FAQs
Authentic Leaders Edge was started with the idea to help leaders define how they want to be known and align everything they do to support their personalized model.
It Has Them:
- Be who they are instead of who they think they should be
- Seek out the role and work they love versus settling
- Communicate to command the attention of their audience
- Showcase their value versus letting their ‘hard work’ speak for itself
The methods used in accomplishing these results are the Personal Brand Executive Coaching packages and Personal Brand Mastery program.
That Is Not Where I Started.
When I launched Authentic Leaders Edge in 2002, I initially worked with leaders on their visual presence as it counts for over 50% of the first impression made. With a career as a soft goods retail executive, I know firsthand how critical a powerful visual presence is in establishing professional credibility.
Clients Loved The Results!
After we worked together, for a half-day or a full day, aligning their visual presence with the image they wanted to project, clients would share their wins. They were so excited to finally be taken seriously as a leader. They were experiencing being asked for their opinions, speaking up confidently in meetings and their colleagues offering to make key introductions to important influencers. Naturally and unfortunately, they attributed their new success to the external changes they made.
That’s when it hit me. When confident in their visual presence, my clients began to show up differently based on how they felt about themselves. However, I realized they could be ten times more powerful if they aligned their internal set point (their self-belief and confidence) with the external image (how they looked on the outside).
From that moment, I began to work with leaders to address the whole person, which included their internal operating system and self-image. I helped them become the author of their own story, rather than playing a supporting role in someone else’s.
Because they were getting results, my clients were asking for more. As they were becoming more confident in presenting their ideas, attracting more attention, and being offered better opportunities, they began to ask for more advanced tools to perform in a more demanding space.
They wanted to learn how to repeat those moments of ‘getting it right’ consistently.
One client shared, “Dorothy, I got a rave review from my boss which is great. Now I need to learn how to wash, rinse and repeat!”
Helping clients become more aware of who they were being and get to the core of their challenges to create real, lasting change in a safe space is my gift. I draw on my coaching skills and the real-world strategy I used to build my own successful career in the US retail industry.
Since then, I’ve dedicated my professional life to supporting leaders in building an authentic and powerful personal brand. I believe we achieve our greatest success by being the best version of ourselves.
My definition of personal brand is, “the essence of who you are and how you make others feel.”
Your personal brand is a combination of the intangible elements of who you are, your essence: your values, beliefs, talents, key strengths and passions. It’s also the experience you create for others, based on how you show up, what you say and do. Your brand is what people are saying about you when you are not present.
In other words, what you do represents who you are and how you become known. While you don’t get to dictate your brand, you do have the ability to influence it.
For example: If I want to be seen as considerate and caring I can demonstrate this by holding the door open for the person behind me, holding the elevator door when I notice someone coming and listening intently when someone is speaking.
I would not walk into a building and let the door close on the person behind me or close the elevator door so I can ride on my own or interrupt someone when he or she is speaking. We can control the story that is told about us by how we show up. A big part of our brand’s success hinges on two things: being authentic and how we make others feel. Knowing this, we need to consciously choose the words and behaviours that align with who we want to be and how we want to be known.
My clients are typically leaders in organizations who feel it is important to invest in the growth of their people.
The payoff of the investment these organizations make, whether in executive coaching or training, improves the health of teams, and increases confidence, engagement and ownership. The transformation impacts both the leaders and the culture of the organization.
The leaders we work with are preparing for that next coveted role, have just landed a new role with more responsibility or want to be more effective and influential in their current role.
Their roles range from C-Suite to Account Managers across a broad range of industries. Industries include energy, advertising, banking, investment, retail, health, IT, telecommunications, and real estate.
The common thread among clients is their mindset and readiness to change, not their industry. Here’s what clients are like: they are interested in growing as a person, willing to be uncomfortable, and want to have a meaningful impact. They are self-motivated, respectful, coachable, open-minded, and willing to stretch themselves.
It’s important for two reasons.
First, when a leader puts in the work to develop a personal brand that aligns with the best of who they are and gets clear on how to take that from paper to practice, it puts them in charge of what they are capable of creating.
They can more easily quiet the noise and stay focused on what is most important to them. They take ownership of their life and career.
Second, defining a personal brand provides a structure for a leader to follow. Having a structure in place makes it easier to quiet the doubts, eliminate the distractions and accelerate their path to success.
It helps in setting healthy boundaries and saying no when it is necessary without apologizing or feeling guilty. Making decisions is easier because they know what is important to them and what they are working toward.
Wow that is a great question. Clients choose to work with me because:
- They want to evolve as a leader and feel more confident
- They underestimate their value and are not clear about what they want next
- They are tired of flying under the radar and going unnoticed
- They want to be seen as a leader versus a manager
- They are unable to achieve the outcomes they desire
- They are frustrated by working hard and not getting the results
- They feel uncomfortable promoting themselves
- They aren’t aware of what is holding them back
- They struggle to communicate and be heard
- They are measuring themselves against the wrong things
Clients start out in survival mode and move into thriving as their best self. Struggles are transformed into opportunities when they have the right tools. The right tools help clients see themselves more clearly, eliminating the self-imposed barriers that have held them back and gives them the steps to build the structure that supports an authentic remarkable brand.
There are three different ways that I work with leaders and organizations:
- In a group training, when I am hired by an organization, to deliver my Personal Brand Mastery Program that focuses on a leader’s personal brand, presence, communication, mindset and success strategies. This is delivered over a four to six month period. This program is also now delivered virtually to a group of leaders from various organizations.
