The room was full of such interesting and diverse women, it was an absolute pleasure to engage with them and deliver a seminar based on how we can use our strengths and our values to make a positive personal impact. HH Sheikha Shamma bint Sultan bin Khalifa Al Nahyan is a real proponent of equality for women in the UAE, following in the footsteps of her great-grandfather, the wonderful late Sheikh Zayed. She set up the WEEB in order to make a positive change in to the number of women on Boards, for example, and my sessions (this was the third now that I have run for the WEEB) focus very much on what women can do for themselves, to get them a seat at the table, and to stay there.
If you come from a place of values, you will not only come across as truly authentic, and therefore convincing, but you will also be a much happier person and likely to excel in what you do. The same with focusing on strengths – the corporate approach of making everyone feel they have to demonstrate strength in every part of a really broad set of competencies inevitably leads to self-doubt and disappointment. But focusing on the things you are really good at will drive great results – the payback is so much greater than focusing on weaknesses (otherwise known as ‘opportunities for improvement’). And if you consciously build a diverse team around you, you can ensure all the bases are covered without having to be superwoman (or man).
Other areas covered in this session were: creating your own personal communications strategy; delivering a result based on knowing your real intention; the importance of visualisation; and ‘what you tell your brain is true.
Caroline Stockmann has had the privilege through her career to learn from top coaches and leadership programmes. Putting those lessons into practice, she leads workshops on how to be more successful in the boardroom and personal life by enhancing personal presence, strengths and values, building a personal communications strategy, resilience and knowing your audience, amongst other areas.
Caroline is a trained coach and has run leadership workshops for women in the Middle East, Asia and the UK. She has also run workshops on leadership for British Council and Save the Children for a mixed-gender audience in 2019.
