Morning, good afternoon, and good evening to you all. If you can hear me well, type one on the chat. Excellent. Thank you. Welcome to my session.Lead with your edge. Become influential and unforgettable with your authentic voice. I'm Amy Oh, founder of InnovateU, ICF certified PCC coach and fascinate certified advisor who radiates inspiring transformation. With over two decades of leadership, technology driven innovation experience in the tech sector, I emphasize on empowering women in STEM leaders and their teams to lead authentically, strategize, and take actions with confidence to transform and be future ready. My clients gain confidence to pursue what aligns to the values and purpose, excel in communicating the strategies, make better decisions with the thought leadership voice, build engaging teams, lead them through change and uncertainty with empathy and authenticity. I became a best selling author in 2024 as well with my co author book, Evolution of Leadership in STEM, Women Capitalizing Change. I'm joining from Markham, Ontario in Canada. I'm so thrilled to be back at Women Impact Global Conference this year. Can you type in the chat also to share where you're joining from today?

And use one word to describe how you're feeling. I'm joyful today. Joining from UK, Carrie, welcome. And Florida, Laura. Wow. Germany as well, Elizabeth. Panama, Mexico, Utah. Oh, excellent. I'm so glad. Like, I love doing these sessions because, like, seeing people all over the world. That's amazing. Texas and The US and Seattle as well. Welcome, you all. Now I would love to have this session to be interactive. So if you can ring up the worksheets that I've provided, as you can see on the chat, on that you can, download or get a pen and paper ready. Now today's session is not about becoming a different kind of leader. It is about becoming a more intention intentional version of you, who you already are. Let me take you into a moment you might recognize. So you were in a meeting, a very important one with senior leaders in the room. You were prepared.

You were done with all the analysis. You have very strong point that you wanted to share. So you were listening and waiting for the right moment. A few minutes in sharing your ideas, somebody jumps in. They add on and reframe it, and suddenly, the room shifts. They get the nods. They get the follow-up questions, and their idea moves forward. And then you are sitting there and think, I had that point too. Why didn't I say it like that? If you have experienced something similar, type why in the chat. The letter y. Yes. The letter y. Yes. I can see that. It is frustrating because it's not really about your capability, in that moment. The difference was not the idea, but it was how it was expressed. And that's what we're going to unlock today. Let me ask you. Based on your experience, what makes a leader unforgettable?

If you can type one word on the chat, share with me, what makes a leader unforgettable? Confidence, honesty, okay, and someone who can change, connection, thoughtful presence, influence, compassion, authentic being human, authenticity, trustworthiness, empathy, inspirational. I love that. Yes. And respected as well, which is very interesting because none of you said the hard work person or, like, the busiest person that makes people find you unforgettable. Thus, telling us something really important. What makes a leader unforgettable is not how much they do. It's how they show up. And more specifically, it's how distinctly they show up. Distinctiveness makes you unforgettable. But here's what I've observed working with women leaders in tag. The issue is rarely the capability. If the issue is that many high performing leaders have learned to adapt so well. They unintentionally dilute the very qualities that make them powerful.

Like, they adapt to their survival environments and minimizing the distinctions you've put in the culture, or suppress their natural advantage. The question is why your influence may not be landing yet. Because over adapting, each time they might try different ways, they see someone do differently and they try and adapt that, and you don't necessarily fully understand your natural strengths. Or waiting for others to approve and give permission or comparing yourself to others, or it could be all of the above. Which one resonates with you more? Write the number on the chat. I'd like to know. Number three. Waiting for others to approve and give permission. Number two as well. Right? Not fully understanding your strength. Number four, comparing yourself to others. I'm seeing all of that too. Yes. Right. Thank you. This is number three as well. And, Laura, number one, yeah, over adapting.

You're doubting yourself and so once you see someone do something else, then you'll be, oh, I'll try that next time. Yes. Thanks for participating on that. Now you know the edge, your edge is not missing. It's just underexpressed. So today, we'll be using a very simple way to activate your influence. I call it the edge framework. E stands for express. D is differentiate. And g is grounding, and e is expand. Now let's go through that. E stands for express with your natural advantage. Your natural advantage. How do you find out about your natural advantage? I use a system called how to fascinate. It is a system with an assessment test based on scientific research. Sally Hansett, who discovered this, shows you how the world sees you. There are seven advantages in fascinate system that are signals of how people experience you at your very best.

