S9-Ep8: In Your Power

Guest: Sharon Melnick Pushy. Manipulative. Lofty. We have a lot of negative views for powerful leaders – but that’s not what real power is about. When a leader is in their power, they raise everyone around them. It’s the difference between simply having power, and being IN your power. With her latest book, In Your Power, Sharon Melnick explores the ways women leaders, in particular, both grow and leak their power. She discusses those, as well as how turning down an invitation to the White House led to her epiphany about giving away your personal power, in this episode. Here's what Sharon and Maureen cover: How and why we can redefine power as a force for good; The three ways in which we’re not in our power; and How burnout results not just from overwork, but from being underpowered, too.   Other episodes you'll enjoy: - The Women’s Power Playbook with Carolyn Buck Luce - ShEquity: A Refugee’s Path to Empowering Women with Pauline Koelbl - Power, Charisma, & Hormones: Science Studies Leadership with John Antonakis   For daily wisdom from our guests, be sure to follow us on LinkedIn . We're on Mastodon, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, too!   ----------------------   RESOURCES:   Learn more about Sharon and her work at InYourPowerBook.com & SharonMelnick.com. She’s also written several books: the subject of this interview, In Your Power, as well as earlier works, including Success Under Stress and Confidence When It Counts. Our host Maureen Metcalf posts a newsletter every week on LinkedIn. You can subscribe here. She’s also written several award-winning books on leadership development. You can peruse and purchase them here: https://amzn.to/3C4eSX0.   Books we’re reading for fun or personal development right now include: The Left Hand of Darkness by Ursula K. Le Guin This Here Flesh by Cole Arthur Riley Adventureman II: A Fairy Tale of New York by Matt Fraction and Terry & Rachel Dodson   -----------------------   OUR PODCAST TEAM:   Host & Executive Producer: Maureen Metcalf Editor & Producer: Dan Mushalko Video & Graphics Editor: Devon Mushalko People in their Podcast Power: Luigi Morelli, Jenna Reik, & Connor Carson CONNECT WITH US: Facebook: facebook.com/Innovativeleadership YouTube: @InnovatingLeadership Twitter: @IL_Institute Mastodon: @InnoLeader LinkedIn: https://bit.ly/ILI-LinkedIn2 Instagram: @innovativeleader Website: InnovativeLeadershipInstitute.com Loved this episode? Leave us a review and rating! -----------------------   About Our Guest:   Between ever changing work practices, and the elusive act of fulfilling personal and professional demands, leaders are having to navigate a new world of challenges and strike the right tone of balancing completion with compassion. Dr. Sharon Melnick introduces the idea that power is the underlying issue in many of the trends we see among employees, and that leaders who use their power for the good of all can create team members who are loyal, inspired, and accountable.  What Dr. Melnick sees from having coached and trained over 40,000 professionals is that leaders already have so much more power than they realize or are using.       As a Marshall Goldsmith Top 100 Coach, Sharon combines proven leadership best practices with behavior change methods she developed through 10 years of psychology research at Harvard Medical School. Sharon has spoken at over 200 retreats and leadership conferences around the world (as well as presenting at the White House, the United Nations, and at West Point). She hosts the popular podcast, The Power Shift.