269: Dr. Maja Zelihic - You Can Be Whatever You Want to Be

Have you ever tried to put on a specific character trait to be taken seriously as a leader? In this episode, we will destroy the perception that you have to be someone other than yourself to be a good leader!Dr. Maja Zelihic is an Interim Dean, Fulbright Specialist, Full Professor, and a Department Chair of the Advanced Management Studies at the Forbes School of Business and Technology, University of Arizona Global Campus. She also leads the Center for Women’s Leadership.She is published in over 20+ peer-reviewed journals and was named one of the top 200 leaders to follow in 2021 by PeopleHum. She co-authored The Power of Perception, which was released in December 2020.Dr. Zelihic is here to bring her unique perspective on leadership today; how we need to adopt compassion and authenticity, and how we can be whatever we want to be if we can embody the core leadership skills, bring our best, and stay true to ourselves! On this episode:Get to learn more about Dr. Zelihic’s incredible background in education and media and how she came to this point. She also talks about her role in the Center for Women’s Leadership.Dr. Zelihic talks about her leadership style and why she ascribes to servant leadership rather than an aggressive approach. Specifically, women have unique traits they can bring to the table if they would just be themselves.How being told you can be whoever you want to be, as a child, shaped Dr. Zelihic’s life and leadership. As leaders, we are in an accelerated state of discomfort. Leaders can’t get settled and embody the core skills: courage, adaptability, proactivity, hard-working, flexibility.Dr. Zelihic proves how important it is to learn your passion and why your team deserves a leader who knows their passion. Leaders who operate outside of their passion are glorified managers.Times have changed. We have an active workforce looking to get to their next step. Dr. Zelihic shares how we need to motivate our employees to get to the next level, not what task to do next.Key Takeaways:There is value in being a compassionate, servant leader You don’t have to be anyone other than yourself to be a leader You can do whatever you want to do if you bring your best to the tableLeaders only survive by adopting discomfort, don’t get settledLeaders today need to discover their passion to surviveYou need to care about your employees and help them get to the next levelTweetable Quotes:“You can do whatever you want to do as long as you have the qualities for the particular position and as long as you’re bringing the best to the table with integrity and compassion.” - Dr. Maja Zelihic“If you’re a leader, you have to work within the parameters of your passion… Passion usually finds you.” - Dr. Maja ZelihicConnect with Dr. Zelihic on Twitter and LinkedIn. You can find even more inspiring content over on https://drmajazelihic.com/. Resources:The Power of PerceptionAsk Denis: Take Both Masks OffEmail: [email protected]: