049: Phyllis Sarkaria Women Warriors: Gaining Influence In Male Environments

About Phyllis Sarkaria: Phyllis coaches both men and women in gaining influence in corporations and organizations. She has 25+ years of leadership experience and she's a Master Corporate Executive Coach, Facilitator, and a trusted advisor to the companies she works with. She has held executive roles in government affairs and human resources. Phyllis worked with the energy industry for almost 20 years, and 10 years of that was as a regulatory lobbyist. Before founding the Sarkaria Group, a leadership consulting group, Phyllis served as an internal advisor to C-Level Executives at Quidel Corporation. She was responsible for the Company's global HR strategy for over a dozen years. She also teaches Ethics and HR analytics in the Organizational Leadership Master's Program and the Human Resources Master's Program at Claremont Lincoln University and she is a member of the faculty for C.B. Bowman's Workplace Equity and Equality program. Phyllis has an MBA from Texas Tech University and an MA in Ethical Leadership at Claremont Lincoln University. She has numerous coaching certifications, and she's also in the process of publishing her book called "Map: A Field-Guide For Your Leadership Journey".    In this episode, Jordan and Phyllis discuss: Working in government affairs and recognizing the opportunity to lead and influence How your cultural background influences how you are perceived  How a woman can gain influence in a predominantly male environment Common struggles in executives and the ROI for listening and caring Key Takeaways When you do the right things with people and remove the boundaries and hurdles, people can be productive and great things can happen in the organization.  Challenge yourself to think about what the pain points are for the people you're trying to influence. You have to know how your suggestion or your idea is going to impact what keeps people up at night.  Your tone of voice, confidence and assertiveness is just as important as the words you're trying to get across.  You have to find new avenues and tools for growth - holding on to what got you to where you are might prevent you from ever going further. "Many times we have great ideas and we want to pursue those… but if it's not addressing pain points for someone at a higher level, then they're likely to see it as vitamins rather than a painkiller. Those are not necessarily seen as adding the greatest value in the organization. " —  Phyllis Sarkaria   Get the complimentary guide: How To Select An Executive Coach at www.selectcoach.workplacewarrior.com    Get the Am I Abrasive Self Test at abrasive.workplacewarrior.com    Connect with Phyllis Sarkaria:   Website: http://www.sarkariagroup.com/  LinkedIn:  https://www.linkedin.com/in/phyllis-sarkaria/  Twitter: https://twitter.com/PhyllisSarkaria    Connect with Jordan:  Get the complimentary guide: How To Select An Executive Coach at www.selectcoach.workplacewarrior.com  Get the Am I Abrasive Self Test at abrasive.workplacewarrior.com    Website: www.workplacewarriorinc.com Twitter: https://twitter.com/jordangoldrich1 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jordan.goldrich Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordangoldrich/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jgoldrich/