Do you know an up-and-coming leader? A young leader who is known for his/her leadership skills and talent? Maybe it’s your boss. Maybe it’s someone in your management team. Maybe it’s YOU!
Young Executive of the Year 2015
In February, I was invited to the Young Executive Award 2015. The conference was much more than the award. Interesting speeches and plenty of networking. Check out my talks with three of the candidates! It became the women’s night. Three highly talented women entered the winners’ stand. I was lucky, to be the first one, to talk to the winner, Ingeborg Morken, head of sales, marketing and product management at Fjordkraft. Check out the winner interview!
At the end of this post, you see how you can participate! Hurry! The deadline is September 25, 2016!
Too Late, but I Got The Chance!
To take part in the Young Executive of the Year, you must be under 40 years old. Since I am 41, I’m no longer young and promising. 😉 Therefore, I was very happy, when I was given the opportunity to go through the test and get valuable feedback! The organizer of the award, Assessit, invited me to do the full examination.
Of course, I said – Yes! My blog is dedicated to young leaders (and experienced leaders who needs some new inspiration)! A perfect match!
The Online Tests!
The assessment consists of a 180 degree evaluation and face-to-face business cases. My boss and my employees at Deloitte and I did some online tests before the live business case (role play). The purpose of the tests were to get an overview of my leadership competency, ability and show how my boss, my employees and I rated me.
You can find out more about the process and the tests here!
I found the tests thorough and good. All questions are well tested and based on research. The concept is unique, when it comes to leadership evaluation.
The Case Day!
This week, I did the face-2-face business cases. I didn’t have time to get nervous. It was a normal busy morning with the twins. But when I sat down with two evaluators, I could feel my stomach turning upside-down. Help! What have I said yes to? Fortunately, I calmed down fast. They were super nice and explained what would happen the next four hours.
First, I was given a case. I sat alone for 25 minutes and prepared a presentation for a top executive meeting. The case was easy to understand. Time went fast, but I had time to do a little rehearsal for myself, before I went back to the evaluators.
We simulated a meeting. The business case was a role play. We all went 100 % into our roles.
Second, no time to rest. A new business case was coming up. Another 35 minutes of preparation. Then a role play meeting with an employer.
After the two role plays, I realized that this is not only about testing and getting results and feedback. This is about training and practicing my leadership skills in a safe environment!
People is sports, train for and simulate their competitions. Why shouldn’t leaders do the same?
The Evaluation
The four hours went fast. Suddenly, it was time for the wrap up, evaluation and a discussion. Trond and I discussed the results from the online testing, supplemented with the evaluators feedback from the role plays. I really liked, that we had a good hour on this part. It was time to reflect and understand my strengths and weaknesses as a leader.
I left Assessit at noon, but my self-evaluation continued in my head for the rest of the day. Many of the findings were known, but some new areas were exposed.
How Can You Participate?
The candidate must be under 40, have been in the position for a minimum of 12 months and have at least five employees/project members.
You can enter the Young Executive Award, by being nominated by your boss. Or you can also nominate yourself! Either way, you do need a letter of recommendation from your company.
Note – the deadline is September 25, 2016!
Do you have a talented young leader at your firm?
- You can make your nomination by using this link
Are YOU a talented young leader?
- Ask your boss or the HR department to nominate you! You can share this blog post with them, as a hint 😉
- You can nominate yourself! And to all you talented female leaders! – It is perfectly fine to nominate yourself. Men do!
Do you know someone who might be a talented young leader?
Lucky you! This is very easy. Just enter this website and submit your tips!
Spread the word! Please feel free to share this blog post in your social media!
What’s In It For You?
Some might be triggered that this is a prestigious award. It is an honor to be nominated. And an even greater achievement to be one of the 100 chosen ones, who will be downsized to 10, to three and finally one winner.
Still, I would say, that the biggest value was that I:
- Got a wide evaluation and feedback from people I work with every day
- Got a greater awareness of my strengths and weaknesses
- Got the possibility to train in a safe environment
- Got feedback and advice from professional coaches
Overall, it was like a leadership vitamin pill, which boosted my possibility to improve myself as a leader. In fact, the evaluation has already made me take some action.
Please feel free to share this blog post in your social media!
Have a great week! Only two weeks until an awaited summer vacation! 🙂
Cecilia :*
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