How to Trot Not Plod Through the Year of the Dog

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

The Year of the Rooster is over and the Year of the Dog is beginning in the Chinese (lunar) New Year. So, if January did not feel as good as you would have liked it to, or if you are now ready to get what you want, or at least have a good shot at figuring out what that might be, then you are in the right place.

Ask yourself these five questions:

1. How energized am I on the project I am on right now?
2. What is it that made my best time at work so great?
3. What could be changed to make work great?
4. What do I want out of 2018 at work?
5. How can I get it?

It is important to know what is going on with yourself and to know what the external factors are that make you happy at work.

if you would like to work with a coach on exploring questions, answers, dynamics and getting from here to there, then we have a team here that can help.

Contact Nicki (nicki@evolvedpeople.com) for a free 15 minute exploratory call around challenges and pathways.

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Women Should Tell More Stories About Themselves

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Guest contributed by Esther Choywoman typing on a laptop

“Women tend to be less comfortable with self-promotion — and more likely to be criticized when they do grab the spotlight,” reported Susan Chira in the New York Times in July 2017, after extensive interviews that included many CEOs and would-be CEOs.

Self-promotion is a delicate balance. But the alternative—hoping accomplishments speak for themselves and agonizing in silence until someone notices them—does nothing. We need to become fluent, comfortable and authentic in promoting our own achievements. And this is where storytelling can help. Here’s how.

  1. Remember that stories of you are NOT about you.

Every story is about building connections. As I have argued in my new book Let the Story Do the Work, telling an effective story requires us to think deeply about its intended audiences.

As psychologist Robert Cialdini’s research on social influence has shown, the people we see as “just like us” are the people whose ideas we find most persuasive. So, in telling a story about an achievement, reflect on the experiences that most people share. If your story reminds your listener of a similar experience, you will form an authentic connection that will make your achievements memorable. One of the great, essential shared-experience stories involves overcoming adversity or solving a problem, and that is also a strong set-up for being able to narrate an accomplishment

For instance, when my colleague Kelly Standing connects with potential clients, she tells the story of how the neighborhood bully once hung her from a tree by her neck and left her for dead. Fortunately, her father saw her and saved her life. Kelly’s dad asked himself, “How will my daughter remember this?” That question shaped his response and helped her to overcome the adversity by seeing herself as strong, rather than victimized. And through it, Kelly learned the power of a good question.

And that’s where she begins to talk about her accomplishments. The power of a good question led her to study in a renowned journalism program. And it has led her to solve clients’ business problems with “a journalist’s curiosity” and the ingenuity she learned from her father. “I help them see possibilities where they might only see pain,” she says.

As self-promotion stories go, Kelly’s is unusually honest and personal. It’s also universal. Although few people have been bullied to this extent, her story speaks to universal fears (for ourselves and our children). And it also brings someone else into the spotlight with her—her father.

  1. Choose the right universal element for the context.

What is the context for sharing your achievements? This will shape the type of universal experience you share.

  • Interview: Because it is nearly impossible to research your interviewers in advance, share a positive story of overcoming an obstacle. (It’s hard to predict how a negative shared experience will go over.)
  • Pitching: Use a shared experience to show you have the strength of character to complete the proposed project.
  • Fundraising: Choose a shared experience that underscores why it’s important to give to your cause.
  • Meeting a potential client: Select a shared experience that can move from personal to persuasive, illustrating your value (like Kelly’s story).
  1. Use Three Acts

An easy accomplishment doesn’t give the listener much to connect with. So reflect on the hurdles that stood in your way, and then shape your success into a three-act drama:

Act I: After setting the scene, plant a hook that has the central challenge embedded in it.

Act II: Describe your journey to overcome the main challenge. Shape this section based on what you want to persuade your audience of at the end.

Act III: Resolve the story and deliver the takeaway—“that’s why I’m here, and that’s why we’re having this conversation.”

  1. Seek Feedback

When gauging how the story will come across, nothing is more essential than the feedback of people who are like your target audience. Ask your test audience three key questions:

  • What info do you recall? If what stands out to your test audience isn’t what you hoped to convey, craft your message differently.
  • How does my story make you feel? The emotion evoked will stay with your audience longer than your exact words.
  • What questions do you have? If your story isn’t prompting questions, it isn’t building connections.

