Taking on Challenging Projects Gets You Noticed
If you want to move ahead in your career, one of the best ways is to take on more challenging projects. Doing so will get you noticed by higher ups, as well as your peers, plus it can help to increase your brand.
Utilizing your skills and talents to help your organization reach their goals, and be successful, hones those skills while increasing self-confidence. It puts you in the category of ‘high performers;’ these are the talent pool that companies identify and invest in for succession planning and rising to those higher positions.
Here are three steps you can take:
- Observe – keep your eye on the direction the company is taking and challenges they face – look at work projects they are focusing on so you can decide which fit with your skill-set
- Raise your hand – don’t be afraid to volunteer for projects or to see how you can help out on the workload. This shows initiative and can help you stand out
- Develop and nurture relationships – relationships are the key to others getting to know you, which then can lead to support for your efforts and future movements in the organization
Don’t be afraid to step up – but not on others – to get known and showcase your talents. Good leaders stay in their own lane and lead authentically. Start by helping and doing more work, doing it well, and keeping the focus on ensuring your organization succeeds. By doing so, you will succeed.
If you need help gaining clarity on your business or career goals, why not get some help – stop the struggle and call today to get started! http://www.cyscoaching.com
Developing Your Leadership Skills
Leadership is a critical part of an organizations success; they are the ones who create the vision, who motivate employees to carry out the work, and to set the tone for the culture which carries the organization. I often wonder, however, how many in leadership positions (also for those who aim to be leaders) actually take time to identify and determine the type of leader they aspire to be.
No matter what capacity we are in, whether in our personal or our professional life, we assume a position of leadership. Leadership does not come easily, however. It is a hard job but can be fulfilling, and it can make a difference to both employees and to the success of the organization.
If you are in a leader role, or you desire to be, here are some questions to develop your leadership point of view, according to Ken Blanchard (1999):
- Who are the influencers (leaders) in your life?
- Think of your life purpose – why are you here and what do you want to accomplish?
- Which of your core values will guide your behavior as you attempt to live your life ‘on purpose?’
- Given what you’ve learned from past leaders, your life purpose and your core values, what are your beliefs about leading and motivating people?
- What can you expect from your people?
- What do you expect from your people?
- How will you set an example for your people?
Developing a leadership point of view takes time; be sure to really dig deep in self-assessment and in developing your skills, so you can be the type of leader others want to follow. As Ken Blanchard says, “Be a leader who make a positive difference – people are counting on you.”
Learn From Your Success(es)
New Month – How is the ‘Health’ of Your Career?
Today is the start of a new month; with that, brings many possibilities. This is a great time to do a check-up on the ‘health’ of your career; just like you go to the doctor to ensure your health is fine, you can (and should) do the same with your career.
Job happiness is vital to one’s health – both emotional and physical – and to your overall success. It ensures your attitude and work performance which lead to that success. But how happy is our workforce today? Not much.
As of July 30, only 33..8% (Gallop, 2017) of workers are engaged in their work, meaning they like what they do and are willing to ‘show up’ and do the work needed to the best of their ability. What about the other 66.2%? What are they doing while at work – why are they even there?
You may be feeling this malaise with your work, which can happen over time and the longing to do more; this might include: getting a promotion, learning a new skill, working on a bigger project, being more involved in workplace activities, having a better relationship with your immediate supervisor or upline, and the like. There may be life events that can lead to feeling the need for a change, or perhaps, there has been a change of some type in the workplace culture or personnel.
Whatever the reason is, performing a career health check-up regularly can identify your current ‘health state’ for how you feel about the work you do and the environment you do it in; it can uncover if there are any factors that may be the cause of your unhappiness or it can validate that your work is going well. Whichever you find, you can always make any necessary changes or reinforce what you have.
Here are a some questions to answer:
- what does your job entail and it is your calling or a segue to something else?
- what do you like/love about your job?
- what don’t you like about your job?
- what skills have you learned in this job?
- do you feel you’re working off your highest value? if not, why not?
- have you been challenged in this role? If not, what can you do to get that?
- do you feel excited to go to work each day? If not, what needs to change?
- are you satisfied with the relationship with your immediate supervisor? with your colleagues? what can you do to continue to nurture these?
- does your work motivate you, and fuel your passions?
Really dig deep into these questions and be truthful in your answers – only you will see them but honesty is needed to ensure you are on the right track. For those positive answers – kudos and keep on as these are your motivators that lead to engaging work; for those negatives, the beauty is that you have the choice and power to make any changes needed. You don’t have to keep doing what you’re doing that is leading to job unhappiness (isn’t hat the definition of insanity?); you can turn your thinking around.
Being healthy in your job is a choice you get to make; taking the pulse regularly will prevent falling down the ‘rabbit hole’ and having your situation spiraling down until you feel the only ‘fix’ is to change jobs; while this may be needed, you won’t know unless you determine the reasons. The questions above will help you to make that determination. Managing you career is yours to do – make it healthy!
