As an individual who works in a technical field, you may say you have no problems with socialising.

You have friends, right? And you can chat a bit at the coffee hub every morning before retreating to your cubicle. So what’s the problem?

Well, there’s a big difference between being an Engaging Executive, and being someone who has just enough social skills to get the job and lay low.

 

How do you know which are you?

It all comes down to the people challenges that you face, and thousands of technically specialised executives struggle with the exact same hurdles.

Just like you, they may have enough social skills here and there to ace an initial job interview, which is more than likely technically focused. They most certainly have their own circle of associates, but they don’t have what it takes to get that awesome promotion, or to lead their peers who aren’t so technically-minded, or to just be influencers within the organisation.

What are the challenges they’re facing? Are you struggling with the same issues on your journey to becoming an Engaging Executive?

 

Let’s see if any of these sound like you.

  • You don’t feel like you really “own” a room when you walk in. In all honesty, you could probably leave a work event early, and no one would really notice.
  • If someone asked you about the new person in the department next to yours — where they lived, where they came from, if they were married, had kids, their interests — you would have no idea, simply because you haven’t bothered to chat with them outside directly work-related needs.
  • Decisions within the company are sometimes a surprise to you, because you’ve not heard a thing through the so-called grapevine.
  • You never really try to give your boss or peers your input. If they need it, they’ll ask, but you have your hands pretty tied up in your actual day-to-day work.
  • If a conversation is going to cause a conflict, you’d rather just avoid it all together. You’ll fix the problem yourself, rather than confronting someone else. It’s just easier.
  • When one of your coworkers came into the office upset over her breakup, you just rolled your eyes; personal stuff should stay at home.
  • You’ve tried networking events before, but they usually just resulted in lackluster, short conversations; you couldn’t really connect with anyone there; and you stayed to yourself most of the evening.
  • Every time you manage a team, you end up doing most of the work, because you can’t figure out how to get the rest of your team members to actually do what you need them to do, or you don’t feel it is up to ‘your’ standard.

If any of the above reminds you of yourself, you are not alone. The more than 1,000 industry experts that have transformed into Engaging Executives faced some or all of these issues at one point, and then learned not only why these are problems holding them back, but also how to overcome them.

 

Do you want to learn the same?

Here is a great skill to start with, it is called ‘Energy Matching’, read on here or learn how to make the first 5 minutes of a new meeting interesting by watching this Vlog.

Stay tuned for more blogging updates and also follow us on LinkedIn. For the full Engaging Executive experience, check out a FREE sample of the book ENGAGE: A Practical Guide to Understanding, Influencing and Connecting with People.