The Uncommon Executive

Welcome! Unlock your potential as a leader with our comprehensive course on Executive Presence and Communication. Designed for emerging leaders and seasoned professionals alike, this course focuses on developing the key traits that distinguish impactful leaders. You will learn to communicate with clarity and confidence, and project authority in every interaction. Through practical exercises, use cases, and real-world examples, we will explore the essentials of effective body language, voice control, and emotional intelligence. The course offers numerous practice scenarios to help you apply what you've learned in realistic contexts, along with live Q&amp;A sessions and events to deepen your understanding and engagement. By the end of the course, you will be equipped with the tools to influence and inspire others, manage high-stakes conversations, and project gravitas. Join us to enhance your leadership capabilities, build authentic connections, and drive your career success. --- Expected outcomes: ﻿- Enhanced Communication Skills: Clear, confident, and effective communication- Improved Body Language: Learning to use non-verbal cues to project authority and confidence.- Build Emotional Intelligence: Learn a proven method to understand others and manage your own in difficult times.- Influence and Persuasion: Techniques to effectively persuade and motivate others.- Increase Your Power and Confidence: Build self-assurance to lead and influence others effectively. --- Real World TestedMany of the tactics and examples included are gleaned from Yue's personal experience as a C-level executive and coaching hundreds of other senior executives and leaders. Course content is also based on Yue's personal experiences building her executive presence as a double minority to get promoted from PM to CPO in less than 15 years, landing mission-critical roles at Tier 1 startups and Meta alike. Proven method with 100+ clients and workshop attendees to increase your impact at work while decreasing stress and avoiding burnout. --- Alumni from: Slack, OpenAI, Instacart, Guild Education, SurveyMonkey, Paypal, Braze, Meta, Instagram, Thumbtack, Sequoia-backed Tier I Startups, Google, Capitol One, Figma, Microsoft, and more. Well-loved and EffectiveA version of this course was run on Reforge with 90% promoters for the content and 98% promoters for the instructor.

Gain Respect, Inspire Confidence, and lead with Greater Impact

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First Module

Second Module

Third Module

Course syllabus

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Tuesdays & Thursdays

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May 7, 2022

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Weekly projects

Course schedule

Senior Managers, Directors, and Principal ICs who aspire to be executives. Min 4 years of work experience.

Those feeling overlooked or talked over, and want to increase their power and influence in their organization

Those who want to better manage and control a room, get noticed and get ahead.

Who is this course for

What you’ll get out of this course

Learn why executive presence and communication are important for career advancement. Know the components that make up executive presence and how to apply them effectively in verbal communication.

Which areas of executive presence you need to focus on most

80%+ of communication is non-verbal. Maintain a powerful posture at the table and virtually. Have your presence acknowledged. Learn to use your appearance to your advantage. Accessorize your way to visibility and power.

Tailored approaches to polish your appearance and posture to gain respect

Improve your body language, voice control, and emotional intelligence. Learn how to develop a commanding presence, gain respect, and improve your leadership capabilities.

Communicate like a C-suite executive

Learn how to effectively facilitate board reviews, C-suite conversations, and large group meetings. Balance listening with action, directness with kindness.

Manage High-Stakes Conversations

Women and Minorities have additional challenges they face when it comes to holding power and influence. Learn unique tactics for balancing gender and cultural norms and contradictory expectations!

Overcome biases women & minorities face

Maintain and enhance executive presence during virtual meetings. Tips on appearance, background, technology, and communication techniques to increase your power through video.

Tactics for virtual and remote-first workplaces

Develop a commanding presence and gain respect. Increase your gravitas, manage high-stakes conversations, and get your ideas heard.