That makes you different and unique, and you don't need to blend in. If you have done the optional pre work and took the free version of the assessment tool, you already find out what your primary advantage is. If you don't, don't worry. You don't need that for the session. And I will share that how you can discover it by the end of this session. Now we'll be just using and referencing it at a very high level of the SaaS system today. Each advantage is a language. Everyone uses all seven languages with different intensities. The one that you use most intensity is your primary advantage. When you use your primary advantage to express, people understand you most, and they appreciate your value most. There is not one that is better than the other.

They're just different, and there is not one that is a weakness. So let's take a closer look and think of what one resonates with you most. Now if your primary is innovation is the language of creativity, you push to innovate with creative ideas. They just keep popping up in your mind. Passion is language of relationship. You build connections with warmth and enthusiasm. Power is language of confidence. You communicate with authority and confidence. Prestige is the language of excellence. You earn respect by setting high standards to yourself and others. Trust is the language of stability. You earn loyalty as a consistent and familiar presence. Mystique is the language of listening. You observe what's happening and think before speaking. Alert is the language of details. You keep people and projects on track by managing all the details. I wanted to pause here because this is the moment where it shifts from concept.

Now on your worksheet, there is the first question. I would like you to also share on the chat as well. Write down one word that describe your edge at your best. Innovation. Thank you, Rebecca. Passion. Courtney. Yes. And Tina as well. Trust. Mystique and calm. Empower. Integrity, mystique, Miranda, and trust. I love that. Yes. That's how you describe your edge, at your best. Alert as well. I'm seeing some more passion and trust. Love that. So what are you starting to recognize yourself? Mistake. Yeah. Christine said. So Laura says it's interesting that I'm the only one who selected power. Laura. Yeah. In this sample, like, with all the participants, not too many people with the power yet that we're seeing. And Courtney says, I always knew I was passionate, but I didn't know it was my act. I love that.

Now the passion that we use this language and fascinate is about relationship. You probably use a lot of your passion to use your emotion to understand people currently. And you're passionate about everything, right, that you do. I love that. And in fact, all of us, if we're using our edge, will be very passionate about what we do. But how we're going to describe it, how we're gonna share it is using our edge, and that is the difference. Right? Thelma will be using alert. Joy will be using passion and trust. Linda will be using passion with the trust as backup. Now you made a good point, Linda. If you were to do the entire task, then you'll see there are multiple of them. Right? There's seven of the advantages. You use all of them.

Everyone does, all of them, with a different intensity. So there's one that you would be using more of, and then you have the second one, you have the third one. Now let's take a look of the d of edge. D is differentiate. It's about what makes you memorable. Your edge only becomes influential when it is visible and consistent. It is about how you deliver your work and how you lead with your advantage. For example, my passion is also my primary. That is the language of relationship. So when I'm at my best, I connect with people deeply with emotion. People tend to come and ask for one on one conversation to help them to navigate the situations. So think about what do people consistently come to you for?

That is the question on your worksheet. Number two, write it down in a couple of sentences. Now take let's take a moment to do this. Right? Once you have put it down on your worksheet and if you're comfortable to share on the chat, let's share it on the chat. Let's learn that together. I'm gonna pause. I'm gonna let you take a moment and write it down. What do people consistently come to you for? And start seeing some of that creative ideas, knowledge sharing, and problem solving, guidance for resolution, support and guidance, confidential information as well. So I'm sensing the trust there. And perspective, knowledge, advice, the direction on how to connect with other people. Great. Coming you for the leadership gen. Okay. Yeah. To help discovering how to approach a challenging problem situation. I love that. Support and empathy has the passion there.

Elizabeth says it's the clarity and strategic guidance, right, and problem solving and mentoring. I love that. Thanks for sharing that on the chat, and don't forget and put it onto your worksheet as well, alright, or on the piece of paper so then you have something to go back to you, after the session as well. Now we're halfway through the edge framework. Shall we move on to the g? What do you think the g is for? G is grounding. Grounding your influence and trust and authenticity. Have you ever worked with someone who was influential but difficult to trust? So what makes trust difficult? Can you share one word on the chat? What makes trust difficult? Something like somebody's like, the the slickiness, like, it's not steady. Right? The accountability, the ambiguity, the breach betrayal. Yes. Lack of transparency. No doubt. Inconsistency, Mary Marigail says, unreliable. Alicia shares lies, deception. Yes. Yeah.

