Cultivating Intentional Success by Clarifying Your Voice and Vision
Women in Medicine Summit Compendium
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By Stacy Wood
Intentional success is the joy you feel when you are achieving the goals that YOU defined for yourself. Intentional success happens when you break free of what others expect of you, when you stop choosing the common path, and when you have clarity that aligns with your purpose.
Hard work and challenges are inevitable. We are adaptable creatures with the ability to withstand hardships. But if these sacrifices are made voluntarily in pursuit of goals that do not fulfill us, we will find ourselves sinking in the quicksand of burnout.
The three keys to intentional success are:
- Knowing your true north (the summit which resonates in your soul).
- Owning a clear vision of what you want to achieve.
- Cultivating a voice that supports your vision and true north.
To have a powerful voice, you must know what lights you up and resonates with your soul. This is your true north and should be your guiding compass in all of life’s pursuits.
Your true north will be the guidepost for creating a vision of what you want to achieve in life. Take time to be honest and clear with yourself about what you truly want to pursue and set realistic goals to get there. Recognize that life is full of seasons, and with those changing seasons may come changes to your goals.
Your voice is the instrument that carries you towards your goals. It enables you to be seen and heard. This multi-faceted tool includes the messaging, word choice, attitude, body language and tone that you project to others.
When speaking with others, if you find you are not being seen or heard clearly it can be frustrating. The solution? Learn to communicate in a more approachable manner. Encourage others to listen to you, versus simply telling them what you think.
To do so, follow these steps:
- Seek to understand where the other person is coming from. Don’t approach from the point of view that you are there to teach them something.
- Flex to speak in their native tongue. This is a figure of speech meaning to use versatile communication styles so that you are speaking in a manner that makes the other party feel comfortable.
- Be solution oriented. Don’t point out a challenge and leave it lying on the floor. Offer your opinions, suggestions and considerations on the topic.
- Be body aware. Check in to be sure that your body language matches the versatile communication style you are pursuing.
- Remember that words matter. Be confident by removing marginalizing words – such as just, but, if, maybe, I was wondering, if by chance, I’m sorry – from your written and oral language.
- Stay focused. Know your audience and don’t let your message be lost by wandering off on other topics or by being overly descriptive.
Following these steps will help you to achieve an impactful voice which supports your vision of success as guided by your true north.
Stacy Wood
Founder of Through the Woods Consulting, author, speaker, coach, and facilitator. Her mission is to grow women’s leadership through the culture of connection and thoughtful planning. To support her mission, she works with motivated women, international conferences and top corporations to provide executive coaching, interactive workshops, nature-based retreats and inspirational speaking. Her client list boasts firms such as KPMG, Becton Dickenson, Dominion Energy, Genworth Financial and many more. Wood brings a wealth of leadership, training and sales experience into her boutique coaching practice from years as a successful medical sales consultant, time as an adjunct professor with the University of Richmond and as a former training manager with Novartis Animal Health. A degree in Animal and Equine Sciences has led her to develop unique equine assisted coaching programs, utilizing her ‘Equine Factor’ design. Her book “Journey Through the Woods: A Self-Guided Coaching Workbook for Motivated Women” was published in 2019.