Using the same contextual clues and three-act structure, women can also promote each other. This will holistically challenge existing narratives about female leaders and bring the accomplishments of individual women into the spotlight where they belong.

Esther Choy is the President and Chief Story Facilitator of the business communication training and consulting firm Leadership Story Lab. Her debut book, Let the Story Do the Work (published by AMACOM), is now available on major online retail platforms such as Amazon.

Disclaimer: Guest contributors views and opinions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Bonus Banked? What’s Next?

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

Bonus season is over for another year and so the should I stay or should I go question could loom again for you?

Chances are, if you work in banking and financial services, you stayed put until this payday. But, with a year ahead, its a good time to look at what makes you happy at your job, beyond the money.

If the bonus was good, this can make you stay for a little while longer even if you know you need something different. Money is always a factor, but look at culture, growth opportunities and ultimately the job you want to actually do.

Dream a little, scribble and journal- what do you want more of? What do you want less of? Just what would the ideal job look like for you? What are the other lifestyle based factors that you want to have more of? More travel? Less travel? Less of a commute? Picasso, it is your picture, don’t forget that!

Good luck!

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The Black Ceiling: It’s Not A Minor(ity) Problem

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broken-glass ceiling

By Aimee Hansen

Even though 2017 was a record year for women in the C-Suite amidst Fortune 500 companies  (32 women in CEO jobs, vs. 21 in 2016) , no African American women have sat at the helm since Ursula Burns stepping down at Xerox in late 2016.

Soon there will be only three black CEOs at all in the Fortune 500, against a peak of seven in 2007, and overall upward trending back in the 2000s.

Further, Anne-Marie Campbell, EVP of U.S. Stores for Home Depot, was the only African American to rank in “Fortune’s 50 Most Powerful Women in Business.” Though Rosalind Brewer did reappear in the C-Suite as the first women and African American to be appointed COO of Starbucks.

The Black Ceiling

In a Fortune article calling out the “black ceiling,” Ellen McGirt writes about the absence of African American women: “Burns’ appointment to the top job in 2009 had been hailed as a milestone. Suddenly it looked more like an anomaly.”

Black women in business continue to feel both excluded from male dominated and white dominated informal networks as well as demoralized by being unrecognized and underestimated.

McGirt writes, “They report environments that they feel continually overlook their credentials, diminish their accomplishments, and pile on cultural slights—about their hair, appearance, even their parenting skills. And they often have fraught relationships with white women, who tend to take the lead on issues of women and diversity.”

Greatest Obstacles, Least Support

According to a Women In the Workplace 2017 study by McKinsey & Company, drawing on data from 222 companies employing more than 12 million people and a survey of over 70,000 employees, women of color “face the greatest obstacles and receive the least support.”

Black women consistently perceived less managerial support, less opportunities and less objectivity.

Only 31% of African American women felt managers advocate for their opportunity (vs 41% of white women), only 23% felt managers helped them to navigate organizational politics (vs 36%) and only 28% felt managers defend them or their work (vs 40%).

Only 48% of African American woman felt they had equal opportunity for growth (vs 59% of white women), only 29% felt the best opportunities go to the most deserving (vs 40%) and only 34% felt promotions were based on fair and objective criteria (vs 41%).

The report also found that “inequality starts at the very first promotion” in general for women but is more dramatic for women of color. Among women, African Americans had the lowest promotion rate (4.9% vs. 7.4% for white women) and the highest attrition rate (18.2% vs. 15.4%).

With slower advancement, African American women are more likely to move on in the corporate world or want to go on their own, since they hold higher ambitions to be a top level executive than white women but encounter more obstacles.

Professor Ella Bell Smith from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth, notes, “To be able to advance, we know that there are several things — you have to have good mentorship and sponsorship, which means that you have to have some type of relationship, constructive, positive relationship with the managers and executives in your company. You have to perform three times as hard….The formula I like to use is performance plus relationship equal advancement.”

Lack of Inclusion

Without access to networks, African American women feel excluded from the relationships that create opportunities for recognition and advancement. African American women were also far more likely to report they never have senior contact.

