Category: Improving Yourself

To make it happen in your career, you need to plan your career.

Career planning is a process of understanding oneself, exploring career options, making wise decisions and moving forward. What complicates it is that people, careers and organizations are constantly changing.

Therefore, career planning is not something done one time early in your career. Rather, it’s an ongoing process throughout your life. It doesn’t matter what’s your profession, your industry or your place of employment. The reality is lives change, professions change, industries change, organizations change and so your career will change. You can bet on it!

Who Am I?

The foundation of career planning, today and for the future is based on a very clear understanding of who you are as an individual and as a professional person. As a career coach, I’ve found that the greater the congruency between who you are – your skills, values, interests and personality – and your career choices, the greater personal career satisfaction.

Since everyone has a unique mix of skills, strengths and limitations that change over time, the first step in career planning is to look at who you are and what your career is all about. Also, gaining clarity about yourself will help you make better decisions in the future when challenges and opportunities emerge.

Identity Questions

Here are some simple, but profound, questions to start you on this journey. You may want to choose someone, or several people, to help you reflect and provide additional feedback.

• What do I see as my personal strengths?
• What are some of my personal limitations?
• What are my core values – what’s important to me?
• What are my abilities – things I’m good at and enjoy doing?
• What have I done, or I am doing now, that makes me feel proud?
• What are the significant influences on my life that have affected my career?
• Do I have talents that I feel are underdeveloped – how can I start utilizing them?
• What are my current obligations or commitments? How might they affect my career?
• If I could turn the clock back, what career choices or decisions would I make differently?
• If I could turn the clock ahead, what are some things I would like to accomplish in my life?

What Do You Know?

What have you learned about yourself from this self assessment? Perhaps you would like to have deeper insights. There are career assessment tools that provide personalized information on skills, interests, personality and values or career anchors. Would you like to know more, then let’s start a dialogue.

My next post on career planning will examine the variety of career options that one can choose from during different stages of one’s life.

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

Wanting to have a sense of purpose at work is one of the key drivers for the spirituality in the workplace movement. You might have heard this question before, “What gets you out of bed in the morning (especially Monday morning)?” Those with a sense of purpose, who have a reason for being, want to get up in the morning. It might not look like they are doing anything more purposeful than anyone else, it’s just that they consciously choose to bring purpose to their work and life.

How did you find your sense of purpose?

For me, I’ve always been on this search to discover my purpose. As a little girl my father would tell me that God had a special purpose for my life. I had no idea what purpose meant, but it sounded important. Then I grew up to understand what purpose was and wanted to find out what mine was. Hundreds of books and hours later, I’ve come to a much better understanding what it means to live with a sense of purpose.

We have thousands of little choices to make each day. How do we know that we are going in the right direction? We don’t, unless we’ve put some thought into the direction or purpose we want for our lives. I have found that having a sense of purpose has changed my whole perspective in how I see my work. The long hours, tedious tasks and endless emails make it all worth it because I’m striving toward a fulfilling a great sense of purpose with my work. I know this vision won’t happen overnight, so every day I take pride with whatever work I’m doing. When I choose to look at my work as just what it is on the surface – just menial tasks or busy work – that is all it becomes. It then begins to feel something that is “beneath me” or something that I shouldn’t have to do. However, when I shift my perspective and see that the one stone that I’m laying right now – that tedious task – is part of this incredible mosaic that I’m purposefully creating.

Do you do have purposeful work OR do you bring purpose to your work?

I say the answer is both. The most ideal is when you can do both, often times it’s a harder journey to find the first one – the purposeful work – that will also pay the bills. Yet we always have a choice each day to bring purpose to our work. For example, maybe you are cleaning an office building. You can see it as just that – that you clean offices OR you can see it as you help create this incredible environment that allows others to tap into their greatest potential at work. Let’s use the analogy of an mosaic. Up close, cleaning an office, is like one plain stone. But when you step away to see how your work fits together in the bigger picture – you can see the beautiful mosaic.

