Lesa Frances Kennedy, CEO of the International Speedway Corporation and Vice Chairwoman of NASCAR, answered the question: How do you hire?

“First impressions are so important in terms of fitting in on the team. The moment you walk in the door; you’re being observed. You may not know that, and it’s not anything formal, but I’ll get feedback. You read the body language of some of the people they’ve met, like a receptionist, and you can pick up very subtle cues about how they felt about that person. Was the person respectful?”

As you read this quote from the NYT Corner Office, Sunday, October 25th, consider the first impressions you create no matter who you meet. Does your first impression project confidence and approachability? Are you someone they want work with in the best of times as well as when problems arise?

It has been proven time and time again that a team needs to consist of people with different communication styles all pursuing the same goal. When a team has communication styles that are too similar, diversity in thought seldom occurs, which limits other points of view.

Recently, a team I was working with had no issues with problem solving because they had both people and task orientated members. The people orientated ones understood how their message could play out if the emotional piece of the communication didn’t factor into the conversation. The task oriented folks understood the timelines critical to the success of the product launch. It’s no wonder that team has been rated as the most effective team in the organization!

Beth Comstock made history by being GE’s first female vice chair. One piece of advice given to her by Jeff Emmelt early in her career was to ask:  “Why aren’t you speaking up and voicing your opinion? It doesn’t do you or the company any good when you don’t.”

Beth is quoted in the article admitting a struggle with self-confidence. In working with clients, I have found that this is one of the main reasons people are not promoted or perceived as confident. Women have a bigger challenge because they seem to think that their opinion has to be right on target before they speak. Not so, because an opinion, even when not completely accepted, might start a path to a solution. Speaking up helps your audience to get to know you just as presenting your message is critical in being seen as a leader.

At a recent program for women. I was the keynote speaker. A question came up around whether it’s appropriate to use leggings for everyday wear. Many women today like leggings because they are popular, comfortable and easy to wear. However, they are not pants.  Maybe when wearing a longer, three-quarter length jacket that hangs to the calf, leggings could squeak by but skinny pants add more polish and style and provide a very smooth finish. They are a much better choice than leggings. Spanx has leggings, that when worn, look like pants.

Men’s jackets and suits come in short, regular and long. Recently, when shopping with a client, the sales person handed him a regular 42. Because of his height that would be the right size. However, I felt he would look much better and more elegant in a 42 long. The reason we ended up with the 42 long is because he measures with more length from head to waist so the longer jacket proportionally looked like better fit. Rules can always be broken if it works in the eyes of the beholder!

I encouraged a client to go on a high profile interview because the more he received exposure to leaders, the better the opportunities might be for him in the future. (The old saying who you know has been long been replaced by who knows you!) Often, folks miss opportunities because they lack confidence or are afraid of interviewing. Practice is good, however exposure and practice is much more effective in building confidence so that when the opportunity arises, you’re ready!

For women who fervently oppose makeup, try tinted moisturizer (We all need moisturizer.), a well-defined eyebrow and a bit of color on the lips and check. Burt’s Bees is one of many brands that offer a lip stain combined with a chap stick. Women’s lips never should look dry.

For men, even those who prefer a shadow beard, the rest of the face must be well groomed, with trimmed eye brows and no other facial hair out of place. It is amazing how popular men’s products for the face, moisturizers and exfoliates currently are. Also, instead of the heavy colognes of yesterday, light fragrances are the rule now.

We live in such a fast paced environment that we quickly try to get the heart of an issue. Unfortunately, we sometimes do this by jumping ahead and thinking about what to say instead of focusing on what is being said. If we all listen to the intent of what is being said, we will have a better understanding on how to develop solutions to problems. Seek to understand, then to be understood.

Shoe designers have us coming and going. What shoes should we wear for each occasion? Recently a major department store had a sale:  buy one pair and get one free. What a genius idea and seductive way to reduce a shoe inventory and get us to go nutty buying shoes we do not need!

Recently I was getting ready to go to a conference. My biggest challenge was how could I limit my shoes to four pairs? You need shoes to workout, a dressy dinner event, a gala and then to host a meeting. Also, the conference center was a mile away from the rooms. Why couldn’t I just bite the bullet and wear workout shoes the whole time? After all, athletic shoes in all colors are the rage.

I did end up bringing too many shoes but my feet felt good as my image!

Recently, a politician attempted to rationalize the lack of a decision on a certain issue concerning a policy that the powers (White House) made. The way it was being explained was so terrible that the audience, including me and all the news media, both conservatives and liberals, did not believe it. His explantion made no sense. This lesson is this: First, make your point, second, explain the details and finally, reconfirm the point.