Speaking at the Most Powerful Women summit, Anne-Marie Campbell pointed out, “Inclusion is not just a professional thing, it’s a me thing.” She argued it’s up to leaders to explore and broaden their social circles to befriend people of different races and backgrounds, and to open more diverse conversations in the workplace.

Thasunda Duckett, CEO of consumer banking at JP Morgan Chase, also said, “Without emphasizing the importance of an inclusive culture, you’re missing out on talented individuals who don’t feel that they can bring their entire selves to the table.”

Distorted Perception

Indeed, the Walden University report states, “In order to advance, African American women have tried to display work-appropriate behaviors so as to avoid stereotypical images that label them as angry, combative, and aggressive.”

Stating that African American women rarely receive truly constructive feedback or receive inappropriate feedback, Professor Smith observes, “Black women, if they come in too aggressive, assertive — I like the word assertive — they’re told that they’re angry. If they come in too tough, they’re told that they need to soften. So, there’s no right way that they can be. The flip side of that is if you come in trying to be more nurturing and more caring, then you hear, ‘Well, you’re not tough enough.’ So, it’s a very slippery slope…. because after a while, you start believing what you’re hearing, and then you don’t know how to behave. Then you wind up sabotaging yourself, because you really are not bringing your full voice to the table. You can’t lead, you can’t make a difference, you can’t contribute if you’re only bringing half of yourself to work.”

Peripheral Roles

According to the Fortune article, Ursula Burns isn’t surprised that she has no immediate followers in her footsteps, one factor being that black women who do make senior positions are too often concentrated in support positions, removed from product and money, rather than operational roles.

“HR isn’t going to get you there,” Burns told Fortune. “Communications and the arts aren’t going to get you there.”

“You have to really contribute to the bottom line of the business, which does not include HR, which does not include social responsibility. You have to really show that you can run a business. It’s very hard to do to get those positions, particularly if you’re an African-American woman,” echoes Professor Smith, “It’s hard if you’re a white woman. It is triple-time harder for African-American women and other women of color, too. This is not just a phenomena that hits African-American women. It hits us the hardest, though.”

Not a “Priority”

It’s not only that black women are excluded from networks but making sure the talents and performance of black women is cultivated, recognized and rewarded is often not a corporate priority, even amidst the diversity agenda.

At the MPW summit, Mellody Hobson, president of Ariel Investments, said: “Another thing that bothers me is that we’re ‘working on’ this, but we aren’t ‘working on’ anything else that matters in our companies. You either do or you do not. You do not ‘work on’ better earnings.”

In Fortune, Burns attributes much of her career success to the support that she received from Xerox, but most companies don’t want to invest and focus for a group that comprises less than 7% of the U.S. population. “For one,” said Burns, “they don’t like to leave the other women out.”

Not a Minor(ity) Issue

The McKinsey reports notes, “When companies take a one-size-fits-all approach to advancing women, women of color end up underserved and left behind.”

This recently appeared in my Facebook feed from a women named Stacy Jordan Shelton: “I loathe the word ‘minority’. Ain’t nothing ‘minor’ about any of us.”

Diversity efforts that are monolithic and treat women of color as a side issue simply fail from the outset. To recast the problem, resulting in benefiting some women while overlooking others, is to proliferate inequality with different players. If diversity isn’t intersectional, it’s far worse than ineffectual. It’s ironic.

That’s only one reason why the black ceiling is neither a “minority” or a “minor” problem. But it’s a real one.

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How to Stay & Rise, Rather Than Leave

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Guest contributed by Avery-Taylor PhilipsFemale Boss

More and more often we hear stories of women in executive positions leaving the corporate world and setting up their own businesses. Female entrepreneurship has been on the rise in recent years. Why is this and what causes women to leave their executive positions rather than continuing to progress within their organizations?

Women face many challenges, barriers and obstacles in the corporate world and evidence suggests that gender equality within the workplace is stalling. It appears that one barrier to women rising in the corporate world could be the lack of flexibility in allowing women time off to raise their children. A recent study from Visier, a workforce analytics firm, showed that gender wage gap at large United States employers widens at age 32 when women earn 90% of their male counterpart’s income. There is no data in this study to suggest that this is because 32 is the age that many women leave work to have and care for children, as many women do not have children at 32, so although it could be correlatory it is not 100% causal. What does happen is that it is the time when workers start to advance up the corporate ladder. The study noted that men and women seem to hold the same number of management positions through their 20s, but on hitting 32, men hold a significantly higher number of these positions.

