We had an engaging, fun, enlightening discussion at my first LeadHer Biz Bookclub last week. Almost 2 dozen women gathered to share their thoughts on the book, lessons learned, how to apply the principles of the book in their everyday life, and so much more! We all agreed this book was a great read and there were so many lessons and principles that you can apply both to your professional and personal life! A few of the highlights from our discussion:
- One way to incorporate Cuddy’s Presence lessons into every day life? Put those shoulders back and open up every time you enter a doorway!
- Power posing can be done and has been done in the bathroom stall before an important interview, seated during a zoom, and many have found it be very effective when they have personally put into practice.
- We discussed how many of us are going to share Cuddy’s Ted talk with our children and how children can benefit from many of her lessons on confidence, presence, and self nudging.
- The pros and cons of Zoom – of course, no professional discussion would be complete without chatting about the virtual life and the zoom life! We had an interesting debate on the pros and cons of zoom life. It is tough to read your crowd and engage with your audience but it is also nice to have commute time back in your day and to see your family throughout the day (that came up as a pro and a con!).
- I shared one of my favorite takeaways from the book – it is okay and encouraged to take up temperal space – confident leaders don’t rush when they are speaking, they are okay with a lull in their talk and/or in conversation, they pause when speaking. Since reading this, I have noticed successful leaders, like Kamala Harris, do this well.
- A quote from the book “The reality is people just aren’t talking about you as much as you think they are – even when you actually are the center of attention.”
- Another quote shared (not from the book) based on our discussion “What you seem to be is what you are”
I’ve heard great feedback from attendees and I left our conversation feeling energized and connected! I hope you will join our next one. Our next book is Dare to Lead by Brene Brown and will take place on Tuesday, April 27th 7:00 – 8:30 EST. We will be joined by Mimi Darmstadter, MA, PCC, one of 1200 certified Dare to Lead facilitators globally who will share headlines from the curriculum (and the book), prompting conversation about bravery in today’s work world.