An example

I’ve been working on a project redesigning some curriculum, a program called Renewing Life, for Pathways, a nonprofit organization. It’s a nine-week program that integrates the mind, body and spirit created for those (and their caregivers) with serious or life-threatening illnesses. My main contact at the organization is a volunteer, Sharon Bertrand, who is leading the redesign process. She is an incredible writer and very passionate about what she does. This project is purposeful to her, it is one of the programs that she used in helping to heal herself from MS five years ago. It has such a deep sense of purpose for her that she is willing to volunteer her time not just 10 or 100 hours, but close to 1,000 hours just this past year! She sees the purpose of this project to bring it to the world and knows it can change lives like it changed hers. The completed manual, superbly written and beautifully designed, is the gift given to those who experience the program. The stones were each of the hours she put into reading, researching, editing and piloting this program. Had she just looked at these stones while working, it would have not given her the drive she needed to finish the project. But she saw the end result, the gorgeous mosaic that has not only help fulfill her purpose, but will bring purpose to all the lives who touch it.

Final thought

My hope is that you will take time to appreciate each step or stone along the path of your journey. As you step back, reflecting on your life’s journey, you will see the purpose of your life coming together in a beautiful mosaic.

Janae Bower is an inspirational speaker, award-winning author and training consultant. She founded Finding IT, a company that specializes in personal and professional development getting to the heart of what matters most. She started Project GratOtude, a movement to increase gratitude in people’s lives.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

One of the best motivational movies I’ve seen in a VERY long time is with DeWitt Jones, a National Geographic photographer, called Celebrate What’s Right with the World. I can’t recommend this movie strongly enough. I’ve seen it over a dozen times and still find it heart- warming and inspiring. The photography is amazing and DeWitt’s quotes are so memorable. I use this movie regularly in my training programs on Appreciative Inquiry.

In one scene DeWitt has been assigned to take photographs of a field of dandelions and wasn’t excited to do it that day. He comes back a few days later and the dandelions had all turned into puff balls. He is about to leave and a little voice in him said, “Come on DeWitt, I know this isn’t how you planned it. But what’s here to celebrate?” He stays to take a bunch of photos and when he shifts his angle looking up at the sun, he captures a beautiful shot of a puff ball silhouetted in the sunlight.

I really like the phrase from the video “What’s here to Celebrate?” I have that question posted on my bulletin board by my desk and it’s helped me on more than one occasion. When I feel tired, overwhelmed, bored or worried, I stop and ask ‘what’s here to celebrate?’ I’m amazed at what I find within a short period of time that is worth celebrating or giving thanks. Some days it’s an unexpected phone call, other days it’s someone who’s got information I need. Frequently I find that if I shift my perspective just a little bit, as DeWitt does with his camera, I see the world from a different angle or through a different lens- more open, receptive, perhaps even hopeful. We all carry multiple lenses to see the world. Which lens do you use? hopeful, welcoming, joyful or cynical, angry, and skeptical.

As you plan or attend various celebrations this season, celebrate the small stuff too. What has gone right in your world recently? How do you celebrate the small things that are working in your life? During this time of Thanksgiving reflect on all the ways you are supported, guided, blessed or loved.

For the next week, take time each day to ask yourself – what’s here to celebrate? Then do something to celebrate, even if it’s giving yourself a pat on the back. Better yet, celebrate the accomplishments of someone in your office and you both will feel better.

Bright Blessings to you. Here’s a trailer to the movie – enjoy!

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GGOMoLV0nxk[/youtube]

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Linda is an author, speaker, coach, and consultant. Go to her website www.lindajferguson.com to read more about her work, view video clips of her talks, and find out more about her book “Path for Greatness: Spirituality at Work” available on Amazon.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GN-LgN19-Cc[/youtube]

Career success does not happen just because one does good work. That is expected.

To get ahead and stay ahead, you must excel. Here are three strategies to manage your competitive edge.

1. Become a Career Entrepreneur

The business of career management is that—an independent business that you manage—even if you work for someone else. In this changing world of downsizing, restructuring, buyouts and mergers, you – not the company – must be in the driver’s seat of your career.

The key question is not where do I now stand on the organization ladder? Who knows if there will even be a ladder tomorrow? But rather: What do I know how to do? How well do I do it? Where else can I do it? Who is willing and able to pay me for it?

Look at your workplace as a marketplace of buyers and sellers. You are the seller-providing skills, experience and knowledge – to people who need what you have to offer. For example, if you’re an accountant then what is it that you offer that a buyer will pay for? In other words, what do you bring to the employment table?

2. Have Skills, Will Travel

You carry with you, wherever you go, a large portfolio or suitcase that holds all of your skills and accomplishments. What’s in your portfolio? Is it heavy with many skills or light with only a few? Do you know if it would be valued in lots of different places or just a limited number?