This cycle leads to less and less women in executive positions, never really turning the tables on the issue of women in executive committee positions. In fact, today women run 30% of the the world’s businesses, but only 5% of the largest ones have women in the top echelons.

Is there a way to get around this? What can we as women do about it? An alternate way we can respond is by refusing to leave. Despite inevitable frustrations, is it worth sticking around, perhaps staying to rise, especially if the company is one you believe in? While there may not be one right answer to this complex question, there are women who have chosen to stick around, rising and reinventing their careers within their fields of expertise.

One such woman is Holly Peterson. After graduating from Brown University, Peterson spent some years traveling all over the world as a network television producer for ABC News. “I completely understand why Harvard-educated women say, ‘I’m not going to work sixteen hours a day and do a ton of travel when I have three kids,’” Peterson says. “But what they don’t understand is that there’s a deep melancholy that sets in, and they wake up at 47 and literally don’t know what to do. No one’s going to hire you.”

Unlike many women in the same position, Ms. Peterson chose to stick with her career. Apart from being a novelist, she juggles two other jobs including writing a regular column for Town and Country as well as serving as president of the Joan Ganz Cooney Foundation, to promote early childhood education and criminal justice reform. While her choices may not suit all women, they do serve as a reminder on how women can make it to the top while defining their own success.

Ms. Peterson isn’t alone. A previous article on theglasshammer discusses the complexities of the opt-out conversation and show that in a study authored by Joni Hersch, Professor of Law and Economics at Vanderbilt Law School, it was found that a vast majority of women were staying in their careers. Opting out was only observable in a tiny segment of the population Hersch studied. “They like working, and would prefer that to not working. It’s not just about being able to afford not to work. It takes a lot of money to stay entertained if you don’t have a job,” she said with a laugh.

Maybe you share the same sentiments as the subjects of Hersch’s study, or are quite taken by Ms. Peterson’s path — either way, it begs the question: how else can we, as women, stay and rise? The Glass Hammer has previously written about the strategies for surmounting career obstacles, and following these tips can help you get to the top, in turn opening the doors for women in management.

As a woman, it’s important to be confident in your abilities. As stated by the Collat School of Business, “One big advantage women offer the business world and management in particular is that they have different sets of life and work experiences than men do and thus different perspectives. This leads to different opinions, different preferences, and different strategies.” In reality, women make exceptional leaders. Acknowledging adversity is key to gaining confidence. “Adversity really does make you stronger,” says Frances Albán, CEO of Albán Communications. “It builds character and resilience. The key is to not let your ego interfere with your ability to stay afloat during hard times.”

Secondly, as mentioned previously on theglasshammer, it is vital to network authentically. In any career, networking plays a huge role is rising up the career ladder. Studies show that women value authenticity but see networking as fake and disruptive. Reconciling this is possible, especially with the prospect of networking in a genuine manner. While men still flourish in the old boy’s network, women need to become authentic networkers, and build advantageous professional relationships.

To stay and rise means putting up with the frustrations that come alongside inequalities, gender biases and more within a traditional workplace. It means having to face your own insecurities, step out of your comfort zone, and still remain true to yourself. But, it also means the tapping into the already existing potential and ability you have to make it to the top and be a driving factor in changing workplace norms.

Disclaimer:  Views and opinions of Guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Black History Month and Your Role in Helping Others

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

Black History Month is about celebrating amazing people of color.

For us on theglasshammer.com we celebrate women of color and all types of women all year long but we do recognize that intersectionality is real (simply put, being a woman with another social identity that is “other”, or from the historically non majority group.)

Do a network audit- is there only one type of person in your network? If this cuts along the lines of social identity (gender, ethnicity, LGBT status, class, nationality etc) then make a conscious effort to go to lunch with someone different to you. If you only eat lunch with white women and white men (and you are a white women) then what are you missing? How can you sponsor and advocate women of color on your team? How can you mentor and be mentored by a person of color?

