Communicating with a senior executive is probably not something you do every day, and you're probably glad about that. Whether by phone, e-mail, or in person, communicating with a senior executive can be a daunting and stressful challenge. But it can also be an incredible opportunity to get your point across, influence decisions, and establish yourself as someone with value to contribute. It's an opportunity you'll want to make the most of.Given what's at stake, it's critical that you prepare this communication properly and professionally. Doing this will not only impress the senior executive, it will maximize your chances of successfully achieving the goal of the communication.Proper preparation begins with considering the characteristics and drivers that influence a senior executive's decision-making. You also need to be clear about the parameters of your communication. What is it you want to communicate? What are you trying to achieve?If your communication is going to succeed, you also need to follow certain other principles. For example, your message must be to the point and relevant. It must correspond to the executive's personality and decision-making style. And you need to be on top of the financial and customer implications of what you're saying.This course will help you shape and clarify your communications with senior executives. It will outline the principles to follow and present some very important tips on building credibility with senior executives. These principles and tips are all crucial to ensure that you're taken seriously.Finally, this course will provide detailed guidance on how best to approach and plan your meetings with senior executives. Overall, the course will help you make your communications with senior executives more productive and beneficial to all concerned.Does the idea of communicating with senior executives in your company make your heart race, give you chills of terror, or make your mind go completely blank? Communication isn't everybody's strength, but in business, having the skills to effectively communicate your ideas to senior executives will make you a better manager.You probably know there's a big difference between a meeting and chatting with a senior executive in the parking lot. Or between presenting a new idea to senior executives and reporting on how your project is progressing.You must be prepared to communicate with senior executives in both formal and informal settings. You'll also explore different communication platforms like presentations, e-mail, phone calls, and elevator pitches, and learn about the advantages and disadvantages of each. Then you'll be able to use what you've learned to choose the most appropriate platform to deliver your message.You'll also learn how to adapt your approach for different purposes depending on what you're trying to achieve with your communication. The purpose of your communication may be to report, propose, or make a request. But whatever your purpose, this course will teach you appropriate principles and guidelines to follow so you get your message across effectively.

How to Say It® for Executives offers everything current and future leaders need to know to get their ideas across powerfully, efficiently, and humanely. Full of practical tips, words, outlines, and models, this guide shows how to: Prepare and deliver effective speeches and talk to large and small audiences Reinforce a message with effective use of nonverbal languageAvoid words and phrases that undermine authority Foster participation during meetings Handle difficult or hostile people with grace Write briefly and clearly

Are you “leadership material?” More importantly, do others perceive you to be? Sylvia Ann Hewlett, a noted expert on workplace power and influence, shows you how to identify and embody the Executive Presence (EP) that you need to succeed. You can have the experience and qualifications of a leader, but without executive presence, you won't advance. EP is an amalgam of qualities that true leaders exude, a presence that telegraphs you're in charge or deserve to be. Articulating those qualities isn't easy, however. Based on a nationwide survey of college graduates working across a range of sectors and occupations, Sylvia Hewlett and the Center for Talent Innovation discovered that EP is a dynamic, cohesive mix of appearance, communication, and gravitas. While these elements are not equal, to have true EP, you must know how to use all of them to your advantage. Filled with eye-opening insights, analysis, and practical advice for both men and women, mixed with illustrative examples from executives learning to use the EP, Executive Presence will help you make the leap from working like an executive to feeling like an executive.

Leadership Communication guides current and potential leaders in developing the communication capabilities needed to be transformational leaders. It brings together managerial communication and concepts of emotional intelligence to create a new model of communication skills and strategies for corporate leaders.

Bring strategy into your daily work. It's your responsibility as a manager to ensure that your work--and the work of your team--aligns with the overarching objectives of your organization. But when you're faced with competing projects and limited time, it's difficult to keep strategy front of mind. How do you keep your eye on the long term amid a sea of short-term demands? The HBR Guide to Thinking Strategically provides practical advice and tips to help you see the big-picture perspective in every aspect of your daily work, from making decisions to setting team priorities to attacking your own to-do list. You'll learn how to: Understand your organization's strategy Align your team around key objectives Focus on the priorities that matter most Spot trends in your company and in your industry Consider future outcomes when making decisions Manage trade-offs Embrace a leadership mindset

What makes some leaders so effective when the stakes are high, while others fall short? Why are some able to not only survive but to lead their organizations to new heights even in risky, fast-changing times? The answer is succinct but multi-layered: such leaders display courage, judgment, and fortitude. High-stakes leadership does not require unnatural powers, nor is it predicated on a dangerous situation. The three signature character traits can be cultivated by anyone at any level in any organization, big or small. Organizational and leadership consultant Constance Dierickx describes high-stakes leadership in a simple, three-part model that illuminates the mindsets, strategies, and tactics leaders must draw upon to make tough decisions, take an unpopular stand, or ignore convention, providing real-world examples across a range of sectors and industries. Dierickx developed her model of high-stakes leadership to help her clients—executives at organizations ranging from start-ups to nonprofits to large, global companies—better define what they need to bring strategy to life. This, she found, is the great gulf in business, the vast space between idea and results. High-Stakes Leadership helps leaders sharpen their ability to: act decisively, with clarity and focus test ideas using reason, and course correct as needed be resolute and inspire others to continue, even in the face of challenges Leading requires the courage to make conscious decisions about what to do, the judgment to separate information from short-term trends, and the fortitude to remain true to oneself and one’s mission. When leaders do these things, they also become teachers, leading their teams by example, often without realizing it. The essential aspects of good leadership endure even as the environment and tactics change. Indeed, courage, judgment, and fortitude are not merely tools for survival, they are the means by which we sculpt the future.

Practical advice for making the shift to your first leadership position The number of people who will become first-time supervisors will likely grow in the next 10 years, as Baby Boomers retire. Perhaps the most challenging leadership experience anyone will face isn't one at the top, but their first promotion to leadership. They must deal with the change and uncertainty that comes with a new job, requiring new skills, and they've been promoted from peer to leader. While the book addresses the needs of any manager, supervisor, or leader, it pulls from the best leadership and management thinking, and puts the focus on the difficulties that new leaders experience. Includes practical information for new managers who must supervise friends and former peers Authors are expert consultants who work with leaders at all levels Shows how to adopt the mindset of a leader, including: communicating change, giving feedback, coaching employees, leading productive teams, and achieving goals This much-needed book can help new leaders get beyond the stress and fear to focus on becoming the most effective leader they can be-starting right now.