Increased exposure through organized speaking engagements.
This builds on the Catalyst mindset.
At this stage of your company's growth it becomes significantly harder to hire the right people. It is something we relegate to recruiting firms or we go gangbusters on a spreadsheets and make it a numbers game.
I would like to propose a different approach which appeals more to the human spirit that resides in all your target hires. Get out there and start talking.
Humans are drawn to stories. Consider that the most expensive staff engineer will work for free on something they care passionately about. Now I’m not suggesting you lowball people at all. But let’s think about why people work.
They want to work with someone, or for a cause. Something that makes a difference to their lives. Adds meaning.
Why is public speaking important?
But who would want to hear what I have to say? This is a deep rooted challenge and one that stopped me from writing many blogs, tweets or talks.
Speaking in public can be intimidating, particularly if the speaker is not confident in their abilities. You may worry about making mistakes or being judged negatively, which can create anxiety and hinder your performance.
There could be several reasons why you haven’t already hit the speaking circuit and that’s ok. It takes practice.
Public speaking is a skill that requires practice to master. CTOs may not have had many opportunities to develop their speaking skills, particularly if they have spent most of their careers focused on technical work.
You’re typically also very busy and may not have the time to devote to honing your speaking skills. You’re constantly prioritizing urgent tasks or putting out fires. Who has time for speaking?
Break down the technical jargon - it could be a really fun exercise to take complex ideas and break it down into language that non technical people would understand. This is also to say that if you can’t do it, that’s not a problem. You’re doing hard things all day. I like to bounce ideas off of a trusted circle of friends that would care about my talks and how I come across.
Different priorities: CTOs may be more focused on technical work and may not see public speaking as a priority. They may not invest as much time and effort in developing their speaking skills as they do in developing their technical expertise.
Overall, becoming a great public speaker requires practice, time, and dedication. CTOs who prioritize developing their speaking skills and are willing to invest the necessary time and effort can overcome these challenges and become effective communicators.
TBD