The lack of transparency that Rita says. And information stealing, Karina, very true. When there's no action, Tina says. The corporate culture, Jessica shares, sometimes, you can find that person is influential but difficult to trust. So if the corporate culture is like that, think of moment, that I'm hearing as not being authentic, those leaders are not themselves, that you cannot follow them. Right? You cannot really trust them. The uncertainty as well. Yes. Now influence without the trust is short lived. So that person might seem to be quite influential. They tried it one time. Someone might listen. But would people still continue to follow and get influenced by them? Probably not. Trust is built through consistency, and some of you have nailed it. Right? That inconsistency. If it's not there, you're not gonna trust them.

People trust leaders when they know what they can consistently expect from them. Now your edge can differentiate you. It is what makes people notice you. That makes you distinct. But consistency is what makes people trust you, and trust is what sustains influence. The distinctiveness may get you noticed, but consistency is what makes people trust your leadership. I would like you to now think about your current role and with your edge in mind. Remember you shared that earlier? And now going to your worksheet, question number three is how do people know they can trust you? How do people know they can trust you? Think about that. Write it down on your workbook and also share it on the chat. So what you're seeing on this slide there is based on your edge, but also think about your current role. What do you think people know they can trust you?

So Sally had mentioned that building the credibility. Yes. Being reliable. Mhmm. Yes. Showing up consistently, definitely. Deliver what is expected. Walking your talk. Owning up to your mistakes. Very good point there. Being sincere to help or support. Yeah. Thomas says, I take accountability in all I do. Reliable. If something did not work out, I acknowledge it and then open to feedback, to learn and grow. Love that. Yes. The accountability. Being reliable and also telling the uncomfortable truths. Yes. Yes. Be okay to share that vulnerability. Right? Be able to say that I don't know or I'm not sure. I won't be able to complete that perhaps. Be confident to share that as well. Yes. The transparency and the realistic and set expectations always showing that I listen to my stakeholders. Right? Who needs to come from a place to listen and help? Yes.

That's listening, Susan. Yes. Mary Gail says positive experience, the partnership, and also the the transparency that people can now trust you. Diana shares that it's the curiosity that people understand that you're always curious, that you wanted to find out the answers. You wanted to be able to help, right, with your curiosity. Tracy says, like, the forward thinking instead of the placing blame. Using how can we be better. Right? Explore what's possible. Mhmm. Absolutely. Yes. So take a moment and write it down, and then think about using your edge and what you do in your role that people can know how they can trust you. It's important that you use your edge so then it's natural for others to know how when you show that up consistently that they can trust you.

Now we get to the last e, the second e of edge. The second one of e is expand. Now it's about turning your edge into the visible leadership moments. That's the application part. This is where most people's leaders stop. Right? As you know, the insight without action does not change anything. You now need to plan on how you intentionally use your edge, how you intentionally use your edge. Now on your worksheet, question number four. In what situation this week will you intentionally use your edge? Yeah. That's the primary advantage that you explore earlier. For example, if you have innovation as your primary, the ones that you have mentioned, you use creativity a lot, that's what you know you can naturally use that advantage and people understand you. Bring your ideas forward earlier in meetings. Don't wait for too long. Just bring out your ideas forward.

If power if power is your advantage, your primary advantage, frame your position decisively even when you don't have all the answers or you don't have all the information yet. Remember, you already have some. You can make some of that decisions already. So frame that position decisively. If alert is your primary, adding the detail in your story when you present your project, the detail with the numbers, the the consideration, the thoughts that you have put into that of the why you think this will be the proper way to do it or why you decide on moving some of the, tasks around, why you think of this person can be helpful to join into the project.

Giving some of those those details. This is really important. Now I wanted to give you a moment to write it down. You learn by thinking through your scenario and then apply it. So if you're willing to share also, write it on the chat. Here's what I want you to notice. You didn't need to become someone else to answer that question. You already had an edge. So on question number four, in what situation this week will you intentionally use your edge? Take a moment and write it down. Once you have written it on the worksheets, also share on the chat if you're comfortable to share. Yeah. Laura shared this, the data migration theory. Alrighty. So if you can share on the chat as well. I love to hear. Helping a team to navigate ambiguity and goals and business priorities. Alrighty, Diana.

