Are there times you want to speak up in a meeting, but you don’t know how to share your ideas with confidence? Do you ever wonder why your voice isn’t being heard? Or have you felt ignored or dismissed by your peers or other leaders in your organization in the past?
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In today’s conversation, you’ll hear from our guest, Karen Laos, who equips women to stand out with confidence. She champions female business owners to own their value and find their voice so they can be seen and heard. She also works with teams to create cultures of trust and function at their best.
Karen helps us understand the value of speaking up, and why just feeling confident or faking it isn’t enough. She also shares why you shouldn’t wait for a public speaking event on stage to start honing your skills.
This episode is brought to you by my upLIFT Mentormind. This is a program designed exclusively for Christian women who are building a business online and who are ready to thrive, streamline their marketing, and hit their financial goals.
The program is now open to join at any point, so to learn more, you can visit upliftmentormind.com and click “apply” – after that, I’ll be in touch! You can also send me a DM on Instagram and let me know you’re interested.
Key Points Discussed:
- Karen’s pathway from leaving corporate to starting her own business [4:55]
- Karen’s mission and goal in business [5:15]
- Karen’s leadership journey [6:00]
- Karen’s leadership lessons she has learned along the way [7:50]
- The importance of using your own voice in the corporate setting [9:30]
- Meaningful mentors of Karen’s [13:45]
- Karen shares what confidence looks like to her [18:45]
- How to encourage women to speak up in meetings [23:30]
- Signs to look for while speaking that signal poor communication [26:30]
- Practical tips for effective communication [27:00]
- Benefits to speaking up and sharing your message [30:00]
- Leaders are Learners: Brene Brown’s book, Dare to Lead [34:30]
- Advice from Karen for a younger leader [36:00]
Key Quotes from Karen Laos:
“My goal is to help women over 40 in senior leadership roles with their presence as well as their message.”
“I’m on a mission to reach 10 million women to overcome self doubt and speak with confidence instead.”
“The reason I went out of business my first year was because I was not clear on who I was serving and giving them what specifically it was that I did and how I could help.”
“Here’s what I started saying in meetings: ‘Here’s my vote’.”
“A person won’t typically grow unless they really believe they’re accepted right now for who they are.”
“Is there really such a thing as private speaking? Unless you’re talking to yourself in the shower or the car, we always have an audience.”
“There’s nothing more freeing than being able to share your ideas without hesitation.”
“My dream would be for all women to feel so aligned internally that they actually feel confident and are confident… Not that they just come across as confident.”
“Really being mindful of our presence can make a huge difference in people deciding if they want to keep listening.”
“Speak first!”
“Trust your gut.”
Connect with Karen
- Website
- Podcast: Ignite Your Confidence with Karen Laos
- Facebook Group
- Free Gift: 9 Words to Avoid and What to Say Instead
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