E 223 - Leadership and Executive Presence Secrets from Microsoft Exec

What a treat you’re in for! Learn from Laura’s chat with a scrappy farm girl Jane Boulware, to learn how she made it from the Iowan cornfields to become a marketing whiz at Kimberly-Clark and then to the top levels of leadership at Microsoft. Jane makes it so clear that being nice and being firm are not mutually exclusive. She’s all about supporting and empowering others, even after making a career change that appeared to be a big mistake for quite some time. Laura gets this former Microsoft executive to spill the tea on how to grow a high-performance team, how to ask questions that quickly deliver insight of the most valuable kind, and what to say when you don’t know what to say. 😀 Even more useful than titanium Spanx, enjoy these life-altering gems: 🔑What you need to put together a high-performing team, even when you inherit a team ⛑ Exactly how to deal with making a job change that seems like a huge mistake 🔥What it means to be “level agnostic” and how that helps you 🎯Some driving questions to get to what’s really going on, fast! 🏆How to think about your team so you bring out their best All proceeds from the sale of her book go to the Boys and Girls Club of America. ABOUT THIS WEEK’S GUEST: No one expected Jane Boulware, living in poverty, who paid for college selling used carpet and her mom's prayers, to become a leader of billion-dollar businesses and a top Microsoft executive. Worthy is more than just a tale of personal and professional triumph. Seamlessly blending humor, introspection, and a fiery spirit, the book confronts societal norms and the demanding realm of corporate America. Jane delves deep, sharing her triumphs, personal struggles, and battle with bulimia, all approached with genuine transparency and compassion. Experienced board member, C-Level Executive, dynamic speaker and marketing/sales pioneer in technology and consumer products companies. Top executive at Microsoft and CMO. Chairman of non-profits, start-ups and mature businesses. Launched and built three businesses, each achieving $500M-$1B. VP of $10B merger. Spearheaded $3M Covid fundraiser. Charismatic leader and activator specializing in turn-around and new business building. Creates high performing cultures, organizations and relationships. First in family to attend college/MBA, leave the Midwest and experience people and life she didn't know existed. FOR YOU: It’s hard to know exactly what needs to change. Is it to speak up more often? Or maybe speak less? Or speak louder? Or would better posture help? How about your executive presence? Your influence? How you show up in meetings? Are you crushing your presentations? Do you use good metaphors? All those executive micro skills!!! Now you can know ALL of these juicy key details, thanks to our brand spanking-new Speak Up 360. It’s a cutting-edge leadership development 360 tool designed exclusively for highly-conscientious senior leaders like you. It’s focused exclusively on HIGH-IMPACT communication skills! With Speak Up 360, you'll receive comprehensive, CUSTOMIZED 360-degree feedback on all aspects of executive presence, influence, meeting behavior, and public speaking. Gain a personalized roadmap to get even better using insights from peers, subordinates, and superiors. Identify specific strengths, address actionable areas for improvement, and excel in key leadership dimensions. To give your emerging executives the opportunity to polish their communication skills using the Speak Up 360, schedule a quick call. Visit www.speakupwithlaura.com to learn how Laura’s allergy to boring helps leaders speak up and make things better. Want to make the world better? Please leave us a 5-star ⭐️podcast review to help others find this life-altering insight. We appreciate you!