Episode 190: Davina Stanley & her book, Elevate: How to Lift the Quality of Thinking in Your Team's Board Papers Without Rewriting Them Yourself

ABOUT DAVINA

Davina Stanley is the founder of Clarity First, which helps executives get to the point when engaging senior leaders and boards. She offers a mix of private and public programs, self-paced learning, articles, podcasts and other resources to help executives communicate better. With over 20+ years of experience, she began her communication coaching career at McKinsey & Company in Hong Kong helping consultants improve their communication, and is one of the few people globally accredited by Barbara Minto to teach the Pyramid Principle. Since then, she has built an international client base spanning predominantly tech, retail, and finance sectors, and authored three books on business communication. She works with leaders to set up their teams to prepare papers and presentations that those same leaders no longer need to rewrite. Davina lives in Seattle, Washington with her husband, and loves spending time with her two adult sons and broader family in Australia and the UK.

CONVERSATION HIGHLIGHTS• Why communication is an evolving discipline, especially in the age of AI• How structured thinking helps leaders and teams communicate more effectively• What Davina learned from growing up in rural Australia and moving across countries• How her career unfolded through teaching, corporate communication, consulting, and coaching• Why leaders often need to spend more time thinking before they write• How her books and frameworks help teams avoid unnecessary rework• What she’s learned about leadership, emotional control, and personal balance• Why art, curiosity, and community remain important parts of her life

The MAIN QUESTION for you that comes out of my conversation with Davina is, What additional steps of intention and consideration do you take when to comes to preparing the various forms used in communicating with those who have a stake in your leadership?

FIND DAVINA

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davinastanley/• Website: https://clarityfirstprogram.com• Website: https://claritycompass.news• Email: contact@clarityfirstprogram.com

FULL LINKEDIN ARTICLE:

CHAPTERS

00:00 - The Book Leads Podcast - Davina Stanley00:44- Introduction & Bio01:45 - Who are you today? Can you provide more information about your work?08:59 - What did you path to today look like?48:02 - How does the work you're doing today reconcile to who you were as a child?47:20 - What do you consider your superpower?01:01:26 - What does leadership mean to you?01:03:14 - Can you introduce us to the book we’re discussing?01:13:44 - Can you provide a general overview of the book?01:18:00 - What's changed in you in the process of writing this book?01:21:28 - What’s next for your writing?01:27:31 - Is there a certain part of the book that resonates most with people?01:40:27 - What book has inspired you?01:42:46 - What are you up to these days? (A way for guests to share and market their projects and work.)

This series has become my Masterclass In Humanity. I'd love for you to join me and see what you take away from these conversations.

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· Read About The Book Leads – Blog Post

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