Ep 4 – Doing ‘Office Politics’ In Your Own Authentic Way, with guest Dessi Silassie

Here’s how to get really confident at building your brand and credibility by managing up in your own, authentic style…

 

 

Today Dessi Silassie and I are talking about doing ‘office politics’ in your own authentic way.

Dessi shares her beautiful, honest and vulnerable story about taking on a new leadership role where the team was tight and didn’t want their much-respected current manager to be replaced.

“I had two options,” Dessi says, “Option 1 was to come in strong and set out how the ‘new world’ would look: you can either get onboard with me or not. Or there was Option 2, which was to be vulnerable and let them know I understood that it was a difficult time – and difficult for them to accept me. I chose Option 2.”

In this episode, Dessi and I chat about:

• What is authenticity?
• What are the layers of The Ego?
• How do you present an authentic leadership style, especially when under pressure?
• What happens when you ‘do’ office politics with an aggressive personal agenda?

 

Best quote from this episode:

“Over the last 5 years of self-learning, I have learned that we are like onions – each with multiple layers to our identity – but it doesn’t mean that everyone gets to see all those layers. The reframe of ‘office politics’ is making genuine connections with people. That natural curiosity, that sincerity and authenticity helps you build relationships and you form alliances within your organisation.”  (Dessi Silassie, guest on ‘Her Ambitious Career’ Podcast)

 

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Links:

• The 7 Habits of Female Execs Who Get Promoted’ – get promoted faster with this tried and tested guide.
• Find Rebecca: www.illuminategrowth.com.au
• Tune into this episode:  Ep56 – 5 Ways to Bounce Back as a Leader When Things Go Wrong
• And another awesome ep: Ep 54 – How to Give Constructive Feedback
• See all podcast eps

 

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About Dessi:

Dessi Silassie is an Executive Vice President, leading teams in legal and diversity, equity & inclusion at IHS Markit. Dessi leads the teams who provide legal support to their Asia Pacific business, global Financial Services business, intellectual property for the company and last, but not least, she serves as the global chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer supporting the organisation’s commitment to maintaining diverse and inclusive high performance teams.

Dessi describes herself as “a player-coach leader who is passionate about solving problems with people and providing solutions to our customers and stakeholders through smart collaboration. I love what I do because it allows me to grow, develop and connect with people. Every day provides me with opportunities to be challenged and learn from others around me in a way that brings out the best version of myself.”

 

About Rebecca:

Hi, I’m Rebecca Allen and I’m an Executive Coach and Personal Brand expert for corporate women, aspiring to senior levels of leadership. I absolutely LOVE coaching and seeing my fabulous clients exceed their own expectations. I’ve worked for 11 years now as a coach and have helped women at companies including Woolworths, ANZ, J.P. Morgan, PwC, Coca-Cola Amatil, Ministry of Defence and Coles. I live for those phone calls from clients, jumping up and down, telling me they’ve got that promotion, negotiated a seismic pay rise or have moved into a role completely aligned with their mission, values and strengths. I’m a working mum of two wonderful children, adore travel and trying my hand at anything creative. I’d love to connect with you!