The Building Champions Leadership Development Blog
Drawing upon their decades of leadership experience — and the hundreds of conversations they have each week with leaders across the country — our team of coaches deliver insights, strategies, and tips to help you improve how you lead and live.
The Extrovert and Executive Presence
Throughout the last few years, executive presence has been redefined in many ways, mostly due to a substantial shift in remote work. But there are a few core traits that have remained: confidence, decisiveness, and communication, to name a few. Yet these executive presence traits show up differently in introverts than they do in extroverts—and both personality types are needed in leadership.
In this article, we discuss how executive presence shows up in an extrovert and also share three coaching tips for an extrovert to grow in their executive presence.
The Introvert and Executive Presence
To be a leader that people actually want to follow, you must be conviction-driven and confident. Your convictions are deeply held beliefs that inform your decisions both in work and life, no matter how messy a situation. And confidence is the delivery of your convictions—because when you’re confident in your decisions, your words and actions follow.
However, confidence in an extroverted person will likely come across differently than it would in an introverted person. And that’s why it’s so important for a leader to first gain an awareness of their own wiring. By understanding how you deal with stimulation, where you find energy, and how you show up, you’ll be better equipped to capitalize on your strengths and grow your weaknesses.
In this article, we unpack how executive presence might show up in an introvert and also share three areas for an introvert to develop and strengthen their executive presence.
Reimagine Your Vision Around Organizational Culture
Company culture can be one of the biggest factors in an employee’s decision to stay or go. It’s even been reported that 86% of job applicants avoid companies with a bad reputation. So not only does an organization’s culture impact retention, but it also impacts hiring. And reputation matters—a company’s culture (for better or worse) can quickly determine the organization’s external-facing reputation. And this is why it’s necessary for leaders to consider how their organizational culture has changed as they bring employees back to the office following remote or hybrid models. In this article, we address how to reimagine your vision around organizational culture so that your employees feel heard, the return to the office is successful, and your company culture thrives.
Returning to the Office
2024 is in full swing—the year that many employers have brought their employees back to the office full-time. And with that decision, there are new dynamics, employee questions, and even emotions to address. So, in this Coach Video Tip, leaders can learn from Coach Annette Pellinat on how to positively navigate this change, grow their influence, and foster a healthy organizational culture in their offices. And employees can learn how to lead themselves well in this new reality and find the opportunity that always comes with change.
How to Develop a Digital Leadership Vision
A digital vision is no longer isolated to the Marketing or IT departments, it is integral to how business is done—across all departments and within all industries. So, if you haven’t already, it’s time to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) in your business functions. AI can be a strategic partner in your work, a puzzle piece in your systems and strategies. But before a leader can cast a compelling digital vision, they must first lead themselves well so that they can develop an inspiring and successful digital vision that people want to work toward. In this article, we share three ways for a leader to develop a digital vision so that they can grow with rapidly changing technology and lead themselves, their teams, and their organizations in this digital age.
Spiritual Well-Being: Your Sense of Purpose
Do you know your purpose in both your life and leadership? Are your morals and ethics rooted in a firmly held belief? Do your convictions and values tie to a sense of meaning?
We’ve talked before about the four areas of well-being: physical, mental, social, and spiritual. But spiritual well-being can often be overlooked or misunderstood. So, we want to share our perspective on it and why we believe it’s core to an overall healthy well-being—which is key to self-leadership.
In this article, we define spiritual well-being and offer three ways for you to work toward getting your spiritual well-being to a healthy and impactful state.
Why our Focus Plan is Better than a New Year’s Resolution
It’s the first week of the new year—and that means that just days ago many people made inspiring yet challenging New Year’s resolutions. But sadly, statistics reveal that only 9% of adults keep their resolutions throughout the year and 80% of people forget their New Year’s resolutions by the middle of winter. Of course, there’s probably multiple factors hindering the success of a resolution, but the biggest hindrance is usually the lack of planning.
That’s why we created our Focus Plan. We’ve got a proven and easy-to-use tool to help you identify your goals along with the actions needed to actually achieve them—plus we give it away for free. In this article, we discuss how our well-being impacts our ability to focus and what you can do about it.
Reflect on Your Year
In the next few weeks, the holiday bustle will pass and a new year will begin. New Year’s resolutions will spur on the joining of gyms, the crafting of nutrition plans, and the forming of budgets. But before anyone can really identify the steps they want to take or the changes they want to make in the new year, there must be time spent on reflection. Not only does self-reflection help you acknowledge the progress you’ve made, but it also helps you recognize the areas for growth that you’d like to work toward. In this article, we discuss the importance of reflection and how it can catapult you toward the life you’ve always wanted.
Gratitude: Key for the Successful Leader
When you feel appreciated, valued, and recognized, how are your actions impacted? Do you get energy from sincere and well-deserved acknowledgement? How is your productivity, creativity, and overall well-being affected?
Well, just as dismissive comments can negatively impact our outlook and output, validating comments can uplift both—and that’s the power of gratitude. Research reveals that 93% of people say that grateful bosses are more likely to succeed and that a “thank you” from a boss can boost productivity by more than 50%. So not only does appreciation from a leader enhance success rates, but it increases employee productivity too. And that’s because employee recognition can affect well-being, and in turn, a workplace culture.
In this article, we share three reasons why conveying gratitude is key for a successful leader.
Fight Against FOBO (Fear of Becoming Obsolete) in the Workplace
Have you ever heard someone say they have FOMO (fear of missing out) as a reason for not wanting to miss a fun event? It’s a real fear! Especially when your social media algorithm pushes photos to the top of your feed that you aren’t in—major bummer.
Well, one of the latest buzzy workplace terms borrows from the popularized slang. And whether you’ve heard the abbreviation or not, many are struggling with FOBO: fear of becoming obsolete. With the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI), like ChatGPT, we’re already seeing the impact in the workplace. People who have made their careers in an area that AI is creeping into are feeling some very real fear. So instead of succumbing to fear or defeat, we believe that you can embrace advancing technology while also owning the unique value you bring to the workplace.
In this article, we share coaching tips for you to combat FOBO and become an expert in the very technology that’s disrupting your industry.