Abounding Solutions

Female senior leader sat in a board room with head down and hands at her temple, with 2 men either side pointing at her and intimidating her

5 Reasons Why You Might Be Feeling Overwhelmed and Frazzled by Board Meetings as an Introverted Woman Senior Leader

If you are an introverted woman and a senior leader, does this sound familiar? You are in a board meeting, full of extroverted men and need to influence them to buy into your idea. You feel invisible, unheard, and anxious about things. You need to sell yourself but hate self-promotion. You are being talked over …

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UK prime minister boris johnson stood at podium giving speech with hand slightly raised

A Lesson in Trust in Leadership for Introverted Leaders from UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson

‘Compared with people at low-trust companies, people at high-trust companies report: 74% less stress, 106% more energy at work, 50% higher productivity, 13% fewer sick days, 76% more engagement, 29% more satisfaction with their lives, 40% less burnout.’ Professor Paul Zak Although leaders are only human, and therefore capable of making mistakes that they could …

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woman pressing pause button on remote control, illustrating the power of pause (The Power of the Pause for Introverted Leaders Wanting to Command the Room)

The Power of the Pause for Introverted Leaders Wanting to Command the Room

Whether introverted or extroverted, great leaders are able to command the room with their presence. But commanding the room with their presence, so they have the influence and impact they want is something many leaders struggle with. Commanding the room is not about the command and control leadership of years gone by. It is about …

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Collage of headshots of a wide variety of men and women - should a person change their accent to fit in or to progress

Should a Person Change their Accent to Fit in or to Progress?

I sometimes get asked by leaders who want to fit in, or want to progress, whether I offer accent coaching as part of the public speaking coaching service that I provide. My answer to this question is always no. Our accents are part of our cultural heritage and help to shape who we are. Changing …

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Woman expressing joy and confidence

Don’t Mistake a Lack of Confidence for a Lack of Competence – A Message For Introverted Women

I sometimes think that some of us mistake confidence for competence because I see so many women who have the skills and ability but aren’t fully utilising them. They convince themselves that they lack confidence because they are not competent. But really, they are competent, they just need deliberate practice to build their confidence. There …

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Carol stood with back against a wall holding her hands out in question, with confident smile on her face

How to Stop Imposter Syndrome and a Lack of Confidence from Holding You Back in 2022 for Introverted Women

As we approach the end of the year, I have been reflecting on the issues and challenges that have been brought to the coaching sessions that I have done. Having spent more than 200 hours coaching leaders and executives this year, the themes for each coaching assignment have been very similar (as has been the …

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The Top 7 Challenges of Introverted Women Leaders

The Top 7 Challenges of Introverted Women Leaders

When people request to join my Facebook group for introverted women leaders, I ask them what their biggest challenges are as leaders. We analysed responses and identified the top 7 challenges that they said they faced. Whilst the number of responses in no way reflects the total number of introverted women leaders in the world, …

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Woman sat at her office desk goofing around and procrastinating

Are You Procrastinating and Self-Sabotaging Your Success Because of Fear?

Many people mistakenly believe that people who procrastinate are lazy or lack motivation. Whilst this may apply to some people who procrastinate, it doesn’t apply to all. I regularly work with successful senior leaders who are ambitious high achievers but aren’t achieving their full potential because they self-sabotage by procrastinating. They are hard on themselves, …

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Carol Stewart speaking to audience at her book launch

Introvert Bias: Myth or Reality?

At the launch for my book Quietly Visible: Leading With Influence and Impact as an Introverted Women, I facilitated a panel discussion with Sasi Panchal, Dienaba Forfana, Susan Heaton-Wright and Helena Thernstrom, 4 introverted women who are all achieving great things, and had all overcome barriers and challenges to do so. We discussed whether introvert …

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