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Click to go to: Building Friendships Within The Office Dealing with Stress in Stressful Times Career Health: Your Annual Career Physical Building Friendships Within The Office (First in a series)
Tip: Create the Ice Breaker Is easier not to reach out to people—to speak everyday with the same people and to remain within your standard social sphere. The hard thing is reaching out to new people and building a relationship from scratch. In the office environment, be the person who breaks the ice. Bring in snacks in the morning, or schedule a team outing for lunch or after hours. In other words, be the planner and help bring people together. Always remember, however, that quantity is better than quality. One event a year that includes everyone is better than one event a month that only includes a few. Dealing with Stress in Stressful Times Are you stressed out? Burned out? In need of a break? Both managers and employees are finding themselves in increasingly stressful work environments. Twenty years of corporate mergers, downsizing and greater reliance on technology has left many employees in situations where they are responsible for more work than ever and in positions that, by their nature, are more stress-filled. Here are our tips of the month to help you cope with the chaos: Prioritize to Conquer Time When work is due in five minutes, was due five minutes ago, or is running behind schedule, stress usually increases. To avoid this, prioritize your work ruthlessly. If you finish projects a day ahead of time, go into meetings prepared or stay on top of internal communications, there is less chance that you will be butting up against the clock and feeling the pressure of tardiness. Find out which prioritization method works best for you. Is it a written list; an Outlook calendar; a stack of Post-It notes; a cell phone reminder? Discover your preferred form of organization and then enjoy the more productive life of someone who is always working ahead of schedule, not behind. Bite The Bullet and Get It Out of the Way Many unpleasant things in life are more painful if you have time to think about them. When you go to a doctor for a shot, you prefer not to want to have time to stare at the needle and think about what's about to happen. You want the action to be over quickly. Similarly, if you have some difficult work task to do on a given day, do it first thing in the morning and get it out of the way. Leaving unpleasant work until late in the day gives you time to think about it, worry about it and dread it, resulting in unneeded stress that could have easily been avoided. Wake up every day, use your morning burst of energy to conquer the most difficult tasks and the rest of the day will be more pleasant. Just Get It Done None of us like to be weighed down by obligations that are held over our head. When we don't finish projects or assignments on time and they carry over from day-to-day, we have an ever present source of stress. In some instances, what's most needed is to finish the project and get it off our to-do list. Be conscious of when this is the case: When working late, putting in the extra time and getting something off the to-do pile must be the priority. Extra work hours may seem counterintuitive to stress, but it may make the next day and the remainder of the week relatively stress-free. It may also help you avoid going to work with a negative attitude. Ask for Help Most of us shy away from asking for help. In fact, our urge to manage our own work is often so strong that we push too far beyond our reach. If you are overburdened and need help, let someone know. Keeping that knowledge to yourself and overextending yourself will leave you buried, both mentally and physically. Speaking up will help you get the help you need in the short term. It will also demonstrate to your co-workers and supervisor that you know how to manage your work flow. More than likely, you will be more productive because you will reduce the errors on projects and the resulting “do-overs.” Internal Networking Most of us know about the benefits of networking in the marketplace. During a job search, you can increase your contacts, find out about unpublished job opportunities, be referred to an opportunity you didn't know about, find out about an upcoming opportunity, and the like. Most of us also know about who we should network with during a job search including family, friends, business acquaintances, former co-workers, former supervisors, community acquaintances, alumni association members, career office employees at our former school, members of professional organizations, and the like. But what about internal networking at the organization you work at? Why would you want to conduct networking there? What are the benefits of internal networking? Who should you network with? Will that backfire on you with your supervisor or work team? Internal networking should be a natural part of your activities at work. You can network over lunch, during a coffee break, after work, or at off-hour company functions. It's something you are already doing and you don't even know it! Like job search networking, internal networking provides two direct benefits:
Internal Networking Questions
Every month we give recommendations on making your work life more manageable and enjoyable. Check the website for other tips in this series
Career Health: Your Annual Career Physical How's your health? It's a question you may be asked from time to time, especially as you get older. But has anyone asked you about your career health? Your career is like your body in terms of "health." You may feel it is "healthy" in all respects. Or, you may feel it is healthy overall, but you feel some minor "aches and pains." Or, your career may have a "constant cold" that doesn't prevent you from functioning, but you don't feel healthy. At worst, your career health may feel like a serious disease. One way of maintaining or improving your career health is by conducting an annual career physical. Like a medical physical, your career physical should examine important attributes which will help your career health. While the career physical can be done by you, it's advisable to incorporate a career coach or other professional that is experienced with such matters. An unbiased, external coach separate from your organization is the best choice. Here are some typical questions from such a checkup:
Do you need to consider career adjustments such as internal job adjustment or change, training, external job search, career change, or strategic career management coaching? Henle Management is dedicated to helping professionals advance and develop their careers. Contact us for career coaching, management and job search assistance. Selecting a Coach If you are considering a coach to help you become more effective in your professional life or for personal growth, you need to closely evaluate coaching "candidates." Here are some key qualities to look for when selecting a coach. Motivation More than anything else, coaches are there to help motivate through interaction, discussion, questioning, teaching, and feedback. They motivate by challenging, empathizing, probing, relating, and reflecting. Those who are seeking coaching must find someone that strives to motivate — and motivate in a way that resonates with them. Each person is energized and motivated in different ways; make sure the coaching fit is right for you. Listening skills Be careful if you sense that a coach is dictating advice to you. Coaches are not advice-givers only. Coaches primarily facilitate and speed your growth process. They are there to dialogue, question, reflect and help you develop plans and actions. The core competency they need for that is strong listening skills. Make sure you evaluate a coach’s listening skills when talking to coaching practitioners. Chemistry If it’s awkward to speak with someone or if a coach is on a different page, the coaching process is rendered ineffective. Make sure you find someone you can relate to, work with and that you share a working chemistry with. Remember, this does not mean the person agrees with everything you say, but rather connects with you in a way that motivates you to take action. Knowledge of Coaching Process and Techniques The person you seek as a coach should be knowledgeable about the coaching process and coaching techniques. Coaching is a relationship and, like all relationships, changes over time. Good coaches understand that and incorporate that in the change process, while adjusting their coaching approach. In partnership with the client, they bring about positive change primarily through this process and relationship. Good coaches use coaching techniques for insight and planning, and these techniques become tools within the emerging powerful process. Be sure to ask the coach about their coaching philosophy, process and supporting techniques. Focus Coaching is designed to give you more personal attention to what you need help with. Early on, make sure that your coach is focused and engaged on you and your issues. That is what makes coaching so effective. While small talk and sharing is an important part of the coaching relationship, getting sidetracked too often on irrelevant issues interrupts the coaching path and blocks avenues to effective change. Selecting a Coach Questions If you are considering a coach, what goals do you want to achieve? Be aware of the differences between coaches, mentors and managers. Ask yourself, do I need a coach, a mentor, or would my manager be my best resource for me? Every month we give recommendations on making your work life more manageable and enjoyable. Check the website for other tips in this series
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