Tag Archive for: career tips

women stressedChances are if you like your manager, your team mates and the tasks at hand are still interesting, then you may be less likely to jump ship unless you are vastly underpaid or you have a personal situation that requires your attention. There is a saying that “People leave managers, not companies,” and a bad manager changes everything. If your relationship is less than cordial with your manager, this can permeate daily interactions to a point where you feel that he or she is a hindrance to your advancement or even your emotional wellbeing in the worst case scenario (and I hear about this more than you think with serial offenders showing patterns with the new hires.) This issue is very tricky and I hesitate to give advice in a one size fits all matter since there is nuance to this topic and I would advise you to speak to your career coach or a trusted advisor first.

What can you do? Explore other options within the same company and navigate the politics by lunching with peers from other teams and even get a sponsor who a leader (the boss of your boss, or higher or a different team leader) so that you can start to understand the bigger picture of mobility, project allocation and promotional tracks. Also, sometimes a bad manager isn’t just someone who has a bad personality but someone who is stuck between a rock and a hard place themselves suffering from systemic constraints ( such as lack of resources, understaffed etc.) and so you have to figure out if this is a temporary issue or a true sign of dysfunction of the entire company.

Failing that, sometimes you just have to call a spade a spade and move on. There are other firms out there.

By Nicki Gilmour, Executive Coach and Organizational Psychologist

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

pessimist1Is the office coffee maker half empty or half full? Does simply ‘thinking positively’ help to achieve the desired outcome, or does being too upbeat remove your ability to critically analyze and learn from business and life situations? Does pessimism allow you to spot the obstacles lurking ahead in the distance?

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Sad businesswomanGuest Contribution by Luisa Zhou

Successful high achievers (like you and me) have a huge disadvantage when it comes to advancing our careers.

It’s the fear of not being perfect.

If you’re constantly scrambling to fix “just one more thing,” if your social life no longer exists because you’re always working, or if you worry perpetually about others’ opinions, then you know what I’m talking about.

And while it’s gotten you to where you are today, you know that if you keep on working like this, you’ll burn out long before you get that coveted “C” title.

So what’s an ambitious professional to do?

Below are the top 3 signs your perfectionism is hurting instead of helping, and what to do instead.

1. You live by an all-or-nothing mentality. Every project you oversee has to be as flawless as the Hope Diamond.

Do any of the following sound familiar?

This is still not good enough!

I need to push the deadline back because this isn’t just right…

How can I face that client after that mistake?!

If so, you need to: Get comfortable with good enough, and leverage the 80/20 rule – the principle that 80% of your results will come from 20% of your efforts.

The key is figuring out which 20%. Is it really that important that your presentation’s footer isn’t perfectly centered? Or are you the only one who will even notice? And is it really necessary to chew yourself out for that small mishap your client has already forgotten?

Place yourself in the other party’s shoes (your audience, your boss, or your client) and ask yourself what they care about. Then focus on those areas and let go of the little things they don’t care about.

2. You take rejection personally.

Does the thought of making a mistake keep you up at night? Did you not speak up during that meeting because you were afraid of sounding stupid? And have you not asked for that bonus you deserve because you’re afraid your boss will say no?

If you said yes to any of those, here’s what to do: Think through the worst case scenario. Will you get fired? Will you be physically harmed? Will your colleagues secretly judge you and whisper that you’re incompetent?

Once I realized that rejection is not something to be feared and has no real consequences (aside from some bruised feelings), I learned to actually embrace taking on situations with rejection potential. Not because I’m a masochist, but because I realized they were actually win-win situations for me.

Worst case scenario, I would learn something new (oh, this didn’t work). Or, best case scenario, I would get what I wanted. When you think about it that way, doesn’t it seem a waste not to put yourself out there?

3. You can’t remember the last time you savored a career win – you were already on to your next big goal.

Do you ever feel a little dizzy when you think about your achievements and what you have to do next? And when was the last time you took a few to congratulate yourself on all you’ve accomplished?

If you can’t remember, here’s what to do: Look inside yourself and examine what motivates you. For perfectionists, it’s often a fear of failure and of not being good enough.

Before realizing this, I was incredibly fearful. I was afraid of not getting that promotion, of not advancing quickly enough, and most of all, I was afraid that if I didn’t stop being afraid, I would lose my steam. One of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do was let go of that fear, and honestly it was a long and difficult process.

But once I did, I realized that it’s even more powerful to be motivated by positive forces – by passion, service, and love. Letting go of my perfectionism didn’t hinder me as I’d once feared, but instead allowed me to succeed more than ever before. Specifically, within the space of one year, I got a new job, a 32% raise, and a promotion, and launched a successful side business.

Now it’s your turn. What new levels of greatness will you achieve once you get out of your own way?

Luisa Zhou is a business coach for aspiring entrepreneurs. Join Luisa’s newsletter for coaching opportunities and bi-weekly tips for starting your side business.

Guest advice and opinions are not necessarily those of theglasshammer.com

happy working womenIt was one of those days…rushing to pick up my daughter from daycare, scrambling to make dinner, dealing with an after-hours call from a new boss to discuss an important initiative, while at the same time my daughter was excitedly asking me to come join her for a tea party. That’s when it hit me . . . I was a true single, working mom.

The US Census Bureau cites that in 2012 more than 80% of 12.2 million single parent families were headed by women. That means there are 9.7 million of us dealing with not only the mundane issues of getting the oil changed and folding laundry, but fears about our career options, our personal lives, and that question any parent on a career path faces, “how can I foster professional growth when I have to foster my children’s growth?”

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