So do you really need to plan your career?

As a salaried worker if you don’t plan your career who will? Will your manager take as much time, effort and energy in working out career moves for you as well as you could for yourself? Probably not! What about if you are self employed – perhaps it is even more important to plan your development, to have a mentor and take some external frame of reference to be proactive about your business and skills. Will your competition be doing this?

Benefits to you

By planning your career you can:

• increase your sense of control and become less reliant on others to achieve your career goals
• enhance your self awareness about what is possible and how your unique mix of skills and strengths changes over time.
• provide clarity so that when opportunities emerge you are able to make informed decisions and so avoid taking high risks
• monitor progress against a realistic and achievable plan, leaving scope for change

If you are a business owner you can also maximise potential by succession planning.

Timing: When to do the Career Plan

Imagine a ski slope and at the bottom of the slope is the equivalent of the place where most people begin to look for another job. At the bottom of that ski slope you run out of steam and have enjoyed the thrill and buzz of getting there! Similarly, looking for another job when you are at the bottom of the slope, is when you are most likely to be bored, unchallenged and unexcited. This is hard work and a slight feeling of desperation can creep in. Imagine though looking for that role when you are at the top of the peak, you are confident, motivated and energetic. How do you hide those feelings in either situation to a potential employer? They will seep out and help or hinder you. The time to job search is when you are at the peak not the bottom! If you are self employed the time to review your role, skills and development is annually as part of your business review.

What makes up an effective Career Plan

The plan has 3 parts to it:

• Who am I?
• What do I want?
• What options do I have?

Who am I?

By understanding who you are and what has shaped you so far and what is important to you in the present you can begin the process of planning and decision making for the future.

• Work out your satisfiers and dis-satisfiers at work. (You may want to add in outside work too).
• Be honest and identify what you really want to do. Go for the most likes and fewest dislikes.
• What are your strongest skills? Develop any skills gaps but do please recognise your talents!

“Unfortunately most of us have little sense of our talents and strengths, much less the ability to build our lives around them. Instead guided by our teachers, parents and managers we become experts at our weaknesses and spend our lives trying to repair these flaws, whilst our strengths lie dormant and neglected.” writes author Marcus Buckingham in his books “First break all the rules” and “Now discover your strengths”.

• How to identify your talents

Ask yourself these questions:

• What do you most appreciate about yourself?
• What do people repeatedly seek you out for?
• Where do you feel you contribute most?
• What legacy do you want to leave?
• What values were you satisfying in jobs in the past that have been a real “high”?
• What existed in the “highs” that were missing in the “lows”?
• Think about settings where you flourish? Where do you feel most energised? Why? When you were growing up what activities, experiences and people were you most drawn to? When you feel most creative what are you doing?
• Consider your commitments, duties and obligations.
• Draw your life line in 5 year intervals and identify the achievements and any issues. Ask are there any themes? What has triggered moves in the past? What have been your successes and failures?
• Factor in your values which give you motivation. Sometimes these are known as career drivers.
• List your skill set, both technical and managerial as well as capabilities. Are there any underdeveloped talents? Define your reputation i.e. how others see you? How can you check this out? Who will give you honest feedback?

What do I want?

• Draw a mind map of your future options. Where do you see yourself in 2, 5 and 10 years? What are the likely barriers and how can you overcome them?
• If you want to move into senior management positions in addition to a track record and conventional intelligence do you have the following attributes:
• Emotional Intelligence
• Learning Competence
• Strategic Thinking
• High Motivation?
• Write your life stage predictor – predict the future likely stages of your life – what you want to do with any large purchases and their funding, factor in pensions and other commitments.
• Write your retirement tribute to crystallise what you will have achieved.

Next time, I’ll talk about your Career planning options – or, if you can’t wait, get in touch!
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I have talked before about pressure at work, some of the triggers of stress and the tell-tale signs of too much stress. But what about if you work all the time? Are you a workaholic?

The definition of a workaholic is someone who has an obsession with work. They are now referred to as “work dependents” and are described as such when work has become a crutch that is shoring up other less successful parts of their lives. Raj Persaud in his book, “The Motivated Mind”, recommends the following tactics:

• Plan two fun things a week to look forward to and give yourself a break
• Delegate tasks and manage your own control needs
• Set boundaries about what is achievable at work in a typical 8 hour day
• Remember you don’t have to catch every ball

Personality, stress and work: who do you know who is a Type A Personality?

Does the following description bring anyone to mind?