If you are a woman of color reading this column, how can you stay authentic and not assimilate ?

All of these discussions are of course theory and make assumptions that all white women are one way and all women of color are another, which we work very hard on theglasshammer to dispel such stereotypes.

So, go have multiple conversations with people who have had a different journey to you and just listen with an open mind and open heart, because this is how we learn.

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Moving Forward Positively After Losing Your Job

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 Guest contributed by Alice BergFrustrated blonde woman sitting at a computer

Losing your job can happen to any of us. If you got fired, don’t get desperate. Yes, it is worrying and somewhat frustrating but you should see it as an opportunity to look at your career journey so far. Losing your job could be an opportunity to move in a different direction or even obtain an even more prestigious role you wouldn’t have considered otherwise. What should you do when you get fired and how do you overcome professional hardship and get back on track as fast as possible?

Leave smartly

Getting fired is a bitter pill to swallow, however don’t think of burning bridges. Your main goal is to leave your current firm on a positive note. It is important to save good relationships with your boss, co-workers and even clients in order not to threaten your future career. However, if you think that prejudice occurred and you were unfairly fired from the job because of your sex or race, you can seek legal advice.

Take time for yourself

Your life after being fired still goes on. It is not the right time to get upset and focus on your failure. Take this time to let it go and to adjust to this life change. Take a few days to take stock and to consider what options are open to you that will fully satisfy your professional interests in the future.

Control your emotions

Don’t let getting fired depression take the best of you. Don’t get stressed and try to accept your loss. You can allow yourself to mourn for a couple of days but then you have to leave this traumatic experience in the past and move on. Don’t hold the grudge against your boss or yourself. Manage your emotions and try to think over some positive aspects of being fired. It can be your fresh start, in the first place.

Spend time with the people closest to you

You can use your free time wisely and do things that previously you have never had time to do. You could try something beneficial for your mind and body but most importantly, you can spend more time with your family. While working, you always feel busy and out of time, so often you don’t get the spend as much time with your family as you would like. Now you can! Devote each moment to the people that matter in your life. They will be a strong emotional support for you at this difficult conjuncture.

Make your financial situation clear

After getting fired from a job you should dispose of your money wisely. You never know how much time it will take for you to find a new job. Therefore, you have to assess your financial situation, look over your budget and cut all extra expenses. Your savings will come in handy.

Understand your strengths and weaknesses

Take this time to identify your strengths and weaknesses. Make a list of all your best skills, abilities and experience that set you apart from others. Similarly, list each characteristic and trait that may hinder your way to success. Besides, you can talk to your trustworthy former colleagues and ask them to point out your strong and weak sides. Listen actively and it will be easier for you to figure out what to do to become a better version of yourself.

Once you see an overall picture of what you are good at and what should be changed, you will trigger off your enthusiasm of moving forward and conquering new heights.

Make your dreams come true

Now you are that close to realizing that losing your job is a true blessing for you. Nothing can stop you from making all your dreams come true. First of all, you are open to each new opportunity. If you have ever thought of a career change, but were afraid to take the first step – do it right now! If you have been dreaming of a vacation with your family – go together on a trip!

No time for moaning. Be active!

In order to boost your confidence, you have to be proactive. Think about a career you would like to pursue and do at least 3 useful things that will bring you closer to your dream job. Also, it will not let you get depressed. Use your time effectively. The truth is, you have no time to moan.

Be open for new opportunities

Don’t be afraid of change. It can be overwhelming, but you also will see how exciting it can be! Remember that everything happens for a reason. Who knows, maybe you were fired from your job to have an opportunity to rediscover yourself. It is high time to try something new: visit some professional conferences or meetings, refresh your resume, prepare your social media accounts and LinkedIn profile for job search, get ready for an interview and move forward towards your dreams!

Now you know what to do after getting fired. By implementing these steps to moving on you will have quality time free of your job duties. Use this time wisely and never get desperate and discouraged. Believe in yourself and start your new way to success.

Alice Berg – a blogger from Bath, UK, and a consultant at SkillRoads, who received a degree in Social Work and Applied Social Studies. Now she helps people to find their own way in life, gives career advice and guidance, helps young people to prepare for their careers. You can find Alice on Twitter and Facebook.

