How Women in Leadership Are Mastering Influence, Credibility, and Tough Conversations

The path to leadership is more than climbing the corporate ladder. True leadership comes with overcoming obstacles, creating space for others, and mastering the art of negotiation and influence. This theme was reflected in the March 2025 Women’s Growth Forum, where a group of female executives came together for a candid conversation on navigating leadership challenges.

Amy Lummus, SBI's SVP of Marketing led the group through the Toughest Table exercise, a powerful framework for opening up about high-stakes conversations and learning from shared experiences. The exercise created an opportunity for the leaders to refine their approach to negotiation, building credibility, and navigating workplace politics.

If you’re an executive interested to join a future growth forum, request your invite here.

Driving Impact Through Negotiation 

One of the biggest takeaways from the forum was the importance of coalition-building and strategic preparation. The women in the discussion expressed that effective negotiations often extend beyond the conversation itself. Engagement before and after a high-stakes discussion plays a critical role in shaping outcomes and demonstrating leadership.

Attendees shared strategies for preemptively engaging key decision-makers in order to anticipate objections and set the stage for a successful conversation. Additionally, leaders stressed the importance of knowing when to take a step back, recognizing that not all negotiations will lead to your ideal outcome.

Feedback as a Tool for Influence 

Feedback is a powerful tool. When seeking feedback, leaders should be explicit about what they need, whether it's validation, an alternative perspective, or next steps to improve. Clear communication fosters trust and ensures the feedback is relevant and constructive.

Effective leaders actively shape and receive feedback. By framing requests around specific challenges or decisions, the group pointed out that they can guide discussions toward meaningful insights rather than vague generalizations. Leveraging and implementing feedback, especially from a different perspective, goes beyond a one-time exchange and can be used to cultivate deeper relationships with key stakeholders.

Building Credibility in High-Stakes Conversations 

In leadership, credibility means being deliberate about how you present your expertise. One challenge leaders often face is feeling overshadowed by louder voices in the room. The group reflected on a powerful mindset shift: you are in the room for a reason. Your contributions hold weight, even if they take longer to formulate or are delivered in a different style than more dominate voices.

To build credibility in executive discussions, attendees suggested:

• Addressing objections proactively rather than defensively.
• Being direct and concise to ensure clarity.
• Owning the narrative by delivering messages with authority.
• Leaving strong emotions at the door, especially when delivering difficult news.

Navigating Workplace Politics 

This forum explored the nuances of difficult conversations, particularly when delivering hard news or navigating polarizing discussions. Maintaining authority while also fostering trust emerged as a common challenge.

One of the most valuable insights was the importance of understanding the personalities at the table. Effective communication starts with recognizing who influences outcomes, who resists change, and who bridges perspectives. Tailoring the discussion to resonate with different personality types ensures that critical messages land effectively.

Another key takeaway was the power of perception management. Leaders must be aware of how they are perceived and ensure their messaging aligns with their intended impact. In politically charged environments, being intentional about tone, word choice, and timing can make all the difference.

Knowing When to Speak Up

A hard decision for any leader, especially women in male-dominated fields, is knowing when to assert your voice and when to hold back. The forum surfaced a relatable challenge: handling interactions with individuals who use aggressive tactics, misaligned objectives, or an overly blunt approach. One must recognize when to stand firm, when to redirect the conversation, and when to disengage.

In some cases, being vulnerable, expressing exactly what is needed, or acknowledging when something isn’t working can be powerful tools. In other moments, it may be more beneficial to lean on internal advocates for support.

Having a trusted peer, advisor, or advocate within your organization is a game-changer for many in the discussion. These allies help reinforce key messages, ensuring that important contributions or desires are not overlooked. Self-advocacy is crucial, but so is collective advocacy and uplifting other women in leadership.

Main Takeaways From the Women's Growth Forum

Attendees walked away with new strategies and perspectives for tackling their toughest leadership challenges.

Some of the insights:

• Be intentional about seeking feedback. Ask someone at the table to help identify blind spots and provide specific input.
• Understand how to navigate different personality types. Tailor communication to diverse perspectives to build credibility.
• Address challenges head-on. In difficult situations, direct confrontation is often a necessary step to see change. However, sometimes accepting that some people will be resistant is the best approach.
• Tell it like the weather. In many instances, passionate and emotional delivery can override the message and distract from the outcome they are driving. By simply sharing the facts of the situation, the message can be heard and feedback received.

The Women’s Growth Forum continues to serve as a safe space for leaders to share experiences, gain insights, and refine their approach.

If you are an executive interested in joining future conversations, request your invite here.