When faced with an opportunity to take on a stretch assignment, new role, or promotion, what’s your reaction? Be Leaderly surveyed more than 1,500 professionals to find out what it takes to say “yes” with confidence. In this webinar, learn what we discovered—and how you can prepare to step up to your next big career opportunity. Guest speakers: Shuchi Sharma, Global Vice President and Leader of Gender Intelligence at SAP and Robert F. Solomon Jr., Director of Culture and Engagement, Lowe’s Companies, Inc.

1. Ready to Stretch?

2. #BeLeaderly
@Shuchi5 @RobertFSolomon @SelenaRezvani @Jo_Miller

3. #BeLeaderly
Bank of America Colorado State Siemens PLM

4. Ready to Stretch?

5. Corporate Subscribers

6. Welcome Back!

7. Jo Miller
CEO, Be Leaderly
• Dedicated to helping women around
the world advance into positions of
leadership and influence.
• Founded this webinar series to reach
emerging women leaders anywhere in
the world. Now in it’s 10th year, it is
viewed by participants in 900 locations
in 31 countries.
• Co-author of new research report, Out
of the Comfort Zone: How Women and
Men Size Up Stretch Assignments —
and Why Leaders Should Care.
• First book will be published by
McGraw-Hill in December 2019.
@Jo_Miller

8. Selena Rezvani
VP of Consulting & Research, Be
Leaderly
• Consultant, speaker and author on women
and leadership.
• Workplace advisor, using workplace culture
assessments to help corporate clients be
more inclusive and welcoming to women.
• Author of two leadership books for
professional women – Pushback: How
Smart Women Ask—and Stand Up—for
What They Want (Jossey-Bass, 2012)
and The Next Generation of Women
Leaders (Praeger, 2009).
• Co-author of new research report, Out of the
Comfort Zone: How Women and Men Size
Up Stretch Assignments — and Why
Leaders Should Care.
@SelenaRezvani

9. Shuchi Sharma
Global VP and Lead of Gender Intelligence,
SAP
• Leads the gender intelligence strategy at
SAP, ensuring it’s integrated into the fabric
of the culture, values and business model.
• Works with global stakeholders to create
and deliver initiatives designed to foster a
culture of inclusion.
• Experienced in many aspects of SAP’s
business including services, sales and
marketing.
• Speaks 5(!) languages: English, German,
Hindi, French and some Italian.
@Shuchi5

10. Robert F. Solomon, Jr.
Director, Leadership & HiPo Development
Lowes
• Dedicated to helping people expand their
leadership capacity & making organizations
more effective and sustainable.
• Designs & implements leadership
development initiatives for more than 300K+
Lowes associates.
• Has delivered training to 9,000+ mid- & senior
leaders on 5 continents, in 9 countries and in
industries ranging from Retail to Tech.
• Enjoys competitive dog training in the sport of
Schutzhund, participating at regional, national
& international competitions.
@RobertFSolomon

11. 71% of senior
leaders identified
stretch
assignments as
the biggest factor
in unleashing their
career potential.
Women are
less likely
than men to
obtain stretch
assignments.
People who
land stretch
assignments
are more likely
than other
employees to
get raises.

12. Representing a division in a “reorg” or realignment
Relaunching an
Managing a VIP initiative that
client account previously failed
Engaging critics/
naysayers
Getting closer
to the customer
Transitioning a process from manual to automated
What
Constitutes a
Stretch?
Re-engineering a
broken process
Managing and
communicating a
change
Leading a turnaround or crisis
Analyzing your
product mix
Forming a new alliance/partnership
Convening a
taskforce to solve
a tough problem

13. Criteria that makes a stretch
assignment “Yesable”
40%
33%
18%
9%
43%
33%
11%
14%
5%
10%
15%
20%
25%
30%
35%
40%
45%
Enough personal
influence
Aligns with
career goals
Exposure to
mentors and
sponsors
General
conditions set me
up to succeed
Female Male

14. What is NOT a Stretch?
Office
housework
Volunteering
on the Fun
Committee
“More of the
same” type
work

15. 1.1. Position
yourself for the
opportunity
1.2. Make a pitch
and negotiate
your terms
3. Deliver,
Deliver, Deliver
4. Translate &
promote your
success
Ready to Stretch?

16. 1. Position Yourself for the
Opportunity

17. What’s a good way to
position yourself for a
coveted stretch assignment?
• Raising your hand is the first step
• Stretch assignments aren’t always
visible
• See something that can be improved
or changed, and just offer to do it
• You might not have all the answers,
but if you’re the one identifying the
challenge and it has merit, it’s likely
others don’t know how to do it either
• You don’t have to have all the
answers!

18. • More opportunities exist when
the company is in flux
• Start by understanding:
• Your organization’s culture
• The departmental strategy where the
opportunity exists
• The opportunity itself
• Align your desired outcomes
with the current opportunity of
chaos
• Underscore how your leadership
and contributions can make a
positive impact
• Think Big, Start Small, Act Now!
How can you pitch for a
stretch assignment when
your company’s in flux?

