As we enter Black History Month, inclusivity and belonging are at the top of my mind.
“If you want to lift yourself up, lift up someone else.”
―Booker T. Washington
It is immensely important that leaders create environments that are inclusive, where people feel they belong. As we do this, let’s remember that this is best done by recognizing and appreciating the uniqueness in the signatures all around you. The more you can leverage these unique gifts, the freer everyone is to show their authenticity in the workplace, and the more successful your team can be.
Would you let someone else sign your signature, committing you to something? For a house? A job? A personal letter? Of course, you wouldn’t!
Your signature is unique. It is authentic. Just like you.
When you think about creating a great team, would you want a bunch of people with the same signature as you? Maybe that would be easier on some days, but you know how important diversity of thought, strengths, and approaches are for your team.
More than ten years ago, we started Signature Leaders with the mission to accelerate more women into next-level leadership, and I would say we are doing pretty well, with more than 3,200 graduates who have experienced promotions and job expansions.
At each of our professional development programs, we start out by talking about the uniqueness of our signatures―no two signatures are alike. Every leader is going to bring their unique gifts to the work they do, and the more they are enabled to bring their authenticity in the workplace, the more they can thrive. This is where we believe leadership starts―from a place of authenticity.
Just a few weeks ago, I was speaking with Maria Rivera, a Signature alumna and now the CEO of Smalls Sliders. Maria is doing an amazing job leading this company into hyper growth mode. During our discussion, Maria reflected on how the development of her Signature led to her amazing growth of authenticity in the workplace and her leadership.
“I wish I had realized how important knowing and bringing my Signature to the forefront was when I went through the Signature professional development program. I was so loyal to the company and my leaders, that my personal brand became whatever organization I was with instead of being ‘Maria Rivera.’ It was a hard journey to go deep into myself and work through who I am but when I did the work, the power of my signature could now be used for the growth and development of my company and my team.”
You can already see Maria’s success at Smalls Sliders, where she is well ahead of plan, and her passion and energy are felt in every media piece covering Maria and this company. She has found a way to leverage her authenticity in the workplace through a deep understanding of her signature, and her people feel the impact of her leadership.
When we help leaders deep-dive on their authentic Signature in our professional development programs, we take them through a number of exercises to extract what is at the core of who they are. Through the stories and examples we share, they learn how to articulate what makes them unique. It is difficult, especially in a group of high-potential leaders, to find something unique about themselves. We know they are all hard workers, reliable team members, and empathetic leaders. That doesn’t go deep enough.
If you are struggling to articulate your own unique value, think about a time when a colleague or friend has incredulously said, “How do you do that?” They are asking because they can’t believe you were able to solve the problem so quickly, connect the dots, or negotiate a better deal. If you thought, “It’s no big deal. I just do it. I do that all the time,” then it is probably a superpower of yours. Start here.
Is this something you are known for? If not, what words or actions might you use to articulate that superpower? You may not want to walk around telling everyone, “I’m an excellent negotiator,” but you might find other ways to share your gift. Maybe you offer to help people when they have a difficult situation or conversation that needs to be “negotiated.” If you use the word, people will start to see that is what you are doing.
Every Signature needs to be developed. Maria now has a focus on this because of the work she put in to develop her own. Where Maria is super successful is in understanding the needs of each of her team members. She personally interviews everyone, and she is invested in pulling forth untapped potential in her associates. She digs in to understand their unique gifts.
Maria exemplifies the Inclusive Leader. Inclusivity is about looking for and bringing all the signatures to the table. She creates a space for their voices, their ideas, their points of view. That is what authenticity in the workplace is all about. If we believe every signature is unique and can’t be replicated, then each signature has value to the growth and success of a company. If you are missing any voices, you are missing the uniqueness of that person’s contributions.
When you know who you are at your core, you can begin to structure your work―where you spend your time―around your unique gifts. The more you can put yourself in your gift zone―and your team members in theirs―the more effective everyone can be, and the more fun you can have while working together. Your company needs you to be more of who you are, because this is where your leadership will shine.
The women who graduate from Signature Leaders’ professional development programs return to their companies with a new understanding of the importance of a Signature. They take with them an understanding of the value they can bring to the organization, and they know how to delegate the right things to the right people to develop them and leverage their strengths. Wouldn’t we all want to work on a team that uses its complementary strengths to achieve great things?
About the Author
Carol Seymour: Global Executive, Speaker, Author and Founder of Signature Leaders
Carol Seymour is a sought-after business leader and seasoned global executive of large and mid-cap size companies and private-equity backed turnarounds. She founded Signature Leaders in 2013 which focuses on accelerating women into next level leadership and helping leaders create greater impact and influence. Signature Leaders was recognized last year as one of Inc. 5000 “Fastest Growing Private Companies”.
The Signature series of leadership offerings support the growth of women from Manager level up to and including C-suite executives. Today, more than 3000 global leaders across 6 continents have experienced a Signature program. Signature Leaders partners with more than 140 market-leading companies for their selective investments.
Carol is also a Founding Member of Paradigm for Parity and named one of the Top 40 Women Keynote Speakers for 2020 by RealLeaders Magazine.
Carol resides in Cashiers, NC. She has two married children, three granddaughters, and a grandson.