- Personal Brand Executive Coaching whether it be the individual leader or the organization that initiates the engagement. When coaching I work with individuals one-on-one for a minimum commitment of six months. This timeframe allows a leader to build a strong foundation to establish their credibility, boost their confidence and define their path for success.
- Facilitating leadership team offsites that typically start with a full day. Providing the opportunity for the team to take a step back from doing and have conversations that address a deeper level of what is needed. Leaving the room with actionable next steps, higher level of accountability and a feeling of trust.
A high level view, whether delivering group training, one-on-one coaching or a leadership offsite, there are three core components in supporting leaders to make real change.
1 Foundation
This is a self-reflective stage that gives permission to leaders in taking the time to more deeply understand themselves and get clear on what they really want for themself.
This is where the conditions for success are set to clarify expectations and the focused outcomes. Having a plan provides a clear direction that makes it easy for leaders to take the right steps in the right direction.
2 Alignment
This is a stage that guides leaders in building healthy practices that turn into good habits. We take a deep dive into developing the details of who they are: characteristics, communication style, values, natural talents, key strengths and what is most important.
Getting to know themself at this level, without judgment, gives them the courage to face adversity without compromising who they are.
Many leaders struggle here because they begin to practice new behaviours, taking them away from what is familiar. They are changing the way they think about themselves and how they engage with others. Simple but not easy to do!
Sadly, many of us underestimate the value of what comes easy to us. I know this because I have been there myself. It is amazing how energized and confident a person can feel when they consciously structure their life to use their strengths as much as possible.
Addressing the mindset is also a big part of this stage in order to create big breakthroughs in reducing the mental chatter that hijacks the mind and eliminates resistance to change. Awareness, mindset and choice all play a big part in living an authentic brand consistently.
3 Ownership
This stage is where a leader creates consistency in living by the standards they have created for themselves. As they take action challenges arise and we work together to strip away the excuses, finger pointing and blame so they take full ownership of managing their outcomes.
This shifts a leader from ‘victim-mode’ to being ‘solution focused’.
We work to deal with any resistance that attempts to keep them small and setbacks that have the potential to paralyze their progress.
We develop a relationship plan to ensure leaders create a rich environment with the right people and expand their reach. They also articulate their own personal formula for success.
Evolution is part of the brand process: as a leader evolves so does their brand. Working through the process will support remarkable changes in a persons’ life, but they will need to do check-ins periodically to make sure their brand continues to reflect the message they want to communicate about themself.
I work with leaders to first define how they want to show up. I don’t prescribe a model for them to follow. We work together to build the brand model that aligns with who they want to be. It is about the person first then what they do. We go deep to create real change.
We address the visual elements that are more obvious then go beneath the surface to work with leaders on the intangible elements that create the real change. It can be a bit uncomfortable at times, but man, it shifts their mindset and opens their heart, helping them lead from a more powerful place.
The work we do together is not about changing the people around them. It’s about focusing on the change they need to make. Here’s the best part – when they change, magically those around them change, too.
They get what they want, but we also cover what they really need. They emerge with the personal brand that fuels their life’s dreams, the success they define for themselves, and the tools to continue to evolve.
Yes! The leaders that aren’t coachable, don’t value the advice of an expert, doesn’t see the value in investing in themself or being invested in and isn’t interested in doing the work.
It is never the industry or position, it is the attitude of the individual leader. I can provide the direction and tools but I can’t do the work for them.
The results clients achieve are directly related to what they do with the information they receive. Some results show up very quickly, within days or weeks, and others take a bit longer. Results clients have experienced are:
- Greater collaboration across various teams; saved time and increased efficiencies.
- Preparation and focus had a 1.5 hour meeting wrap-up in under an hour.
- Communicated to meet people where they are at, increasing the quality of work produced and the results achieved.
- Increased level of influence without direct authority.
- Confident in having the tough conversations and pushing back when necessary. This established a greater level of respect and secured future business.
- Having big picture conversations with clients to sell beyond the product and establish more meaningful relationships.
- Landed meetings with key players to close ‘several’ multimillion dollar deals.
- Closed the biggest deal of their career within months of completing the program.
- Establishing credibility as a leader.
- Landing the promotion and defined their own role.
- Multiple promotions in 18 months.
- Raising their visibility in the marketplace.
- Communicating their message with purpose and capturing the attention of their audience.
- Attracting big opportunities that once seemed impossible.
- Being acknowledged for their contributions with an outstanding review and pay increase.
- Generating increased profits every quarter in their business for two years straight.
- Earning their previous years annual income in the first six months.
- Skillfully managed meetings with high profile experts and reached resolution.
- Cut out the extra steps in a decision making process that demonstrated respect for all involved and resulted in a more profitable outcome.
These results were possible because they defined a personal brand model and aligned everything they did and said with how they wanted to be known.
The changes they made stick because it is their choice to change. The change is being reinforced with positive feedback from those that matter and the results they desire.
Some results will be noticed immediately. I have received calls from CEO’s who’ve been blown away at how quickly their leaders have embraced the change and taken greater ownership.
Some results take a little longer because the changes have deeper roots. When a leader is changing poor perceptions, it requires consistency demonstrated over many encounters to build trust.
The leaders I work with are high achievers. They have a strong desire to be their best, but they don’t have the ‘right’ tools to get them there. Once they are given the right tools, change is a matter of time.
A leader can get started by clicking here to send me an email to inform me of their interest and what they are facing. Within 24 hours we will circle back to schedule a thirty-minute discovery call to confirm a fit.
