Rise, Grind and SLAY that Boardroom

Censeo's Kate Middleton is the insurance engineering industry's only female CEO in Australia. Recently, we spoke to her about being the ultimate #GirlBoss and quickly learnt thats he sure does know a thing or two about SLAYING career goals. In light of International Women's Day last week, we have gathered some more tips from this truly inspiration al woman . Read on as Kate advises us on how to work a boardroom which will open many doors in your career, no matter the industry!

1. Be kick-ass and commanding in a graceful way

i) Listen more than you speak, it builds trusts and allows others to be & feel hear
ii) Observe the body language in the room
iii) Wholeheartedly participate/contribute once you have a full sense for the problem and the agendas in the room.
iv) Understand what others want and need, and be empathetic to their position

Kate explains that male colleagues, particularly older male colleagues, will also r espect this approach, basically because they know you are not being bullish and competing; rather, you are thoughtfully and sincerely contributing. Ultimately it is all about building presence and trust.

Tip : 'The more you are able to understand and leverage organisational and individual goals (not just your own) the further you will get. Being able to anticipate and interpret what people are saying (and sometimes what they aren't saying) and put forward well thought out suggestions on strategy is far more commanding then striding into a meeting room and trying to run the entire conversation."

2. Check your ego at the door

'Be rigid on the intended out come and flexible on the way you get there."

When Kate says this, she is speaking from experience. She recalls 'tanking" a big sales partnership a few years ago because she didn't like the way the other organisation (the Director in particular) went about the contractual agreement and process changes.

'He was a bit of a rude communicator. If I had checked my ego at the door, conceded on a few process items and been more flexible on how the contract was executed; the deal would have gone through – he told me as much." Ouch!

Kate believes that is the key; don't get stuck on every line item and feel like you have to win on everything; as long as your desired organisational outcome and compliance needs are met - just be cool.

With that said, if you feel like you are having to concede too much to get an important deal across the line, Kate provides the followin g advice:

Tip: ' Build a performance clause into your contract where you can get incentives or have a timeframe to review/renegotiate line items down the track. Once you are shooting the lights out with your new client/supplier/partnership then you will have the leverage to revisit some of the line items you didn't get the first time around. "

Now is the time and YOUR time, to show them how it's done, ladies. Time to rise, grind and shine!