Thank you for sharing this. So in that situation, you're gonna use your act to help your team to navigate the ambiguity. Mhmm. Creating a better process for a particular goal. Excellent, Karina. Thanks for sharing. And Alicia says, as a project lead for an upcoming project replacing a legacy process, right, that's an important process. Yeah. So you use your edge to help and needing that. Excellent. And Marigail says, during my client meeting with my new leadership. Absolutely. I love that. So you already had an edge. What changed today? Is that your awareness of your edge? And DBS also shared that pitching a different approach to natively. And Thomas shares me to deliver a project.

I have to ensure I gather all the information clearly, communicate everything in details, and what it entails using the power and making sure that all works flawlessly. Right? Linkings, the links, the training videos, etcetera. And then you identify using that alert to deliver the excellence with trust and prestige. Oh, very interesting. Toma, I love that you now articulating using the different vantages to help you through the process, right, when you're leading and delivering that project. Now it is important that when you are doing that, how you approach and use in the project and using your etch, your primary. Right? I mentioned about earlier those seven advantages, one that you use more naturally, that you're very comfortable using, and that is how people understand your best value. So use that. And sometimes, a lot of people also have that very even, intensity in all of them.

So what that means is just like somebody that who knows French, Spanish, Japanese, Korean, Chinese, English, all the different languages that they can just go into one and the other very easily. That's the interesting part. Now you'll find that out if you have the complete test, and you'll see that as well. But without it, you know what your primary is based on what we have talked about earlier. So we have just went through the complete edge framework. Can anyone write it down on the chat what the first e stands for? What is the first e of edge? Express. Yes. Miranda. Lovely. Yes. Lovely. D is what is d? D is differentiate what makes you memorable. Excellent, Sally and Tonga. G is grounding your influence in trust and authenticity. What about the second e? Love that, Courtney and Toma. Thank you. Yes. Expand. Absolutely. I love that. You remember, expand it into visible leadership moments. That's when influence becomes intentional.

Your edge becomes powerful when you choose to use it consistently. Let's go back to that moment we started with. You're in that meeting again. The senior leaders in the room, a conversation that really matters. This time, you still have your idea, but now something is different. Not because you prepared more, not because that you now have new gains of skills, not because that you worked harder, but because you understand your edge. You know how you naturally communicate. You know how you build trust, and you are choosing to use it. So this time, you don't just wait as long. You don't over edit two words. You don't try to sound like somebody else. You share your ideas clearly, distinctly, in a way that sounds like you. And the room shifts, not because you became a different leader, but because you became a more intentional version of yourself. And that's what leading with your edge really means.

Now I want you to take a moment and complete the sentence. I want to be known for. That's the question number five in your worksheet. Let's take a pause. Complete that sentence. Because leadership influence is not accidental. It is shaped intentionally over time. Write down one word in the chat. How will you show up differently? Thanks for sharing that, Natalie. I want to be known for advocating for my team and their growth. Raquel shares commitment. I love that. Thank you. Yes. And Laura shared that balance. Yes. Less inhibited, clear communication using your edge, Chrissy. Using compassion, Clarissa. Yes. So when you lead with your edge, people recognize your value faster. People remember how you made them feel. People move forward with clarity because of you. I'll leave you with this quote today. Blending in limits your impact. Your consistent edge differentiates and drives influence. But here's the part that most people miss. It only works when you choose to use it.

So remember, you already have an edge. It becomes powerful when you express it intentionally. And when you consistently show up with your edge, you build trust, and that sustains influence. If you download the the worksheet that you noticed, there's a bonus question list, question number six. I'll leave it with that to complete after the session. Now if you wanted to go deeper, you can take the FASNIH assessment to identify your unique advantages. But more importantly, the value is in how you apply it and those results in your leadership. So learn how to use it in high stakes moments, like the difficult conversations moments, the promotional, conversations moments. The executive meetings, the personal brand influence, and more.

The world does not need a copy of another leader. It needs the version of leadership that only you can bring. Now I also wanted to copy and paste the link here onto the chat where if you didn't get a chance to download it, the workbook, the prework earlier, This is a link for that free version of the assessment promo that you can do, and you will find out the scientific method of finding out your primary.

And the QR code on the screen shares with you is about having that full access to the entire test and then you can see how you can use it and there's the whole system that you can use with the fascinate. Thank you so much for joining me.