Yue Zhao

August24 - ExecPres

Oct24 - ExecPres

Problem: We all have a limited amount of energy and mental capacity:* As a leader, you cannot be the best at everything all the time * You cannot try to achieve all your goals at the same time. And if you try, you'll be exhausted. * Others at work will be better than you at certain tasks* You may pigeonholed yourself as a fantastic executor with no leadership potential (and don't realize it!) Solution:Play to your superpowers to prioritize where you invest your time and energy to accelerate your growth sustainably. When you align your work to your superpower, you'll deliver more impact, get noticed, and move up in the organization faster and without burning out. --- Learn Your Unique Leadership Superpower* Take your leadership strengths and what you love to do and turn them into your superpower* Learn real-life examples of superpowers of famous executives like Fiji Simo, Steve Jobs, and more.* Know potential pitfalls (or “shadows”) of your superpower* Manage multiple superpowers and adapt them to different leadership roles Accelerate Your Impact, Decrease Your Stress* How to Overdeliver based on your type of superpower* Build your influence and relationships through helping others* Craft your pitch for relevant projects* How to better work-life balance and avoid burnout while doing more Get Noticed, Get Promoted* Stand out and become irreplaceable at work* Turn your superpower into your personal brand* Step-by-step guide to building momentum and a positive cycle of performance and promotion* Tactics on how to incorporate your superpower into performance reviews and promotion processes Working hard and taking on more work is not going to get you ahead, or even avoid layoffs. When you reach a certain level in the workplace, it is no longer about shoring up your weaknesses. Instead, focusing on your strengths will get you further, and faster. Aligning your work to your superpower is what makes you irreplaceable! --- How we learn together* Combines proven theory with real-world examples. * Projects to discover and hone in on your unique leadership superpower. * Map your superpower to the type of projects and work environment that uniquely values your strengths. * Adapt every aspect of how you work to maximize the effectiveness of your superpower. * Translate what you can do exceptionally well into concrete actions and projects. * Prioritize how you spend time, what projects you take on, how you delegate, how you approach building influence, and more.* Translate your superpower into a strong promotion narrative. We will hone in on what makes you, you, and then showcase it to the world.* How to advocate for your wins, build your personal brand, and ensure your superpower is recognized in performance reviews and promotions. With 12+ modules, 7+ projects, and 2 live Q&amp;A sessions, this course is a deep dive and masterclass on Leadership Superpowers and Strength-based Growth. --- Course content is based on Yue's personal experience leveraging her leadership superpowers to get promoted from PM to CPO in less than 15 years, landing mission-critical roles at Tier 1 startups and Meta alike. She also leveraged her superpowers to transition industries from consulting to product management to venture capital. Proven method with 100+ clients and workshop attendees to increase your impact at work while decreasing stress and avoiding burnout. Alumni from: Slack, OpenAI, Instacart, Guild Education, SurveyMonkey, Paypal, Braze, Meta, Instagram, Thumbtack, Sequoia-backed Tier I Startups, Google, Capitol One, Figma, Microsoft, and more.

Align your work with your superpower to increase your impact and efficiency

Focused discussions on the week's material and live Q&amp;A.

Thursdays each week

Personal projects with each lesson are designed to apply theory and examples to your specific environment.

Projects for Async Feedback

Refined and honed through workshops and classes taught at top tech and consumer companies, each lesson is packed with tactics and examples that are relevant and applicable to you and your workplace.

Well-loved, easy-to-digest lessons 

Senior Managers, Directors, VPs, and entrepreneurs with more than 4 years of work experience.

Those looking to deliver more value and impact at work, decrease stress, and build capacity.

Those who want to build a personal brand, advocate for their wins, and get noticed at work.

Are you a turnaround guru? Visionary leader? Team builder? Are you uniquely able to see the special talent in others? Stay extra calm under pressure? Follow a proven method to identity your superpower based on your strengths and passions.

Discover Your Leadership Superpowers

Startups look for visionaries. Scaling growth companies look for seasoned operators. Work with me to transition to projects and places where you'll be invaluable to the business.

Supercharge your impact at work - become irreplaceable

Learn tactics to advocate for your business impact and wins. Get feedback from myself and the community on your personal brand -- the external articulation of your superpower.

Pitch your superpower and build your personal brand

Superpowers help you deliver more impact with less work. Learn tactics and frameworks to improve your energy flow throughout the day, recharge quickly between meetings, and maintain a sustainable workload while taking on stretch projects.

Decrease your stress and improve your work-life balance 

Get tailored support throughout the course through projects and live Q&amp;A sessions. Hear directly from Yue how she aligned her superpower to her career, landing her in the C-suite and a 7-figure income in 15 years.

Get personalized feedback (not just theory)

Get more impact with less effort by using your executive superpowers. Work smarter, not harder to get ahead.