Lisa Marie Platske: Design Your Destiny
Women in male-dominated industries like tech, finance and law enforcement may feel like it’s unacceptable to reveal any vulnerability at work. This leads to compartmentalization, having a ‘work self’ that’s different from the real person on the inside. But this simply isn’t working. Not only does this approach make us seem unapproachable, it leads to burnout and perpetuates the myth that we have to behave a certain way in order to lead.
Lisa Marie Platske had a ten-year career as a Federal law enforcement officer, where she was one of the fastest-promoted women in the US Customs Service. But the road to authentic leadership was not easy for Platske: At a leadership training course, she was informed—in front of the class—that she had scored a zero on an interpersonal skills inventory. This painful moment forced her to get clear about who she was and what she valued and led her to ‘design her own destiny,’ becoming an authentic, vulnerable feminine leader.
Platske leveraged the skills she honed designing curriculum and teaching leadership development at the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center to create Upside Thinking, an international leadership training and consulting company. An award-winning leadership expert and high-energy speaker, Platske has coached multi-million-dollar entrepreneurs, startups, seasoned executives and non-profit leaders in 20-plus global industries. Simply put, she creates effective leaders.
Today, Platske shares her journey from Federal law enforcement to entrepreneurship, exposing the not-so-glamorous side of her job with US Customs. She explains how a willingness to explore what wasn’t working in her approach to leadership led her to find a new, more authentic way of showing up at work. Listen in and give yourself permission to be vulnerable, designing your own destiny as an authentic leader!
Key Interview Takeaways
‘Design your destiny’ by getting clear on who you are and what you stand for. Platske had an eye-opening experience at a leadership training course, scoring a zero on an interpersonal skills inventory. That led her to look at what wasn’t working and become a different kind of leader based on her values.
Effective leaders are curious and vulnerable. Platske realized that her social introversion made people perceive her as unapproachable, so she made a change by getting curious about her co-workers and sharing more about who she was as a person.
People value authenticity. Women in male-dominated industries tend to compartmentalize and be tough, effectively cutting off that ‘real’ part of themselves. Platske argues that vulnerable feminine leadership is healthier and more effective.
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