BIP Fall 2024

Professional Development

The formula for transformational leadership

75% of whom said they struggled with accountability. “If you’re going to reimagine success, accountability has to be a part of it,” Giles said. “Account ability is the only tool that you have to help people maintain their integrity. Accountability says, ‘I am simply holding you to doing what you said you were going to do.’” Communication Unresolved conflict is a signifi cant barrier to success — and that’s why effective communica tion is so critical. Giles noted that communication should focus on a meaningful dialogue rather than converting others to our point of view. “How many of you have ever sat in a meeting and heard a bad idea introduced but thought you weren’t going to be the person to say something because you don’t want to cause conflict?” Giles said. “We say, ‘I’m not saying it because I’m being polite.’ But here’s the truth: Polite is another word for incompetence.” Conversational competence, Giles said, is the ability to have a discussion where there’s the potential for disagreement — a critical skill to have under pres sure. Her formula for conversa tional competence is to describe, acknowledge, review and engage. When engaging in a tough conversation, stay in the “descrip tion” space as long as possible. “Every piece of data you get goes through your filters — except the person you’re talking to also has a filter,” Giles said.

Values Values is the importance of under standing your “why” — the core reason that fuels you. “If you’re going to reimagine what leadership and success looks like, you have to be intimately affiliated with your ‘why,’” Giles said. “Your work is too important for you to question whether you should be doing it.” For people who have lost touch with their “why,” Giles said to reconnect by asking: • Why am I doing this? • Why do I care? • Why does it matter to me? Accountability Executing on the why requires accountability. Fostering a culture of accountability creates an environment where integrity thrives. Giles believes people find accountability difficult because they don’t like to fail or because they have false expectations. She cited a study of 2,500 senior-level C-suite executives,

Motivation feels good in the moment. But transformation is a lasting change that reshapes how people think, act and lead — and that is where the true power lies. Regarded as the “CEO-Mak er,” “DEI Professor” and “Cubicle to Corner Office Empress,” An nual Convention keynote speaker Dethra Giles is a workplace and career optimizer who advises orga nizations and individuals on how to chart their unique paths to suc cess. The four-time TEDx speaker shared her formula to navigate the complexities of leadership to achieve long-term success. “Psychology tells us that if you make things easier for people, the likelihood they will do it increases significantly,” Giles said. “And formulas make things easier.” Giles’ formula for leadership

Dethra Giles reveals her framework for reshaping leadership, emphasizing the importance of accountability, values and communication.

is VACR: • Values • Accountability • Communication • Rest/Repeat/Represent

14 bip magazine Fall 2024