If you need help gaining clarity on your business or career goals, why not get some help – stop the struggle and call today to get started! http://www.cyscoaching.com
Taking Risks
I have found myself taking more risks these day, and in a good way. I have joined a group to create and grow a Face Book group; I’ve had a coaching group for a while now, but it hasn’t grown as quickly as I’d like so I’m looking to this group and program to jump-start it.
I just finished a 5-day Visibility Challenge, where I learned to create and share memes that represent my brand and information I share. This was really uplifting – and fun for my creative side. (here is one I did)
And I just signed up – and did – my first Facebook Live 21 Day Challenge. This one scares me the most, as I am not comfortable being on camera. I’ve dabbled with them but the outtakes of my ‘flubs’ are so funny. I did my first video and, while it was a a bit rough, I got through and posted it for the those in my world to see. My goal is to like how I look and share more content.
The point is that I am taking more risks these day – what about you? Taking risks is …risky; it’s fearful and scary. Pushing past these fears and taking those risks, however, is what leads to growth and results. The more you do, the less those risks appear ‘real’ – they are imaginations in our mind, an anticipation that we don’t actually know will happen.
Challenging these maladaptive thoughts and taking some type of action is the way; I can tell you that I feel pretty proud right now that I’ve done that video. It wasn’t as scary as I thought and I look forward to doing more. If I hadn’t have done this challenge, I would still be sitting on the sidelines, feeling frustrated with myself. I’ve admired those that have done videos so I no longer want to be in that space – I’ve taken a risk and moved forward.
What about you? What scares you, but frustrates you at the same time? I challenge you to act on whatever it is and get ‘er done. You will be glad you did.
If you need help gaining clarity on your business or career goals, why not get some help – stop the struggle and call today to get started! http://www.cyscoaching.com
Using Your Most Productive Time of Day
In order for you to accomplish those goals on your “To Do” list, you need to be focused and completing tasks on a daily basis. But do you ever find yourself feeling unfocused or delaying those action steps?
The rationale may not be due to any fears surrounding your goals – it may be that you are not using your time appropriately. Namely, that you are not using your most productive time of day. This is the the time when you are feeling energized and are most clear in your outlook and mood.
We all have this productive time but may not be aware of it; maybe you are a morning person but then get sluggish towards the end of the day or, you could be the opposite in that you feel tired in the morning but become accomplished as the day goes on. You could be, like me, an evening person where your ideas and energy come at night.
Whatever your productive time of day, it is important to know and use this to your advantage. It will help you to get more done and to feel more accomplished. You will get your body in a rhythm-cycle so that you retain your energy for the hardest, or the most important, tasks on your list. Using your most productive time of day will lead you to become more disciplined, focused and accomplished!
For one week, starting today, keep a time journal for all of your activities and your associated moods; document the time of day you wake up and how you feel, i.e. do you jump out of bed or do you keep hitting the snooze alarm. Note when you feel more focused and energetic as you begin to perform your tasks, as well as how much you get accomplished, especially the tasks you feel are overwhelming or necessary but uninteresting. Track your progress and watch your achievements grow!
If you need help gaining clarity on your business or career goals, why not get some help – stop the struggle and call today to get started! http://www.cyscoaching.com
Changing Your Outlook on Fear
If you have, or are now, dealing with fears that are preventing you from moving ahead in your career or your business, you are not alone.
Dealing with fear and the reasons for them is a big part of my business. You see, fear is really the underlying basis of procrastination and avoidance. It is the root-cause of why most people never finish a task or a goal, why they can’t speak up at a meeting or market their business. And, sadly, it is the underlying reason why relationships suffer from not making your needs known.
How you define fear can dictate your reactions to its meaning. I recently ran across two definitions of fear that I think are important to share in the hopes that you might look deeper into your fears and decide to banish them once and for all:
Forget Everything And Run
Face Everything And Rise
With the first, you can go into flight mode and run away from what you want; however, you ultimately have to live with the results – not having what you desire and then living with your inaction’s and resulting frustrations. OR, you can choose to face your fears and overcome them. The more you do, the more long-lasting results you will see.
You need to decide which path you want to take- to face your fears or to allow them to control you. Make the choice to overcome any fear you have; recognize that their power is from you, which means you can easily take it away.
Here are some steps you can take to rid yourself of those pesky fears that are holding you back:
This week, make your focus the quest to uncover the real reason for your fears; then, question their validity and what you think would be the worst outcome. Rewrite those outcomes as a positive statement and monitor how you feel when you read them. Vow to take one small action step on what is holding you back then ‘see’ how much you get accomplished. Commit to building on these actions and monitor your progress until your goal is achieved.
If you need help gaining clarity on your business or career goals, or in ‘taming the demons’ that prevent your success, why not get some help – stop the struggle and call today to get started! http://www.cyscoaching.com
