A few days ago, I had a conversation with an accomplished woman physician who was negotiating a new leadership opportunity. She was being recruited to build a program from the ground up. She had the expertise, the experience, and a clear understanding of what it would take to succeed. She also knew what could go wrong. She'd been in a similar situation before, where the promised resources never materialized. This time, she was determined to do things differently. So she did what many highly...
15 days ago • 1 min read
There’s a part of leadership that no one can see. It won’t show up on your résumé. It’s difficult to capture in a performance review. And you probably won’t find it listed among the competencies in your organization’s leadership model. But it shapes nearly everything people experience when they work with you. I think of it as the invisible architecture of leadership. We tend to think about leadership in terms of what we can observe. How you communicate. How you make decisions. How you...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Executive presence isn't about power suits and power poses. It's not really even about polish. It's about depth. Consistency. Energy that holds steady no matter what's happening around it. It's built from two things. A leadership identity clear enough that it doesn't waver based on who's in the room or the situation. And the leadership energy that you bring to every interaction. You need both. Here's what happens without the first one. A leader walks into a budget meeting knowing her numbers...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Think about a regular team meeting. Nothing dramatic happening, no crisis, nothing on the agenda that matters more than usual. And still, the room organizes around whoever's energy is strongest that day, regardless of who's running it. Energy is contagious, and it cuts both ways. Watch what happens when one person in the room starts spiraling, sky is falling, everything is urgent. The room absorbs it whether anyone wants to or not. Now watch what happens when the person with the steadiest...
3 months ago • 1 min read
Two things can be true at once. Gender bias can be holding you back. And you can also be holding yourself back, in ways you don't see yet. The external barriers are real. Organizations promote confidence over competence. Women get promoted for what they've already proven. Repeatedly. Men get promoted for what someone assumes they'll do next. They call that potential. Is it fair? No. But when has life ever been fair? Here's the lesson: that external barrier isn't yours to solve alone. The...
3 months ago • 1 min read
I sat through enough executive team meetings to watch the same scene play out: a brilliant woman, technically sharper than her peers, passed over for a man with half her results and overconfidence to spare. I've heard her called "not quite ready." Too reserved. Too in the weeds. Too slow to decide. Too quick to soften a hard message. I saw something else entirely. Here's what that looks like. She reads a room before she speaks, asks a single precise question that exposes the real problem,...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Ten years mentoring, sponsoring, and coaching women leaders has taught me a few things that don't show up in typical leadership advice. Over the next ten weeks, I'm sharing the lessons that have shaped how I work with women leaders. This is lesson one: Leadership always begins within. I've spent thirty years watching brilliant women search for the right way to lead. The right style. The right book. The right framework, course, or leadership guru who finally has the answer they've been...
4 months ago • 1 min read
Happy Thursday! Just a quick note to let you know my third YouTube video is live: You Don’t Need More Leadership Advice (this is what actually changes things) 🎥 You can watch it here: If you enjoy the video, please like and subscribe to help others find the channel. With gratitude, Denée P.S. You can also find my channel by searching YouTube @deneechoice Denée Choice, MD, MMMLeadership Strategist & Executive Coach | Choice Leadership Consulting
6 months ago • 1 min read
Another quick share today. My second YouTube video is live: Why Traditional Leadership Advice Rarely Works for Women (And what to do instead) You can watch it here: If you enjoy the video, please like and subscribe to help others find the channel. With gratitude, Denée P.S. You can also find my channel by searching YouTube @deneechoice Denée Choice, MD, MMMLeadership Strategist & Executive Coach | Choice Leadership Consulting
6 months ago • 1 min read