To be competitive, you must periodically audit your portfolio. How do you compare with your peers in terms of education, experience, training, career progression? Are you new and improved? Or, are you just the same person you were three, five, ten years ago? Do you have the right mix of skills, knowledge and experiences to position yourself for the future? Or, do you need to repackage yourself in some way? Getting ahead tomorrow means getting better today and throughout your work life.

3. Play the Career Game

What will keep you in the race as the rules of the workplace road continue to change? Initiative, adaptability and visibility are the foundation for career success. First, exercise leadership. You can’t afford to crouch behind your desk, buried in your everyday work and hope for the best. Go beyond your job description and direct your energy to the top priorities of your boss, your department, your team. Make yourself indispensable.

Next stand up and be seen. Promote yourself, not by your title, but by the outcomes or results of what you’re doing. You can start making a name for yourself by being involved in successful assignments that allow you to be visible to a wide range of people who could have an impact on your career. Your reputation can either pave the way or get in the way of your success.

Career Success Tip

If you don’t manage your competitive edge, your competitors will edge you out. So what are you doing to get ahead and stay ahead of the crowd? How well do you play the career game? Do you need to play it better?

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?

This all began as a comment to my LinkedIn colleagues of actors, trainers, speakers and assorted other related professionals. Someone had asked the question: In your opinion what is the difference between an actor and a speaker? It actually stirred up quite the controversy. Actors, speakers and trainers come from many different backgrounds as you will learn over the course of–not just this early blog–but others to come.

At first I was offended because many of the comments addressing the acting question showed a real lack of knowledge of acting, and in general, communicating. And, some of these people actually get paid to speak or train.

Any professional actor with training will tell you this: acting is not just about pretending to be someone else. It is reacting. Acting is not just a scripted performance, but an interactive experience with the audience–the same we hope for in training or public speaking.

Speaking from a script only sounds easy, but it’s not. Try reading aloud for an extended period of time. Now, put on the pressure of people you don’t know–mostly eyes watching you read.

For an actor, who sight reads really well it may not be that much of a jump; actors are used to words coming out of their mouths and having an impact on an audience. Reading a script is how an actor auditions for a role, especially for commercials. Then, remember how complicated good communication really is–with eye contact, movement, gestures and subtle interactions with the audience.

As trainers and professional communicators (that includes actors), we know better than to memorize scripts when speaking, except for a part of them. See my blog on memorizing. As an actor who speaks, I can tell you doing a speech or training session without a script is the best way to go.

If you memorize a script, don’t forget to memorize a characterization of another person as well as the stage movement motivated by the lines of your character. It is, of course, more work to do a scripted speech or training session, naturally, without sounding mechanical. To do that requires more than conversation, more than knowledge of a topic. It requires audience analysis, and you have to make the script yours otherwise it will sound artificial.

It may seem like I’m going off topic, but it seems the combination of acting and public speaking principles actually make for a pretty good trainer. Actors are not only actors, and speakers not only speakers; I’d bet the best of both professions, are not singular in their thinking about what works and learn from all areas that gets the job done. Granted, not all that an actor knows or should know to be a good actor is applicable in all circumstances; the same can be said of a good trainer or a good speaker.

I may have mixed up my education, but each of those parts help with the whole. The English and theater departments appreciated that I could bring a psychological perspective to literature, drama, and performance. The psychology department loved that I could communicate behavior.

And, to that, I say to all of you: Bring all your knowledge and skills to bear on your performance–be it as a trainer or speaker or actor. It’s all good. All of my blogs, including my blogs on training and development are on my website. Don’t be surprised to find some on acting and directing and theatrical reviews as well. Check it out.

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For more resources about training, see the Training library.

In honor of the Thanksgiving holiday, this post will be dedicated to gratitude. Research has shown that practicing gratitude can make you happier. Take a moment and test the theory. Stop reading and spend the next few minutes naming things (out loud is ok) for which you are grateful. How many of you smiled at just the thought of those things? If your thoughts turned to people for whom you are grateful, how have you expressed this to them? If you answered yes, then how long ago? Are you saying to yourself, “they know I am thankful for them and can’t live without them.” Are you sure?

There seems to be a question that I hear regularly asked and debated regarding thanking employees for doing their job. I mean that is why you pay them, right? If they are simply coming to work every day and doing exactly what you ask, they are meeting their end of the deal and by paying them, you are meeting your end of the deal.

