Creating a Safe Space for Young Professionals to Thrive, with Julia Hart - MS009

Meeting Strategist - Conversations on Leadership & Communication

One of the biggest challenges for modern-day leaders is to find and engage top talent. On this episode, executive coach and communication professional Julia Hart reflects on how leaders can neutralize their power and create a safe space for their youngest employees to speak up and give their best.

Julia has worked in corporates including Philips, AkzoNobel and Liberty Global for more than 25 years. Last year she published her first book ‘Insider Secrets', which is packed with interesting insights and practical tips to help young professionals succeed in a corporate environment. This includes navigating office politics, dealing with your manager and, most importantly, dealing with yourself.

For more information and links related to this episode, please go to the full show notes at www.meetingstrategist.org/julia-hart

Here are some of the episode’s highlights with timestamps:

• 6:31 – How young professionals, especially women, tend to give people a reason not to listen to them

• 20:30 – Using the meta mirror exercise to help young professionals look through someone else’s lenses and deal more effectively with power

• 26:31 – What leaders can do to take their power out of the room

• 32:46 – Julia reflecting on her experiences of powerplay in meetings and the long-term negative impact on an organization’s culture

• 41:17 – What coaches can do to neutralize their (expert) power

• 48:02 – How leaders can make the lives of young professionals easier

About this podcast

Welcome to Meeting Strategist. On this podcast, Marcel van de Hoef interviews professionals and thinkers from the worlds of investment, business and arts about their approach to business conversations. You'll hear inspiring stories about impactful meetings, while also learning about the strategies, tactics and mindsets these guests rely on to make meetings more constructive.

Marcel is an Amsterdam-based communication advisor and trainer and the curator of the Meeting Strategist blog. His mission is to help senior professionals think more strategically about meetings, ask better questions, improve their listening skills and have more meaningful conversations in business and life. Learn more and stay up to date at meetingstrategist.org