Disclaimer: The opinions and views of Guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Do More of What You Like Doing at Work (and What You Get Paid For)

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By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

All jobs have tasks that we prefer over other tasks.

Be honest with yourself, how strategically important are the tasks that you are avoiding? If they rank highly either for your current role or as a development skill, then consider setting time aside formally in your calendar to undertake them on a regular basis as habit can be a great way to embrace them.

What are you recognized and rewarded for?

Are you experiencing task creep?

Have a look (or make a list) of what you do every day for a period of a week to see what is officially within your remit and what creeps in there. It might be illuminating to see how you are paid for driving the train but also at times asked tolay the track, clean the engine etc which is time consuming and often not conducive to your time management or skill set.

Contact nicki@glasshammer2.wpengine.com is you would like to hire an executive coach to help you navigate the path to optimal personal success at work.

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Mental Health and the Office Why It Matters More Than Ever to Be Open About Your Struggles

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Guest contributed by Katie McBethSad businesswoman

Every year World Mental Health Day is commemorated. This day of recognition is meant to help raise awareness, help dismantle the stigma, and provide those who suffer with access to support if they need it.

The focus of last year was mental health in the office: how awareness, stigma, and our work-life balance can affect workforces around the world. In America, especially, working women are often struggling to balance their life in and out of the office, and are finding it even more difficult to not let the stresses of the outside world affect their work and productivity. Although there is an increased awareness around mental illness, there is still a strong stigma on discussing it at work.

What does this mean for working women who suffer from mental illness? How can we not only become more successful in our careers, but also be more accepted for our invisible conditions? How can office leaders make a difference for all their employees? These questions can be an especially tough to parse, but they are extremely important for opening up the dialogue around mental illness in the office.

Erasing Stigma Through Dialogue

Over a lifetime, it’s estimated that the average full-time American worker spends about 90,000 hours at work. It’s no wonder, then, why this year’s theme of Mental Health Awareness Day was focused on the office. Our jobs take up a large portion of our lives, and the environment around us, our work habits, and our outside life can all factor into our mental and physical well-being.

However, it’s rare to hear conversations about mental health while actually in the office. Much of this can be due to the vulnerability of opening up about mental health conditions, but it could also be due to the fact that patriarchal standards still reign supreme in business. The idea of exposing mental illness — as well as emotion or empathy — can be seen as a weakness.

Numerous studies have come to prove this to be false, and in fact honing your emotional intelligence can play a large part in improving a business and can really shine in management. Empathy and communication, in particular, have shown to reduce employee turnover, improve team morale, and increase productivity for individuals and teams.

When discussing mental health, one of the biggest hurdles in addressing it can be the stigmas that exist around these conditions: both social stigmas (those created by society) and self stigmas (those created internally by people who suffer from mental illness). However, some of those stigmas are beginning to change, and much of that is thanks to the people who are brave enough to speak up and be open about it, and to those that have the empathy and patience to listen and learn. Scientific research has also shown that people are more willing to seek out help — via therapy, counseling, or medication — when they can overcome these stigmas.

For those of us that suffer from mental illness, being open about our struggles and our conditions can be inherently powerful. However, it can be difficult to be open if we don’t have a support system in place. On the reverse, having a supportive, empathetic, and kind boss can be a major factor in helping those that suffer feel less stigmatized by their invisible condition. Empathy is also extremely powerful, especially in the office and especially among those in management and leadership positions.

Accepting Mental Health as Physical Health

There’s a reason mental illness is referred to as an “invisible condition.” Although common misconceptions often overlook the body-mind connection, there is plenty of evidence to show that mental illnesses can have a profound effect on the physical body.

However, the general population that doesn’t suffer from mental illness could still suffer from occasional bouts of depression or anxiety brought on by work, or even external circumstances or trauma —. Prolonged exposure to stress can have physical effects as well, which is why it is all the more important to consider allowing mental health days at work.