• Goal directed or pushy, competitive, with an excessive drive and an enhanced sense of urgency.
• Naturally suffers from irritation, hostility and an increased potential for anger.
• Huge frustration with others who are not as fast as them and so get in the way.

Problems arise when an A type Personality works in a high stress environment. A very common occurrence and society rewards them! To assist them lessen their chances of heart attack gentle to moderate exercise is recommended!

Tips for managing stress levels at work:

• List what you can & cannot control. Recognise that the “cannot control list” is not worthy of your worry and energy!
• Prioritise what you can control. Take small steps each day to progress the list and getfeedback early on if you are not sure about your skill level.
• Take time out to get some perspective because when you are in the thick of it you cannot really appreciate what impact it’s having.
• Stop beating yourself up, accept that you cannot change the past but that you canchoose how to act in the future. Record regularly what you have been successful in and review this to keep positive.
• Be realistic about what you can achieve on your own. Asking for help is OK!
• Build in time to relax and sleep.
• Talk to someone at work that you respect or confide in someone outside of work.
• Keep a diary to note down when you are stressed to increase your awareness about yourpersonal triggers.
• Imagine someone else had this problem – what would they do? This gives youperspective.
• Focus on the solution and what action can be taken.
• Make a decision, having weighed up all the options – you usually feel better once it’s stopped whizzing round in your head.
• Remember back to when you have successfully survived other stressful periods in your life and think about what strategies you used then.
• Take time for exercise, sport, meditation, reading what ever is your thing. Singing is great for reducing blood pressure!
• Think through the worst case scenario and put a plan in place to aim to avoid this and have a contingency plan if the worst did happen.
• Adjust your standards if you are a perfectionist and go for 80% not 120%.
• Attend any training & development on time management and stress management. Which of these ideas might work for you or people you work with? Only yesterday I was working with a client who was really suffering from stress and it’s not a good place to be. Managing your optimum stress levels is a skill worth learning.

Which of these ideas might work for you or people you work with? Only recently I was working with a client who was really suffering from stress and it’s not a good place to be. Managing your optimum stress levels is a skill worth learning.  If you would like help with developing that skill, get in touch.   
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Have you got the right amount of pressure in your professional life? What causes you stress at work? Why should we bother managing our stress levels?

Notice if there are any tips that could help you remove some of the stressors that sap your energy. Or could you look out for any warning signs in colleagues, team members etc and potentially help them? We probably all know people who have had too much stress and recovery takes a long time.

Common stress triggers

Pressure at work is a good thing and part of normal life, but too much causes stress. Alternatively, with no stress, pressure or demands, it would be hard to get going at all and our motivation might suffer. Too much stress is as bad as too little. So where does all this stress come from? The usual sources of stress include big events such as death, divorce, moving house and illness – but what about the more day-to-day work events that can stress us out? How many in this list apply to you and are you happy about it?

• Public speaking
• Perfectionist
• Changing jobs
• Networking meetings and conversations
• Attending Interviews
• Bad traffic
• Sitting Exams
• Uncertainty
• Meeting deadlines
• Someone shouting at you/telling you off
• Forgetting something important Meeting sales targets/other targets
• Work overload
• Unable to make a decision/procrastination
• Not enough work
• Constant change & reorganisation
• Constant availability through technology
• A poor working relationship with your boss/colleague/team member

If you are suffering from too much stress as a result of some of the above the impact can gradually build up to some quite profound physical and mental results.

Just some of the likely physical effects you want to avoid:

• Stomach ulcers
• High blood pressure
• Heart disease
• Asthma
• Raised stress hormone levels (these actually shrink the part of the brain where new memories are laid down, especially spatial memories like “where have I left my keys?”)

The mental effects you really don’t want:

Burnout at work can lead to the following problems:

• Emotional exhaustion
• A detached attitude towards others
• A low sense of accomplishment
• Depression
• Insomnia

League table for stressful professions

So which professions suffer the most from stress? Some recent American research by Martin Seligman listed the following professions as the most stressful:

• Lawyers
• Teachers
• Secretaries
• Waiters

Occupational research has found that it’s not so much the workload that causes stress but the amount of control you have over the way you do your job. So even if you have a lot of work to do, having some say in it buffers you from the effects of stress. What is it about lawyers that make them vulnerable? The latest theory by Seligman is that lawyers tend to be pessimistic personality types. Pessimism is seen as a plus amongst lawyers because seeing situations from a prudent perspective, from every conceivable angle is beneficial. The key here then is not to take home the pessimism but instead expect things to work out and opt for flexible optimism! Do you British lawyers agree with this?

