Overcoming Hurdles

I dropped my iPhone.  Again.

Now the first time I did this I was lucky – the awesome piece of machinery survived the fall and responded immediately to my furious CPR of the on/off button.

The ninth time I dropped it, there was nothing that would help.  My phone had flatlined.  I very suddenly felt disconnected from my life, my work emails, my social media (tweet tweet!)

Now some say the Law of Attraction is a powerful thing.  You put out there what you want – and you get it.  So I had been addicted to my iPhone for a while.  Checking my emails too often, being accessible when I should have been otherwise engaged.  My wall paper should have read “Open all hours”.  I was saying to my friends how I had a love/hate thing going on with the iPhone.  “I wish I could just text and talk like the old days…”

Well my wish was granted.

I am now getting acquainted with a mate’s old phone while waiting for the new iPhone to be released. I am in iRehab!

Thou shalt not to be dependant on iPhone…. 

I am realising that the world is not going to fall down if I do not update my twitter, linked in or facebook account everyday! Check my emails 40,000 times.

It is quite refreshing.  By the time I get my hands on the new phone I will have a different relationship with it.  They say that absence makes the heart grow fonder?

Question is though…does the new phone come with a bubble wrap cover?

We do not all resign from our jobs because we hate what we are doing or dislike the people we work with.  Sometimes…perhaps rarely for some…it can be like splitting up a relationship.

It can feel like a weight on your shoulders.  You know you need to move on to develop your career.  You know how vital your role is to the overall business outputs.  You know that the news will not go down well.  You have a great relationship with your Manager but dread that pre-resignation chat request of ‘do you have a minute – I need to talk to you’.   The nerves are there and then BANG you said it.   Those three little words are ‘I am resigning’.  Phew.

So how did you get to this in the first place?

An opportunity just comes along that you simply cannot refuse to look at. Maybe you had a bad day.  The job plays on your mind….tempts you into updating your resume.   You flirt with the idea of applying over a few days and before you can say ’send’ you have applied.  The love affair with your new employer starts.  You go for interviews and meet new and exciting people.   And then here you are.  You have a new job and need to end your relationship in now ‘old’ job.

Resigning from your job is a simply a conversation between you and your Manager – it is communication about the end of your working relationship.  It is one you could have many times in your career.  It is an opportunity to thank people for their role in shaping your career to date.  Tying up loose ends and leaving with your head held high.  Maintaining relationships with your old colleagues and Manager adds to your network of contacts that will continue to champion and accelerate your career.

So off you go - good luck in your new role and sometimes people really do mean it when they say ‘Keep in touch’.

I’m observing an interesting trend at the moment in that many people on the job market are just trying to escape the bad memories and bad karma” of last year by moving jobs. Some of those who survived restructuring and retrenchments last year and endured months of working harder for less pay are battle scarred and weary. Read full article »

From time to time we need to have a conversation with someone  at work that makes us feel uncomfortable.  Vunerable.  Ill.  Perhaps so far as saying you would rather eat worms than approach the dilemma head on with a conversation!

Courageous conversations are just that.  You have to muster up the courage to  take on whatever it is that is worrying/gnawing/hurting/angering* you in the workplace. Read full article »

I was preparing for my Monday afternoon radio interview this week and thinking about work place friendships.  I have been working for 15 years now and in that time have made some great friends and also had a few ‘run ins’ too! 

In the early stage of our careers I think we all like to be liked and do our best to fit in to the culture that we work in.  However, as we mature, and as our career develops we become more influential and certainly more aware of who we do and do not get on with.

People clash.  Personalities clash.  So what can you do about it?

On my career journey I have been on many different courses whether they were management courses or personal development days the first thing I learnt was more about myself.  Remember those personality profiles you complete, the negative framed questions and questions that seem to ask the same thing over and over?  At the end when you read what type of person you are and (reluctantly) say ‘gee, that’s got me worked out!’.

So to start learning about how to work with others better you need to first take a look at yourself.  If you research DISC profiling you can place your work personality  into one of 4 boxes. 

You can then look around you and start to find out more about what type of personality your colleagues are.  Particularly that guy in accounts that you just never seem to be able to communicate with, without them getting defensive.*

So I was amazed that I could change the dynamic of the relationships I had by identifying more about them.

Whilst I am considered to be an Influencer, I found it hard to get along with the Dominant category.  So by changing my approach, thinking more about how they might like to interact I started to make progress in changing the dynamic of our relationship.  They became a project for me, without knowing it! 

It took a few months but I managed to smooth over the bumps.  When asked in subsequent job interviews about communication challenges or issues this was a great example to use and in turn demonstrated my ability to reflect on myself as well as others.

…and guess what..my personality clash – well we will never be best buddies but at work at least we still get along!

*example has been changed to protect identity!!

Return to Work

Sally-Anne talks through what to do when returning to work after a career break .  Some great tips to help you bounce back with confidence and a plan.

By being aware of, and successfully tackling, the changes many women go through when they first become a mum, you’ll be better equipped and stronger as a person to deal with the challenges you experience at home and at work. Read full article »

The current downturn across Australia is certainly reducing the opportunities available to Senior Executives.

Not only are businesses restructuring to eliminate many middle to senior management positions but also opportunities for professionals to move into existing senior positions are more limited. This causes promotion bottlenecks and therefore greater frustration amongst executives as expectations are not being met and challenges are not provided. Read full article »

Usually the hardest part about accepting a new job is resigning from your old one.

You may feel uncomfortable in resigning because of your loyalty towards your present company and quite possibly because you may have friendships with your colleagues and your manager that could be tested by your move. Read full article »

Moving into a commercial role from a public accounting firm can be difficult. There can be marked differences in the culture and nature of the work and it can take time to adjust. Paul Lyons outlines some of these differences and provides some advice on how to work through the first few months. Read full article »