19. “Stretch” when you want to:
• Move up
• Rebrand yourself
• Get “unstuck”
• Make a comeback/be resilient
• Be associated with a new
department, leader or product

20. 2. Make a Pitch and
Negotiate the “Stretch” Terms

21. How should people
approach asking for a stretch
assignment?
• It depends on what you want
to achieve
• If you’re looking for a
promotion or a new role, cast
it as a step towards that
• If you’ve identified an
opportunity for revenue
growth, and want to earn
more, pitch the ROI and ask
for a piece of the return

22. • Before you negotiate for your own
personal benefit, make sure to
negotiate on behalf of the company
• Empirically define ideal success
outcomes and minimal viable
solutions
• Establish that the stretch assignment
is in fact a strategic risk. Discuss
how things might go awry and how
the assignment sponsor will
know/intervene
• Negotiation doesn’t mean
finalization
What terms of a stretch
opportunity are important to
negotiate?

23. Make Informed Decisions & Get What
You Need
Get clear on the opportunity,
including “WIIFM”
Negotiate the authority,
support & resources you need
Ask, “If I do a great job on X,
what can I expect as a result?”
Line up mentors, influencers &
allies to help navigate politics

24. 3. Deliver, Deliver, Deliver

25. “The ideal stretch opportunity
fuels your passions,
plays to your strengths,
and helps you make an impact.”
-Jo Miller, CEO of Be Leaderly

26. How can you deliver strong results
when you’re inexperienced?
1. Identify skill gaps you have and
determine if it’s something you
need to learn or if you can
leverage someone else in the
organization (perhaps on a
team)
2. Manage expectations
3. Remember that inexperienced
does not mean inept
4. Make sure your manager
understands that they need to
support you
“A rubberband needs someone to
help it achieve the maximum stretch
possible.”

27. What are your tips for delivering
well when you have different
stakeholders to please?
• Plan: Tell your stakeholders what
you intend to do and how you plan
to do it. Integrate their feedback and
define success for them.
• Communicate timelines, milestones,
and budgetary information:
…with intention
…to the point of over-communication
…with zest!
• Follow-Thru: Under-promise and
over-deliver

28. • Start with a
“measurement
mindset”
• Bring raw
enthusiasm
• Be openly
inquisitive
• Probe for the
issue behind the
issue
• Finish with
evidence in hand
On Delivering:

29. 4. Translate the Experience &
Promote Your Success

30. How can I try to translate
my stretch experience to
my day job?
• Skills are your currency
• Differentiate any skill acquisition you
bring back to the team vs. skills that
help you do your own job better
• A stretch should position you for
other roles. Show how a “stretch”…
• Makes you more adaptable
• Illustrates that you can learn new
things from scratch
• Shows your desire to bring new
experiences/skills back to the
organization for it’s own betterment

31. 1. Become comfortable with your success
• Develop an elevator pitch highlighting the
stretch assignment, including it’s positive
impact and your key learnings
2. Look to your “stretch sponsor” as a voice to
promote your success
• Make sure your sponsor has enough
information to speak about your role in the
stretch assignment
3. Leave a legacy
• Believing that the work will speak for itself
isn’t the most effective strategy
• Especially key for women and minorities
How do I promote my “stretch
success” effectively?

32. • Over deliver! Do 1 extra-
ordinary or memorable thing
• Translate your experience
into a list of tangible, valued
skills
• Articulate 3 actions you’ll take
based on what you learned
while “on assignment”
• Spotlight your stretch
assignment as a best
practice on news & social
channels

33. 1.1. Position
yourself for the
opportunity
1.2. Make a pitch
and negotiate
your terms
3. Deliver,
Deliver, Deliver
4. Translate &
promote your
success
Ready to Stretch?

34. What Be Leaderly’s
Research Reveals…
15%
67%
10%
77%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Disagree Agree
"I feel engaged and passionate
in my current job."
45%
27%29%
40%
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
Disagree Agree
"My company makes it easy for me
to gauge my readiness to advance."

35. How Companies Can Create a
Culture of “Stretch”:
1. Enable a growth mindset
2. Monitor stretch assignments
& participation
3. Bank and post opportunities
and offers transparently
4. Standardize opportunities
5. Showcase & reward stretches

36. What’s one action you’ll take to
initiate a stretch opportunity?
Visit
www.pollev.com/leaderly

37. Q&A
@Shuchi5 @RobertFSolomon @SelenaRezvani @Jo_Miller

39. Recommended
Reading
Out of the Comfort Zone: How Men and
Women Size Up Stretch Assignments –
And Why Leaders Should Care
The Leadership Pipeline
By Ram Charan, Stephen Drotter &
Jim Noel
Women Don’t Ask
By Linda Babcock & Sara Laschever

40. Get today’s slides, bonus
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Text
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41. Closing Thought
@Shuchi5 @RobertFSolomon

42. “If you don’t take risks you’ll always
work for someone who does.”
— Nora Denzel

43. The New Rules of Teamwork
Tuesday, April 23, 2019
Today, 84% of employees are “matrixed,” working
on multiple teams every day. Networks of teams are
replacing top-down hierarchies. And the role of a
high-performing team player is changing. Are you
keeping up? In this webinar, learn to leverage the
“magic ratio” of highly effective teams, harness the
collective intelligence of groups, and make a
memorable mark.
Guest speakers: Jo Miller, CEO and Selena
Rezvani, VP of Consulting and Research, Be
Leaderly

44. Discussion Questions
1. Think of someone in your organization who took on a
“stretch” successfully. What made their stretch a success?
2. What makes you hesitate to take on a stretch assignment?
3. What would be the #1 career benefit for you - if you led an
important stretch opportunity?
4. What will you do to:
a) Position yourself for a stretch opportunity
b) Make a pitch & negotiate the terms
c) Deliver
d) Translate the experience & promote successes