Managing your optimum stress levels is a skill worth learning.  If you would like help with developing that skill, get in touch.   Tweet

Read on!

Tips to develop success traits

• Having an optimistic view on life and focusing on the positives is hugely helpful. Do you view everything as an opportunity?
• High levels of confidence and self belief are essential. What situations do you feel confident in and how can you find more of these?
• Keeping a diary of successes each day or success tracking is a helpful habit. By the end of a week and then a fortnight and after a month imagine how many small things you will have achieved that all contribute towards the end goal.
• Persevere when it’s tough and remind yourself of the benefits.
• Passion, use it to propel you forward. Would you do this even if you were not paid?
• Play to your strengths: know what they are and use them. What talents are you known for?
• Ask for help: be it financial, time, support, a pair of hands, or feedback – whatever it takes.
• Take calculated risks and avoid rash emotional reactions. Make time to think logically, be creative about the options available to you and then listen to your gut instinct.
• Learn from mistakes, don’t dwell on them as you cannot turn back the clock.
• Find role models to speak to and learn from. Buy them a coffee and listen to their experience.
• Go public on your goal and action plan if that will motivate you not to lose face.
• Look after yourself. A workaholic, knackered and out of shape is no good to anyone.
• Have a balance between enjoying the present and planning for the future.
• Plan in breaks, treats and rewards at intervals to look forward to.

Is there anything else you could do to be more successful?  If you want help with reading the signs, get in touch!   Tweet

What is success?

“People do not wander about and find themselves at the top of Mount Everest.”  Zig Ziglar

Firstly, determine what it is you really want. What is your vision of success? Next list all the benefits. Leave your ideas and come back to them after some reflection. Use your intuition. Ask yourself “what is important to me at work and in life?” Other than materialistic goals research shows that most people want to be valued and have their efforts recognised. Really think hard about what the cost of this success will be for you. The effort, time, money, energy-are they worth it? What is the price of success or failure? Does the thought of failure even stop you dreaming of what you would like?

Does motivation matter?

Motivation is a key tool to achieve what you desire – so be in charge of your motivation and tap into it rather than letting it be in control of you. Motivation takes us to the pinnacle of success but can take us to a low point – the enemy within. Be realistic about what you can achieve in what time frame. Think about your key drivers or values as these are the core source of your fulfilment and satisfaction. Ask yourself what will happen if I don’t achieve this? Are the consequences serious if you don’t make this happen?

Success strategy into action

Having focused on what you want (your vision) and written it down, plan in detail how to achieve it. Think of this as the architect’s drawing and the builder’s plans. Be aware of goal conflict when you have two goals in direct competition. For example, “I want to go to the gym after work and get fit” versus “I have had a long and tiring day at work and want to comfort myself by going straight home, raiding the larder and watching junk TV.” Prepare for the easier temptation by taking a healthy snack and only watching targeted TV later! Each day start with your to do list and focus on the important not just the urgent. Consider what is time well spent? Prepare ahead for obstacles and things going wrong and build in a plan b. Concentrate on one task at a time and complete it, allowing for the fact that there are distractions and interruptions.

To sum up; success doesn’t just happen, it needs a plan and action but not at any cost.

If you need help with planning your success, get in touch. Tweet

• EI – what is it?
• How can EI help you?

Emotional intelligence: What is it? How can it help you?

My definition is simple; EI is being intelligent about your emotions. It’s making the best of yourself using a high degree of self awareness. It is about getting the best out of others too. It works by combining the head i.e. thinking and logic on the left side of the brain (if you are right handed) and creativity on the right hand side and the heart: the emotions and feelings. This concept is based on the work of Daniel Goleman. He wrote 2 international best sellers:

• “Emotional Intelligence”
• “Working with Emotional intelligence”

His definition says that “EI is about being smart, how we handle ourselves and our relationships”. Essentially he talks about how this matters more than IQ and educational success.

How about we bring EI alive? Let’s think about this together. Imagine a very bright person, very intelligent, who has passed lots of exams. Now add in their interpersonal skills, how they get on with other people…say in this case poorly. In Goleman’s terms they are best suited to back room jobs where they can be great thinkers and analysts. However, most jobs require some people contact and relationship building. So imagine the combination of someone who is bright and good at relationships…they will find it much easier to find work, will be good in a team, able to lead a team etc. All round they are more likely to be successful in the organisation as they don’t need to work in isolation! Goleman says the EI competencies (which we will come onto in more depth) are not innate talents, but learned abilities.

