Making Waves at C-Level Thom Singer

There is often advice given to leaders that they need to "protect their time" and that they should only attend "curated events" as to not have to be bombarded by people wanting advice, etc...

Sometimes people ask if they can "pick your brain" and many people get mad as they see it as someone just wanting "free consulting". But instead of being up off when someone wants your advice... how about reframing their request into a giant compliment. Think about it, if you find someone mediocre (or worse)....do you ask them for advice? We only ask to "pick the brain" of someone we admire.

Plus, if you are a leader, you have to be active in your community. A community can be geographic or an industry... but if you see yourself as a leader, and yet you hide from the people you claim to lead, then you are not really a leader. A true leader cannot lead from behind an office door or while sipping bourbon from their pool. Real leaders are in the arena.

Ask yourself...."when is the last time I really attended an industry or community event where I was not the speaker or it was sponsored by my company?". If you are not sure, then start getting engaged. Either locally or with your industry trade group. Be the one who shows up and is willing to mentor and guide others.

It is probably true that many people were there for you to share advice, be a mentor, or have their "brain picked" when you were up and coming in your career. The time has come to make sure you are returning that favor to the next generation.

This does NOT mean you have to attend everything (you are too busy), but make sure one of your weekly / monthly activities is an open event and show up just to be supportive of the greater community. Leaders must lead by example and people are hungry for community these days!

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Thom Singer is a keynote speaker who shares a message of community, collaboration, and conversations. The more we engage now, the more opportunities come our way in the future.
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In this episode we look at the power of community and how the people you meet are the only way to learn and find new opportunities over you lifetime.
When speaking at a conference of young professionals, Thom Singer offered up the secret weapon to their future of career options. It is networking now, building real connections and friendships, and helping others.
In a world or remote work and digital networking, those who engage will win in the long run.
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After a long time away, the "Making Waves at C-Level" podcast is trying to come back into regular production. Host Thom Singer has been serving as the CEO of the Austin Technology Council, and has been hosting that organizations show "Austin Tech Connect".
But this show has been around for 10 years, and it has had a good following over the years. Thom is ready to come back and share ideas and promote his message of community, collaboration, and conversations.

In this episode he talks about building friendships and business relationships over the age of 50. Check out his short episode and share with him your thoughts.

https://thomsinger.com
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We hear a lot about "Collaboration"...but too often we see selfish people just using the word. Collaboration is a two way street. If you always start with "What's in it for me" you are not a collaborator. If you use collaboration as a buzz word for "Sales", you are not thinking win / win.
In this short episodes Thom shares his beliefs about what is collaboration. To really collaborate you need to have shared vision, open communication, mutual respect, and trust. But people enter collaborative situations and then want full control, they don't share important information, and they withhold resources.
Some believe you have to be all out for yourself if you want to win. Thom Singer thinks in the long run you are more satisfied in life when you embrace collaboration.
Ask yourself if you really see advantages to collaboration. If yes, live by example.

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Authentic leaders win in the long run. If you are pretending to have leadership success... people see through the lies. This episode talks about how to not only highlight your victories, but how great leaders admit their faults.
Thom Singer recently received six emails from people showing how someone told a blatant lie in their bio. They claimed something that was entirely made up, and people in the community knew this was just BS and were forwarding the bio around to others showing how this leader, known to be narcissist, had graduated to just making things up in their resume.
If you are not authentic, people will know. While nobody had the guts to call this person out in public (we still live in a mostly polite society that is resistant to conflict), people were circulating the lies with long chain emails about this person. Not good.
Does your resume have blatant lies? This episode of "Making Waves at C-Level" will make you rethink. Like we have not learned enough from Congressman George Santos who simply created a trail of made up things. Eventually his lies were seen. The person mentioned in this episode who padded their resume (who would hate being compared to Trump or Santos) would cringe at the emails making that connection.
You do not need to lie in your resume unless you are a total fraud who feels you are weak. Strong leaders can rely on their strengths and can admit their mistakes.
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You are at the top of your game. You are a c-level executive. Why in the world would you go to a networking event? The networking events have people who are not as impressive as you, and you only want to hang out with the cool kids. Why should you network?
You need to network for many reasons, and you should not prejudge people whose job titles do not start with a "C".
It is good for your own career and the reputation of you company if you are seen as participating in your community. Over the long run, non-famous CEOs who keep engaged in their community will find more ways to collaborate and uncover opportunities.
Too many are thinking if they go to a Chamber of Commerce event or Industry Conference that they will be annoyed by up and comers who want to talk to them. But many of those same people might inspire you. The best leaders I know want a lot of diversity in their conversations.
Hide in an Ivory Tower and your company may lose. Who is better at reputation management and community engagement..You or your competitors? If its not your team, then your competition might get a leg up.
This episode Thom Singer shares his three reasons to network even when you are in the C-Suite.
https://thomsinger.com
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