Getting Your Voice Heard

In this episode of *The Look & Sound of Leadership*, host Tom Henschel explores the challenge of getting your voice heard in the workplace through the story of Neela, a high-performing executive who struggled with self-advocacy despite her impressive track record. Neela believed her work should speak for itself and felt discomfort with self-promotion, viewing it as 'icky' or attention-seeking. Tom reframes this mindset by introducing practical, incremental homework assignments—like tracking moments when she chose not to speak, speaking within the first 10 minutes of meetings, and monitoring how often her name appears in meeting transcripts. He also shares a powerful framework of three self-coaching questions: what to pay attention to, what behavior to start or stop, and how to measure success through 5% improvement. The episode emphasizes that self-limiting beliefs—such as 'I’ll wait my turn' or 'I don’t want to make a stink'—are common, especially among high achievers, and often prevent people from advancing. Tom encourages listeners to challenge these beliefs, recognize their impact, and build confidence through small, measurable actions. The narrative underscores that leadership presence isn’t about being loud, but about intentionally showing up and claiming space in a way that aligns with one’s values.