Sick days allow employees the opportunity to stay at home and recover from the flu or from injuries. Mental health days, on the other hand, allow employees the opportunity to stay at home, relax, rest, and recover. Even for employees that don’t suffer from mental illness, mental health days allow them a chance to step away from the stress of the office and hopefully find ways to practice de-stressing techniques. About 25 percent of Americans agree that work is a main stress-point for them, and stepping away can help them find tranquility, as well as make them better workers for when they do return to the office.

Organizational stress — can result in disengagement if it goes on too long or is unaddressed. Allowing employees the chance to step away from the stress of work can help them feel more appreciated. It can also help them refocus on tasks and be more engaged in the office.

Mental health days go beyond helping those who suffer from mental illness and can help everyone feel better about their work. Examples of this increased emphasis on mental wellness can be seen in European countries where work weeks are shorter, vacation times are longer, and employees are generally happier to be working for their company. If only America could pick up these same practices, maybe our workforce would be better for it.

Changing the Workplace for the Better

Especially in the workplace, Mental Health Awareness Day — where it is frowned upon to discuss these ailments —can help create a dialogue that could lead to lasting changes for everyone.

Being a professional working women who suffers from mental illness can be difficult. Facing the constant stigma of our conditions, as well as the threat of losing our jobs if we’re having a bad day, or even being the subject of ridicule or discrimination because we can’t “showcase” our condition, is a daily worry. There will always be someone to try to put you down for something you cannot control about yourself.

However, our office is no place to face this sort of targeted discrimination, and having a supportive and understanding boss can help prevent sufferers from being alienate at their place of employment. Additionally, raising awareness around the effects of mental illness and stress in the workplace can help carve the paths for healthier lifestyle choices and happier employees.

There are ways to make lasting change in the office and in our lives, but it starts with one simple step: having a conversation. If you suffer from mental illness and feel like your manager will be receptive to discussing your concerns, then maybe it’s time to have that talk. If you’re a manager and want to showcase your support for all your employees, be open about allowing mental health days in the office, and perhaps provide resources for those that need it.

Finally, if you suffer from serious mental illness and are afraid that it will interfere with your work, know that you are not suffering alone. Seek out help, find treatment, and know that although you may have this condition forever, it will not limit the great things you plan to do with your life. You do not have to suffer in silence, and you do not deserve to be stigmatized. Let’s work on making the world a little better for everyone.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions of guest contributors are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

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Becoming a High Performer – Stress Recovery and Renewal Matters!

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Latina

By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

As ambitious, hard working women, we are often not satisfied about what we have achieved at work.

We often feel insecure about giving less than 150% at work for fear of losing ground. And, the truth is, most of us work in very competitive industries that require us to be present for long hours, to travel and to take on massive amounts of responsibility. Would we have it any other way? My guess is if you are reading the glasshammer.com, you are interested in hearing how to have more of everything and have it right now!

However, research shows that sustainable high performance requires the executive to harness stress adequately with the right amount of pace and rest for stress recovery. Doing what you love means being well enough to do it. You are human. No matter how good the set up is at the office and at home, chances are you are a little stressed and a little exhausted. Throw kids in the mix and downtime to recover disappears further.

It is time to talk about that while growth is important in climbing the ladder and breaking the ceiling, renewal is even more important so that you can continue to high perform, learn and grow.

Staying well physically and mentally is now something more and more companies are paying attention to. Executives who understand their own sustainability are more likely to avoid burnout and have better longevity in their careers.

Stress also affects how you show up as a team member, manager or leader. Behaviorally, when under stress, most of us have shortcomings from being snappy, to avoidance of issues that need to be addressed. When you do not realize the stress, as it becomes normalized, then you equally might accept your less than optimal behaviors as normal too.

We have developed a group coaching program for high performing talent, and “insecure overachievers” that creates awareness of how stress is effecting your performance and ultimately hindering your development as an executive. By understanding your own neuroscience and your actual data you can understand how to make real change for your mental and physical health.

We are running a virtual cohort where people are matched in pods to work on sustainable high performance.

If you are “high performing talent” and likely to make Managing Director in the next 12 months then this group could be for you.

There is a cost for the 5 month program and it includes psychometric tests, individual and group coaching.

Write to nicki@evolvedpeople.com if you are interested in being considered for this cohort or to schedule a call to discuss this program for your company.

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