Now, why not take another moment to think about the employees who don’t fulfill their end of the deal. You know the ones, they that take your time, energy and other resources to try to correct their behavior or improve their performance. They are expensive and costly and often they end up leaving the organization anyway. And when they leave, you say “thank goodness!” They are giving you the opportunity to practice that gratitude! Do you feel better?

Why not take the opportunity to create a win-win with the employees that just do their job. Show them gratitude and by doing so, you will create happiness for you (win) and happiness for them (win-win).

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For more resources, See the Human Resources library.

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Sheri Mazurek is a training and human resource professional with over 16 years of management experience, and is skilled in all areas of employee management and human resource functions, with a specialty in learning and development. She is available to help you with your Human Resources and Training needs on a contract basis. For more information send an email to smazurek0615@gmail.com or visit www.sherimazurek.com. Follow me on twitter @Sherimaz.

Greg Law is a long time friend and one of the many people awakening now on our little planet. Greg has worked as an I.T. person most of his life, while quietly offloading a very persistent ego. He hopes to interest medical researchers in making the egoectomy procedure the next big thing in medicine. He says it makes a great pre-requisite to any other medical procedure you might be considering.

Greg is a guest blogger this week and offers his thoughts below about the crying (and laughing) need of our time.

1. Definition of ego
   Ego is the false self. It is the thinking mind, the voice in your head that is constantly labeling, criticizing, and making up strategies – pretending all the while to be you. It’s main concern is “What’s in it for me?”. It says “I am [your name]. I am a pure spirit, and I have this body and mind. I have this history, these beliefs, these likes, and these dislikes.” You generally believe what it says and let it speak for you. It seems rational, objective. It seems to make sense.
2. Egoectomy
   Egoectomy is the removal of ego, the unseating of it from the driver’s seat of your life. This is accomplished by simple observation.
3. Why remove ego?
   That is certainly ego’s first question! The short answer is that ego makes trouble. Whenever things don’t go the way ego wants them to go, you can feel it rising up to resist. If things do go the way ego thought it wanted them, it soon finds that too unsatisfying. Thus does ego create unhappiness, problems, and all manner of conflict. In short, ego brings suffering upon its host and generates hardship for others in the process.
4. Trying
   Trying to remove ego directly is very trying indeed! What tries IS ego, and its survival instinct is very strong. Ego may even say “Ego is now gone from me!”. This is frequently experienced in the early days of an egoectomy. Ego disguises itself as you, and everyone believes it IS you. Even you believe it!
5. The real you
   The real you is what notices and not what is noticed. You locate things in space and events in time, yet you cannot be located in space and are eternally present outside time – without beginning or end. While ego runs your life, the real you stays in the background – mesmerized by ego’s drama – lost in the show – unconscious. Read this point again, please.
6. Noticing nastiness
   Nastiness is a very strong clue that ego is acting out. At first, the real you will probably notice ego in you AFTER you said something really nasty to someone you love. Soon, you’ll be noticing that reactive force rising up BEFORE you begin to actually act it out. You stop identifying with ego very naturally by noticing it in action, because it is very obviously ‘not right’, not you, though it defends its rightness and its ‘me-ness’ at every turn.
7. Noticing unhappiness
   Less obvious is ego as the quiet critic. Notice how frequently your thoughts find fault. Pay attention. Notice the words “should” and “shouldn’t” in your thoughts. Notice what this feels like in your body. If there’s agitation or tension, ego is at work. Now see how your merely noticing turns agitation to peace and tension to relaxation. When you notice you have a choice, you naturally choose peace.
8. Biomedical research
   Ego’s direct effects in the body are felt, for example, as increased heart rate and sweaty palms. These and other biomedical indicators are easily measurable through non-invasive means.
9. Why research?
   Verifying reduced egoic functioning through biomedical research will make evident the pervasive benefits of the egoectomy procedure. It will take ego-free living out of the realm of philosophy and mysticism into the practical everyday life of the individual. Yes, it’s about marketing.
10. Purposeful living
    With ego removed, your purposes are universal rather than selfish. With the false “I”, “me”, and “mine” gone, the “What’s in it for me?” is gone as well. Free of ego, what flows through you is that universal intelligence that keeps all things in order everywhere: the planets, the stars, the galaxies, the cycles of nature, the many processes that keep our wonderful bodies functioning. You start truly purposeful living.

