer to achieving their desired goals. This setting goal strategy may be very tough on people and opting in for the reward system is not a bad idea but if you want to lead a simple life, scratch the reward system, let go of that chocolate and be bold. REVAMPED LIFESTYLE A minimalist strategy to setting goals gives a more defined approach to things and a simple approach to creating and meeting your desired goals. Once you’re done setting your goals, you start getting results in your overall lifestyle, positive results as that’s the beautiful outcome of setting goals. It’s more like you put in hard work in one area of your life and you see a transformation in other areas. Keep that in mind. Note: Don’t try to skip previous steps to jump. It doesn’t work that way as the steps