In order to land her gig as director of talent and culture at HubSpot, Katie Burke had to be tenacious and confident. After listening to her story and insights last week at a fireside chat hosted by Intelligent.ly and Young Women in Digital, we were inspired by her go-getter attitude.
Below are seven of our favorite lessons gleaned from Katie’s presentation on leadership and writing your own life story:
1. Find your Beyoncé walk.
Confidence is key. While there’s no secret to developing inner confidence, Katie advises young leaders to surround themselves with people who believe in them and to develop a “pre-game warm-up” to boost self-confidence.
2. Help your neighbor.
You get more credit in life for being a nice person. Instead of focusing on communicating your value to your managers, focus on helping those around you. Your co-workers’ appreciation for you will bubble up to the management level.
3. Be indispensable.
Find what makes you indispensable to the team. Perfect that skill and you’ll never have to worry about whether you’re making a difference and contributing value to your team.
4. Think, speak and sell in headlines.
When you’re pitching your managers a new idea or project, make sure it is newsworthy. Ask yourself if this idea will grab their attention and if it won’t, think bigger. Understand why your story or idea matters to the business and make sure it is clearly conveyed to the team.
5. Be open to feedback.
Ask for feedback – from those above, below and equal to you. When you open the door to constructive criticism, you’ll be forced to constantly improve.
6. Admit your mistakes.
No one is perfect. Great leaders step up and admit their mistakes rather than transferring blame. They take accountability and figure out the specific actions needed to make sure they don’t make the same mistakes twice.
7. Verbalize what you want your ending to be.
This is your life and your career. Don’t be shy about what you want, and don’t wait to be asked if you’re qualified to lead. Great leaders don’t wait to be asked; they take the risk and stick their necks out to take charge. Ultimately, you have the power to determine how your story ends and what the chapters between now and then look like.
Are you ready for the next chapter in your career? Check out the job openings at Metis and get in touch with our team.