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Another Alternative to Christmas Cards

In the last post, we discussed an outside-the-box idea for businesses to reach out to their employees, associates and customers during the Holiday rush. By sending Thanksgiving cards, you can pre-empt your competitors, send a message of thanks, and avoid any unintended religious offense.

If you like the idea, but it’s too late to coordinate that this year (Thanksgiving is next week, after all) consider another alternative and have the last word.

Send a Message Wishing Business Prosperity

When to send this? News Years Day! When the holiday festivities are over, and the parties are a memory, we turn our thoughts to the New Year and all the possibilities. It’s a time of hope and positive thinking. It’s the perfect time to send your heartfelt wishes for health, happiness and prosperity.

Example New Years Greetings

If you’re able to print cards with a custom message, try one of the following (thanks to GiftCardMessages.com):

• Our Thanks to You and Our Best Wishes for a Successful New Year.
• Our Best New Year Wishes to You, Who Make Our Progress Possible.
• To our friends old and new, best wishes for peace and prosperity in the New Year.
• During the Holiday Season, it is a great pleasure to share greetings with those whose good will and friendship are so highly valued. Our best wishes for a bright and prosperous New Year, filled with happiness for you and yours.
• One of the pleasures of the Holidays is the chance send our thanks and best wishes to you for a wonderful New Year.

If these don’t quite suit you, why not ask your employees for modifications or suggestions? It might be fun to have a contest and choose the message that best ‘fits’ your company’s personality or brand image. By engaging your employees, it truly becomes a personal, heartfelt sentiment.

Your company gets the last word. You stand out from the crowd – to be remembered for a very positive prosperity message.

What have you done in a unique, memorable way for the holidays?

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For more resources, see our Library topics Marketing and Social Networking.

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ABOUT Lisa M. Chapman:

Ms. Chapman’s new book, How to Make Money Online With Social Media: A Step-by-Step Guide for Entrepreneurs will be available very soon. With offices in Nashville Tennessee, but working virtually with international clients, Lisa M. Chapman serves her clients as a business and marketing coach, business planning consultant and social media consultant. As a Founder of iBrand Masters, a social media consulting firm, Lisa Chapman helps clients to establish and enhance their online brand, attract their target market, engage them in meaningful social media conversations, and convert online traffic into revenues. Email: Lisa @ LisaChapman.com

Here are four examples of how different authors and inspirational teachers approach the topic of Oneness. See what themes you find and what resonates with you.

ONE Unforgettable Philosophy

In fact ONE is how I’ve been resonating with and sharing ONEness through the work I’m doing with Project GratOtude. Here is our Project GratOtude philosophy, the six beliefs and values that drive our vision.

• The “ONE Thing” – What is that “ONE thing” – the secret to life? We believe that gratitude is ONE of the most important secrets to living your best life! Gratitude enhances your love for people and appreciation for life. It’s the “ONE thing” guiding this challenge and inspiring us to make a difference.

• ONE Life to Live – Why is Project GratOtude important? We have one life to live here on Earth, so why not make the most of it by living our lives fully and gratefully. We don’t want to live with regrets and wait until it’s too late to let someone know how they make a difference in our life. So let’s go for IT and truly live as if our lives depend on it!

• The ONE Above – Divine guidance from the ONE above – God, angels and the universe – is who inspires, leads and guides us.

• The Power of ONE – One idea, one person, one word. The power of ONE is all it takes to make a tremendous difference in the world. Just like a pebble creates many ripples in water, so too can ONE person – YOU – create a ripple-effect of love and appreciation when becoming more grateful.

• ONEness is the Way – While it only takes one person to create a ripple effect, becoming ONE with each other creates an endless amount of ripples and impact. When 1 + 1 are alone they add up to equal 2. However when you combine 1 & 1 together that equals 11, creating a much more significant impact. Being grateful helps us feel more connected to one another, bringing us closer to ONEness.

• ONE Step at a Time – How will we all do this? ONE step at a time. All we ask is that you take ONE step at a time as we are doing the same thing – just one step ahead blazing the trail for Project GratOtude. Together, we’ll trust that each step we take brings more gratitude into our lives by the end of this Project GratOtude journey.