So how does this apply to all of us? To be more successful we can all work on our EI; to get the best out of ourselves and others, to adapt to situations we are in and the people we are with.

As Charles Darwin wrote:  “It is not the strongest of the species who survive, nor the most intelligent, but those who are the most adaptive to change.”

So, if you need to make sure that you can adapt, please get in touch. Tweet

In a previous post, I looked at gender differences you should know about. This time, it’s tips about how to deal with those differences in the workplace:

• Take notice of those non-verbal signals by tapping into women’s intuition, i.e., the ability to notice small details and changes in the appearance or behaviour of others. By using this ability you can detect subtle mood and attitude changes in your team, colleagues and peers. At a meeting ask some of the females to summarise the feelings and emotions that are occurring, a very emotionally intelligent thing to do.
• Female and attending an interview for a management position? Wear a more masculine style of outfit. You have a better chance of being selected than if you dress in a more feminine outfit. Even if the interviewer is female!
• Male characteristics and values are largely responsible for driving people to the top of the organisation but feminine values are becoming the way to stay there, encouraging team work, interdependence and collaboration.
• Men have logical, problem-solving minds and often feel that there is no need to share their own problems with others. So with small problems males are best left alone to work them through. With big problems this inability to effectively problem solve and talk at the same time can lead to stress. Encourage male colleagues to talk about what is going on and see that it is a real strength to ask for help and not battle on their own. Interestingly women are happy to share their problems but don’t necessarily want advice but just to be listened to. So give female colleagues a listening ear.
• Closing business deals with direct, short, solution-focused sentences is where males thrive. Such direct speech can seem rude and abrupt in social settings. Using indirect speech or concentrating on building rapport is generally a natural female style. The ideal in business is maybe a duo of male and female, each complementing the other.
• To encourage male listening, give him an agenda and advance notice. This appeals to his logical side and makes him feel appreciated in terms of why you are meeting and his contribution to the agenda and solving the issue.
• If you are in the position of selecting a team or project group, a mix of males and females is best. This manages the competition amongst the men in terms of status and hierarchy, and maximises the harmony with the females. The blend of problem solvers and relationship builders can support and help each other to create a better end result.

Our genetics may determine our physiology but do remember that our up-bringing and any training and development will enable us to change, adapt and improve! Bear in mind too that our personality differences such as introversion and extraversion, can also emphasise and/or compensate gender differences. By acknowledging our differences we can embrace them!  

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Do I really need to know about gender differences in the human brain?

So let’s get the biology lesson over with! Males and females are different; not better or worse, but different. Same species different worlds!  We evolved differently because men hunted and protected whilst women gathered and nurtured. Over millions of years brain structures continued to change. We think differently and process information differently. Our perceptions, priorities and behaviours are also different. How does this relate to you? Well if you live, work and play with the opposite sex here are some interesting facts!

9 differences you should know about:

1. Eyes in the back of her head? Not quite but females do have better peripheral vision. Males have a type of longer tunnel vision to see well in a narrower field and so make better night time drivers!
2. Women’s eyes display more white than men’s eyes because close range personal communication is an integral part of female bonding. Having more white on show, allows a greater range of eye signals to be sent and received.
3. Females are more effective at lying to males face to face because male brains are less skilled at spotting incongruencies between verbal and non verbal signals.
4. Reading between the lines is something women are said to do. This is due to their greater sensitivity in differentiating tone changes in voice volume and pitch enabling them to hear emotional changes in others. Men, however, have better directional hearing for hunting purposes.
5. Male brains are not so well equipped to hear or see details. Females pick up the visual, vocal and body language signals such as who is talking to who and the subtleties behind this; whereas the male brain was evolved to see a zebra on the horizon and how fast it’s moving!
6. Most males have a specific brain location for sensing direction and so find navigation and orientation easy. Men use their spatial skills here. I know I certainly prefer to drive and let my husband do the map reading!
7. Females are attracted to therapy, counselling and teaching professions because of their strength in speech. Women have two speech centres in their brain, one on each side enabling them to be good conversationalists!  Males have one speech centre in the left part of the brain.
8. A woman’s brain is configured for multi-tasking because of the larger number of connections between the right and left side of the brain. Males literally have a more compartmentalised brain and prefer to focus on one thing at a time.
9. At the end of a day full of problems, a male brain can file and store them all away. This ability to store and separate information comes from the compartmentalised male brain. Females, however, have less function to store and so the problems go round and round in her head. Hence the need to talk about them and acknowledge them!

So with all these differences what can you do to maximise your natural strengths and those of the people you work with?

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