Meet the BuildHERs: Mary Smith
Meet Mary Smith, Director of Student Services and Academic Planning for Rowan-Salisbury Schools, AND the leader of the BuildHER breakout session, “The Authority Standard: Communication Strategies for Leadership.”
Before stepping into a big room, Mary turns to early 2000s rap and R&B, like Eminem and T.I. Maybe it’s “just the millennial in me,” she says, but the music gets her pumped up and “feeling like I can take on anything.”
That confidence doesn’t mean she never second-guesses herself. When an idea gets shut down quickly, Mary may initially take a step back. But she has learned that she can’t stay there: “I do no good if I stay in that background.”
Instead, Mary relies on preparation, authenticity and strong relationships to help her lead with confidence. “For me, it’s preparation,” she says. When she knows the subject and feels ready for questions, she feels most in control, without having to play a character or pretend to know everything.
She also believes women can communicate with authority by dropping the language that minimizes what they have to say. At the top of her list? “Sorry to bother you,” along with the extra smiley faces and exclamation marks used to soften a message. Her reminder is simple: “You’re not bothering anyone. You’re doing your job.”
Join Mary at BuildHER on Nov. 13 to learn how to own your expertise, communicate with confidence and command the room as yourself.