So, you’ve been invited to the executive table.

This was likely a big goal of yours, and you’re excited, but…

…you’re also feeling a bit intimidated and aren’t sure how to make the most of this opportunity.

Here’s what you need to do: create a strategy for the meetings themselves.

In this edition of Your Promotability Factor, I share exactly how to create (AND implement) this strategy.

As a leader in your organization, you work really, really hard, to make it to the room where it happens.

You want to be where the decisions are made.

And you want to be a part of that leadership team conversation.

But…it’s not enough to be invited to the executive team meetings.

The reality is, once you make it into that boardroom, you’ll have a whole new slew of challenges in front of you.

That’s because it’s not enough to get a seat at the table.

You also must have a voice at the table.

And this is where my work comes in.

My name is Stacy Mayer and I am on a mission to bring more diversity to the leadership table by getting a thousand powerhouse managers promoted into senior level executive positions each and every year – worldwide.

And one of the main ways that I do that is by coaching corporate managers to have a voice at the table so they can be promoted into senior executive leadership roles.

In this article, I’ll teach you how to make your mark by having YOUR voice heard.

Here we go:

Tip #1

The first thing you need to do is truly, deeply, understand that you’ve already earned your seat at the table.

You worked hard to get into those executive team meetings, and you deserve to be there.

But you might not actually feel that way right now.

You have a ton of confidence.

You’re outspoken about your ideas.

You’re outspoken to your team.

You know how to advocate for yourself.

But…

When you step into that executive boardroom, all that confidence goes out the window.

You start to wonder… ‘Do I even know what I’m doing? The people in this room don’t look like me. They don’t act like me. And they don’t think like me… Do I deserve to be here?’

That’s why the first part of learning how to communicate effectively in executive meetings is to recognize that you deserve to be there.

You were put there for a reason.

Your organization wants (and needs) you in that room.

Tip #2

You need to create a plan that will help you communicate your ideas and speak up. Here’s how:

A) Set a goal before the meeting

In order to be successful in a meeting, you need to know the outcome you want to create.

So before every meeting, take five minutes and think through: ‘What is the best thing that could happen to me in this executive meeting?’

And to create an outcome, you first need to set a goal.

Perhaps your goal is to speak to the organization’s vision, rather than just giving tactical updates.

Or maybe your goal is to simply speak up for more than two minutes.

Set the goal and commit to reaching it in the meeting.

B) Enlist allies

You can do this in so many different ways.

One way is to take five minutes and connect with the person who is in charge of the executive meeting.

During this conversation, you want to find out what their goals and objectives are for the meeting, so you can see how what you want to discuss can fit into this bigger picture.

Another approach is to talk to a peer who has a strong voice at the table and tell them what you want to get across in the meeting.

Say something like: ‘I’ve been wanting to talk about X, and I hope to be able to share this at this meeting. If the opportunity comes up, can you mention that I have an opinion about this?’

THAT’S how you make an impact around the executive boardroom table.

If you are interested in learning more about how powerful communication strategies can help you scale yourself to the c-suite, then I invite you to apply for a free career strategy session with me.

Together, we’ll create a systematic promotion blueprint so that you can move from under-appreciated, under-recognized, and underpaid to a valued member of the leadership team.

Go to stacymayer.com/apply to apply.