As the Chief Strategist for Linkage’s Advancing Women Leaders & Inclusion Practice and an Executive Vice President, and a Principal Consultant at Linkage, Susan Brady has a lot on her plate. For some, this might seem overwhelming, but Susan Brady has added the title "Author" to her long list of accomplishments. Her book, The 30 Second Guide to Coaching Your Inner Critic, is a fantastic visual guide for how to manage yourself as a leader and help to empower your team. She sees her career goal as helping to accelerate women in leadership, and she's doing a stellar job of that so far.
Founding the Women in Leadership Summit in 1999, Susan is making a difference in the world through what is now known as The Women in Leadership Institute™ (AKA: "WIL"), her keynotes and her book. I had a chance to sit down with Susan Brady to chat about WIL, women in leadership, and how we should all coach our inner critic -- we all have one!
Who should be attending WIL?
The Institute is helpful for women at any level of an organization. From Individual contributors to executives, and everyone in between, the content and discussions are helpful for everyone involved.
What is the biggest thing that attendees walk away with from WIL?
I think women realize we are not playing to our full power in any way, shape or form yet. Women have to step in, step up, lean in -- whatever you want to call it -- because there is a lot of opportunity for us. The most common comments we hear from women who attend our Institute is that they leave feeling inspired and empowered to do just that. The great news? They even come back and tell us what they did and how they did it.
With your new book, what can we look to find there?
We all have an inner critic, men and women alike. I think women are more tripped up by it. If women feel the need to manage it all to feel good at home and at work and control both realms, by definition we're going to get ourselves in trouble. We are going to be frustrated with those around us by not doing it the way we want them to do it, or we're going to overtax ourselves and feel like we are not doing everything well enough.. If we women start managing ourselves and opening up to what's available and not being so hard on ourselves (sometimes resulting in us being harsh not only with ourselves but also with those around us), I think we’ll begin to see the sort of "leaning in" that Sheryl Sandberg talks about.
What advice do you have for people looking to mimic your success and overcome their inner critic?
We can be humble and powerful at the same time. We don't have to sacrifice one for the other. Coaching our Inner Critic is a moment-to-moment practice. There is no arrival at perfection – giving ourselves permission to be imperfect, taking responsibility for our own choices, and honoring ourselves and those around us by coaching ourselves out of critical harshness is the only way I know how to do it. Combine this "self management" with hard work and choosing work that feels on purpose, and that’s my definition of success.
What is the next big trend with women?
Men! We have a challenge that we're facing: there are many men in positions of power who either don’t see the problem of a lack of women in leadership, or who don't know how to go about fixing the problem. The future has to be fostering a dialogue between men and women. To do this, we’ll need to put the problem on the table and work inclusively to engage both men and women in the solution.
Women in Leadership
Susan Brady, Chief Strategist at Linkage's Women Leaders Practice
Trend Themes
1. Advancing Women in Leadership - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in developing programs and initiatives that accelerate women in leadership positions.
2. Managing the Inner Critic - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in creating tools and techniques to help individuals, especially women, overcome self-doubt and manage their inner critic.
3. Engaging Men in Gender Equality - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in fostering dialogue and collaboration between men and women to address the problem of a lack of women in leadership positions.
Industry Implications
1. Leadership Development - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in designing and implementing leadership development programs focused on advancing women in their careers.
2. Self-improvement - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in creating products and services that help individuals, especially women, manage their inner critic and build self-confidence.
3. Diversity and Inclusion Consulting - Opportunity for disruptive innovation in providing consulting services that help organizations engage men and women in fostering gender equality in leadership roles.