Seibo Shen (Chief Innovator)

It’s not about just showing passion, it’s about showing compassion. Everyone knows that being passionate is a great way to get people to follow but if you want people to continue to willingly follow, then cultivate compassion will take you so much further. Leaders that do not have this capability often churn and burn. Sure you can get things done but people don’t want to work for you long term. When you lead with compassion, you direct reports will follow you from company to company. That’s the type of leader a company wants to hire and retain.

Many executives feel like they have to work longer and harder than their direct reports to be the model for them. Working longer and harder doesn't always lead to more productivity but it will always lead to burnout. We do our best work when we are well rested and engaged with our work. Give yourself the opportunity to separate from work and to recharge your batteries. Businesses don't fail or succeed by hitting/missing quarterly numbers. I like to think of business as an infinite game and you can play game for "fun" or you can play games to "win" If winning is your only goal then you will be upset when you miss a number and happy when you hit a number. When you play for fun, you will eventually win and the experience is funner

It is never about how much you can do, it is always about what you are prioritizing. When you prioritize the most important tasks to tackle, you will see far more progress doing this in an 8 hour day than if you were working 12-16 hours per day.

In my experience, most executives have no connection to their body. When they are tired, they keep working. When they are hungry, they keep working. When they need a vacation, they keep working. The most important thing is to re-establish that connection with the somatic wisdom of the body. Your body will tell you when you have had enough. Pushing through when your body is telling you to take a break is a recipe for sub-optimal work. When you re-connect with your body, trust the signals it is providing you. The better you get at this skill, the better you will perform when you are doing focused work.

The first thing to understand is that imposter syndrome and self doubt is natural anytime you are doing something that will allow your consciousness to expand. Know that these are natural feelings and it is your body's way of letting you know that you can be more prepared. As you become more educated and prepared, your imposter syndrome will start subsiding and your confidence will begin to rise. That is how you transmute this feeling into something positive. If you beat yourself up for having imposter syndrome then you are not utilizing your emotions properly. Our emotions are meant to guide us to the answers, not prevent us from achieving our potential.

Eye contact, mirroring, your posture, etc etc is ineffective if you don't actually feel confident in the negotiation. Understanding the energy you are bringing, in my opinion, supersedes all the physical tricks you can do to appear more confident. So how do you feel confident going into a negotiation? Understanding what you want, understanding what they want, knowing how much you can compromise, knowing the value that you bring to the negotiation are all ways to to convey more confidence. If you exude nervous energy, looking someone in their eyes, or trying to stand with better posture is just going to come off as fake. If you are truly confident in the value you are bringing to the negotiation table, you can't help but exude confidence.