Tag Archives: Career Coach Advice
August 29, 2012 “10 Tips for Feeling Less Trapped at Work” by Amy Lindgren
I read an article titled “10 Tips for Feeling Less Trapped at Work” in the Pioneer Press that aligns perfectly with many of the things I speak about and share with clients. The article’s author, Amy Lindgren, made the great observation that, due to the sluggish—if not non-existent at times—job market, “people feel trapped by the position or company they are currently employed by.”
I agree with the Lindgren’s claim that people feel trapped due to their limited employment options. But I’d like to take Lindgren’s idea one step further: Not is the job market slow, but employers are also struggling to figure out how to keep people engaged and excited about their positions at a time they can’t expand, offer the opportunities they previously offered, or challenge people in the ways they had hoped. In the work I do with companies and their employees, we seek to keep people energized and working on self-improvement so that they’re ready for the opportunities when they arise.
Lindgren supports her claim by urging readers to “make the best of the situation while you are waiting for the tide to turn.”
Her 10 Tips Include:
1. Go Deeper or Get More Shallow: If you are just barely there mentally, getting more deeply involved might engage more of your skills and increase your sense of satisfaction.
2. Seek Balance and Variety: While jobs that are the same every day can be comforting, they can also be numbing. Can you switch some duties with a co-worker to provide more balance in your day?
3. Take Your Breaks: Always take your lunch breaks, a short walk in the morning or afternoon, or any other opportunity to clear your mind, change our perspective, get re-energized, and increase your heart rate. Stepping away from your desk gets blood flowing to your brain and keeps your energy up. Americans are known for sitting long hours, skipping breaks and eating lunch at their desks.
4. Shake Up Your Routine: Instead of eating a sandwich at your desk, eat it while taking a walk outdoors. Maybe you can start a lunch club with co-workers or a Friday potluck.
5. Build Work Relationships: We’re all in this together, after all. Why not do something as a group once a month?
6. Go Home on Time at Least 3 Days a Week: If you can’t get all your work done, there’s either too much work on your plate or you’re using time inefficiently. Whether it’s too much work, or not working the right way, solve the problem.
7. Do Something Outside of Work: Look for something to do that is just for you, such as a good work out—perhaps yoga?
8. Solve a Different Problem: If your work issues seem intractable, turn your attention to other problems that need resolution in your life. How long are you willing to put those things on hold while you wait for work to improve?
9. Start Your Career Exploration Process: If you’ve been itching to move on, this can be within your company or outside of it. It’s never too early to start the networking, planning, and exposure necessary to make a new calling a reality. If you wait, you may be slowing down your progress when the time is right.
10. Prepare Your Resume: Having your resume ready will increase your sense of empowerment and help make all of your accomplishments more obvious to you. This is surely a way to feel less trapped.
Read all of the details of Amy’s comments at: PioneerPress.com
Tags: Career Coach Advice, How to Change Your Life, Job Hunt Advice, Pioneer Press
August 9, 2012 The Most Important Leadership Quality
A recent article published in the Harvard Business Review claims that one quality rises above the rest when it comes to great leadership: self-awareness. In the article, titled “How Leaders Become Self-Aware”, author Anthony Tjan poses a question to help us understand what is meant by self-awareness: “What motivates you and your decision making?”
Are you prepared to respond? Unless you have already made practice in self awareness part of your everyday and you’ve taken the assessments and consulted with others, you may struggle to answer Tjan’s question.
Tjan outlines three steps that all of us can take to become better leader in our life. Because I do a lot of work with self-awareness as an Insights Practitioner, I’m always combing through new resources for my coaching when it comes to self-awareness. I thought Tjan’s pointers were spot on and provided some great ideas for improving effectiveness and interactions.
