Welcome to Episode 2 of The Cribsheet, where hosts Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker and Meg Lovell walk through their process for making career-defining decisions, delivering projects, and how to build the stakeholder support you’ll need to get things over the line.

Meg and Clarissa discuss why you need to convince yourself first before attempting to win support for your decision, including how to do a risk assessment without getting bogged down in the negatives, why linking everything back to your strategy is crucial, and how to listen to your gut and distinguish between pattern recognition and an emotional reaction.

How and why stakeholder mapping is essential, the impact that timing can have on gaining approval- they break down each factor involved and also talk through why building your own political capital is crucial, how to do it, and how to spend that capital once you’ve got it.

If you’ve got the role, and now you need to deliver - this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways

• Convince yourself first - cut out the noise, and design a process you can return to when you need to assess how to move forward with big decisions

• Listen to your gut- sit with discomfort and look at why you’re feeling that way. A quiet and persistent feeling should not be ignored

• Don’t skip risk analysis because it feels “negative”- your job as a leader is to assess risk, and then motivate your team to move forward positively

• Map your stakeholders - who your key decision makers are, and who THEY are listening to

• You are not just selling the decision, you are selling the process around it - the more you try to shortcut things, the more likely you are to fail

• Timing - get familiar with the factors that will influence your stakeholders’ thinking

• Grow your political capital - build it as an ongoing habit, and spend it wisely

• Consider privilege - some people can build political capital more easily than others. If you’re in the room, and in a position to support someone who has less access, listen to them and use your voice in support

Episode Highlights

01:52: “Convince yourself first”- how to lay the groundwork for good decision-making

05:10: “Gut feel” and how to ground yourself in the decision

07:00: The tension between risk analysis and being a positive, championing force

09:18: Why you need to “show your work” and how to actually assess risk

12:15: On advising a household name PLC to walk away from a deal, and the lesson learned

13:30: Stakeholder mapping, and why a decision can’t just be judged on its merits

15:56: Skipping steps = decisions go the wrong way - sell your process, not just the decision

16:48: Pro tip - link decisions back to something they’ve already bought into

17:15: Timing factors to consider, and how timing can make or break a decision

20:22: Manage your own ego - don’t feel undermined by pressure

22:09: What is political capital and how to build it

29:46: On privilege, being mindful of who has it, and how to support others

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About the Hosts

Clarissa works with leaders on high-stakes decisions after a career as a lawyer, COO and a public market CEO. Meg is a Fractional CEO and negotiation expert.

End Credits

Find and connect with us on LinkedIn:

Meg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meg-lovell-strategy

Clarissa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarissasowemimocoker

This episode was written and recorded by us, and produced by Lucy Lucraft (http://lucylucraft.co.uk ).

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review - and hit the 'follow' button!

Welcome to the first episode of The Cribsheet, where Clarissa Sowemimo-Coker and Meg Lovell unpack how to navigate the first 90 days of a new leadership or C-suite role - that key promotion that comes without a handbook!

Discussing internal and external measures of success, they talk through how new leaders can build clarity, confidence and momentum, balance listening with taking action, decision fatigue and the unexpected challenge of building a new identity as a leader.

Over-preparing, resistance within teams, and staying in your comfort zone - they acknowledge the pitfalls, and share their experience on alignment, successful communication, and the value of external advisors.

A must-listen for anyone facing the exciting, yet daunting leap into senior leadership.

Key takeaways

• 30/60/90 day framework - gathering data (listen), making well-framed decisions (decide), communicating to consolidate the team (align).

• Shifting your mindset to internal measures of success and holding yourself accountable, now that the buck stops with you.

• How to eliminate team conflict and misalignment early on, without becoming defensive

• ‌Building an external network of expert support

• Over-preparation only feeds your imposter syndrome - be honest with where your strengths and weaknesses lie

Episode highlights

01:52: The identity "wobble" and shifting from delivery to accountability.

‌03:55: Why you need a support network outside of your company.

06:50: The necessity of maintaining boundaries and finding "appropriate containers" for sharing.

‌09:35: Managing decision fatigue and the weight of being the final call.

12:15: How to balance risks in areas outside of your expertise.

18:40: A deep dive into the 30/60/90-day framework.

‌27:45: Common pitfalls: Over-preparing and staying stuck in your old function.

31:50: The importance of offering clear recommendations instead of a "suite of options".

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About the Hosts

Clarissa works with leaders on high-stakes decisions after a career as a lawyer, COO and a public market CEO. Meg is a Fractional CEO and negotiation expert.

End Credits

Find and connect with us on LinkedIn:

Meg: https://www.linkedin.com/in/meg-lovell-strategy

Clarissa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/clarissasowemimocoker

This episode was written and recorded by us, and produced by Lucy Lucraft (http://lucylucraft.co.uk ).

If you enjoyed this episode please leave a 5* rating and review - and hit the 'follow' button!