One-sidedness Verses Oneness

Authors Danah Zohar and Dr. Ian Marshall in the book Connecting with our Spiritual Intelligence, discuss how our spiritual intelligence is like “unitive thinking.” The unitive ability is the key to understating holistic thinking, an ability to connect the context that links the components to parts.
“When we cut off from the deep center of ourselves – through fragmentation, onesidedness, pain or distraction – it is as though we are walking on a muddy path in the dark with only a small torch to guide us. We move along warily from one-pothole to the next, our perspective limited to one faltering step at a time. When we are using our spiritual intelligence we are seeing things from the center, from the light. We are able to see things in a larger, more unified context. This allows us to see and relate to things that once seemed separate to seeing and creating relationships and patterns as a whole.”

Interconnectedness

When asked what spirituality means to you, many respondents shared that it is the fact that everything is interconnected with everything else, according to Authors Mitroff and Denton in the book A Spiritual Audit of Corporate Amercia. Everything affects and is affected by everything else. “Spirituality is the feeling of interconnectedness with the basic belief that there is one supreme force that governs the entire universe.”

Claiming Oneness

Spiritual people know that “anything created by God is one with God” and that there is no separation between themselves and their divine source. James Twyman of The Moses Code says to consider the possibility that God doesn’t perceive separation. In other words, everything is contained within the whole we sometimes call God and there is nothing outside that whole.
He suggests this exercise to claim oneness, to see through the eyes of your soul and see how God sees. “As often as you can, observe the world around you. Observe the people and things as if they are part of you. You know that it’s true that you’re one with everything and everyone. Doing this gives you the chance to apply and feel it with your whole body. It’s one thing to say that you’re one with God, but your goal is to literally feel this reality, thereby knowing it’s true.”

How will you claim YOUR oneness?

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For more resources, see our Library topic Spirituality in the Workplace.

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Janae Bower is an inspirational speaker, award-winning author and training consultant. She founded Finding IT, a company that specializes in personal and professional development getting to the heart of what matters most. She started Project GratOtude, a movement to increase gratitude in people’s lives.

Communication, which occupies approximately 70% of our wak­ing hours, is what many leaders find the most frustrating.

Many of us were never taught to communicate in ways that lead to postive out­comes. Rather, we tend to experience annoyance, anger or just give up on the per­son or the situation. Here’s how to communicate better to get better outcomes.

Take a Quick Communication Quiz.

Think of a recent important con­versation. How many of these questions can you answer YES to?

1. Did I prepare ahead of time for this conversation?
2. Did I think about what’s the best way to approach this person?
3. Was I aware of the other person’s communication style and spoke to it?
4. Did I pay full attention, without multitasking, to what the other person was saying?
5. Was the intent of my communication to discuss and understand rather than be right?
6. Did I listen, without interruption, to the other per­son’s point of view even if I didn’t agree?
7. If I was asking the person to take a specific action, did I make my request clear and concise?
8. Did I summarize what I thought I heard the other person say before expressing my point of view?
9. Did I follow-up to see if the con­versation was successful – it led to a positive outcome for the other?
10. If the outcome did not meet my ex­pecta­tions, did I reflect on how to better com­municate with that particular person?

What’s Your Communication IQ?

8-10 Yeses indicate you’re the tops. Keep up the good work.

4-7 Yeses is OK. Brush up in cer­tain areas.

0-3 Yeses. You have work to do.

To Raise Your Communication IQ:

1. Talk less, hear more.
We want to be heard and lis­tened to but we don’t always concentrate on listening to oth­ers. We focus more on our agenda than on the other per­son’s concerns or issues.
2. Don’t shot the messenger.
We want to understand but our ability is tainted by our percep­tions of the person speaking or the outcome we are looking for. So, we often pass judgment on the speaker and disregard the message. Con­centrate on the message not the messenger.
3. Avoid mind reading.
We want some kind of action or response from another person. However, we don’t let them know what we really want or how to achieve it. Before as­suming the other knows what you want, first inform and then ask for feedback.
4. Stop pushing.
We want agreement from others, so much so, that we often be­come consumed with being right or proving our point. Rather, look for areas of mutual agree­ment. Then work from there to cre­ate a greater outcome.

Career Success Tip

Steven Covey, author of Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, says; “Seek first to understand, then to be understood.” Therefore, in your communication, make sure to understand others before you start trying to be understood.

Are there situations in which you need to raise your communication IQ? What do you need to do to get better outcomes? How will you know that you have been successful?

Do you want to develop Career Smarts?