Test and Know Yourself Better
This translates simply to take a personality test. I know it sounds simple (and the process can be as simple as answering questions about yourself for half an hour online, in the case of Insights Discovery), but this quick gesture, when given reflection, can transform the way you work and your relationships with others. Tjan advocates self-assessments because “they facilitate self-reflection, which leads to better self-awareness.”
Watch Yourself and Learn
This step plays out on a more long term scale, but can have big takeaways when done correctly. The process of this step is simple: when making a big decision, always record your reasons for that decision and then revisit these reasons 9-12 months later. What panned out and what didn’t? Tjan labels this practice as feedback analysis and explains that its effectiveness is found in two steps: “a) codify rationale and motivators and b) reflect and assess outcomes.”
Be Aware of Others, Too
Self-awareness is no good if you live alone on an island—the real power of this knowledge reveals itself when you interact with others on a team. “Knowing your natural strengths and weaknesses makes you a better recruiter and allocator of talent,” says Tjan. But this knowledge is most effective when you’re aware of the strengths of those around you, because this results in a group of people who both “understand and complement each other.” A strong team is founded on the diverse approaches and skills of its members, and because these members approach tasks differently, this promotes learning and feedback within the group—it leads to innovation.
Have questions about self-awareness? Feel free to contact me for answers.
Tags: Career Coach Advice, Delegation, How to Change Your Life, Improving Relationships, Insights Discovery
July 5, 2012 The Key to Business Success Is All Around You
By Margaret Smith, UXL:
SPEAKER | CAREER COACH | CERTIFIED INSIGHTS DISCOVERY PRACTITIONER
I was surprised to discover two really helpful articles in the recent USA Weekend insert written by Stephanie Weaver (usaweekend.com) in my Stillwater Gazette. I decided to share some of the most important ideas with my readers.
The first article deals with building a successful business, and offers the key to this success: Build the perfect team. Does it sound like a great solution? Sure. Does it sound like an easy solution? If you’ve ever worked on a team, then your answer is probably a little less definitive.
Have you ever found yourself assigned to a group project at work, and caught yourself dreading it? This is probably because there’s some work to be done not on your project, but on your team. “Team building is a way to be in control of your life.” says Robyn Benincasa, world champion adventure racer and author of How Winning Works: 8 essential leadership lessons from the toughest teams on earth.
Build your team, and gain control of your life. A rather interesting concept, right? I couldn’t help but recognize the truth behind this insight. The less out of control or imbalanced your team is, the more weight each member has, and the more democratic things become.
Benincasa had a wide variety of experiences to thank for such great advice. She left the corporate world to take on expedition-level competitions that ask participants to hike jungles and mountains, cross lava fields and survive rapids.
Who crosses the finish line first is as much about who you’re with as how you train, she says.
Although you may not be inclined to enter the world of extreme sports in search of wisdom, you may be interested in stealing some of her tricks:
Play to the Strengths
Recognize one another’s strengths and weaknesses (we all have them) and tap into them by divvying out tasks accordingly. Leave egos at the door.
Stop the Finger Pointing
Nothing defeats team spirit more than singling out someone’s flaw. All teams—whether work or personal—are built on respect. “Lead by strength, not title”, and squash any negative remarks as soon as they come up.
Take Benincasa’s Test
Do you look at people as potential competitors or potential teammates? If you’re trying to compete, flip a mental switch. The world is full of potential teammates.
After reading great teambuilding tips from a revered adventurer, I decided to consider the challenge of teambuilding with my own set of tools and experiences. About a year and a half ago, I discovered a personal assessment tool that’s brought teambuilding to a whole new, easy to understand level: Insights Discover.
Insights Discovery is a great tool for building team respect and eliminating competition. The program does this by helping teams to recognize the value and skills that each person offers, no matter how different they from you. A well-balance team is the key to seeing all perspectives and getting work done on time with reduced conflict and stress. If you’d like to explore the benefits of Insights for your work group, please contact me today.
Tags: Career Coach Advice, Improving Relationships, Insights Discovery, Teambuilding, Teams
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