Career-Building Resources
ARTICLES
One Powerful Question To Boost Your Career
My client was outraged at what they perceived as a lack of fairness in the workplace. Their ire was focused on a particular colleague, who seemed to be rising in her career, while my client felt stalled.
“She always gets attention and praise from our boss,” my client fumed. “I don’t understand it. She does half the work I do, and everyone thinks she’s the best.”
I asked them, “Aside from what may be real unfairness at work, what is your colleague doing that bugs you so much?”
“Everything bugs me! She always mentions her contribution to the group projects and seems to know all this information about other people’s lives, which she drops into conversations. Like asking about their kid’s first day at school or a movie they saw. It’s so manipulative!”
I said, “So, she brings attention to her work and connects with people based on things they have shared with her?”
“Yes,” my client said, “but it’s not sincere. It’s all an act to get what she wants.”
“And is it working?”
Big silence.
“Yes”, my client said reluctantly, “it is.” (Continue Here)
Scared to Speak Up Professionally?
Two techniques to help you navigate work-related conversations.
Over my years of coaching professionals in confidence and communication skills, I’ve worked with different people who’ve had various struggles with self-expression. However, there is one universal fear that many of them share.
The fear of speaking up.
For these clients, sharing their thoughts or offering an opinion is worrisome and stressful. I remember one client saying, “If I speak up, I’m afraid I’ll be attacked for voicing my opinion.”
Another one said, “I get so overwhelmed when someone interrupts or speaks over me that I just freeze.”
And someone shared, “I’m nervous about initiating conversations and asking for what I want.”
Their fears about communication are unique to each of them. Some are rooted in negative messages received in childhood, while others stem from having their opinions dismissed regularly in a professional setting. Each of these situations causes people to retreat from necessary conversations in their workplace.
(Continue Here)
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Everybody Has A Back Story
Have you ever had one of those days when it seems that everyone else has it all together? You find yourself staring at images and readings posts that make your own life seem small. On those vulnerable days, it’s easy to feel that somehow you are doing something wrong or are just way behind everybody else.
But, from my experience as a coach and therapist, the outside of someone does not always reflect the inside.
It is the rare few who have not struggled or had to work through issues of pain and unhappiness in their lives. It happens to most people at some point along their journey. And while the success and happiness of others is to be celebrated, it’s important to keep things in perspective. (To Continue)
How Professionals Communicate With Clarity
Growth Spurt
Some years ago, I coached a newly appointed director within a large company. He was super smart, enthusiastic, and passionate about having his division become a success. His first six months had started with a bang with my client implementing new ways to expand upon what his teams already provided for the company. But, he found himself stuck in his leadership during the following six months. His confidence faltered, which is why he reached out me.
During this time of growth within the division, my client struggled with some of the managers he had relied upon from the time he had been appointed. He felt they were resistant to his vision and blamed them for what he perceived as unnecessary delays. (To Continue)