The Discomfort Zone An Interview with Dr. Marcia Reynolds - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career

The Discomfort Zone An Interview with Dr. Marcia Reynolds - Personal Branding Blog - Stand Out In Your Career Recently, I had the privilege of speaking with  Dr. Marcia Reynolds, author of the new book,  The Discomfort Zone: How Leaders Turn Difficult Conversations Into Breakthroughs (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, October 2014). Dr. Reynolds works with clients around the world who seek to develop effective leaders, and understands organizational cultures, what blocks communication and innovation, and what is needed to bring people together for better results. We discussed her new book as well as how people can overcome these mental blocks to drive real, meaningful communication in their organizations. Why do employers struggle to have difficult conversations with employees?   Our brains have automatic defense mechanisms that are naturally on alert at all times, especially when it comes to interactions with another human. We would rather do difficult tasks than have difficult conversations. There are too many things that could go wrong that is beyond our control. If we think a conversation will be difficult, we concoct visions of the worst case scenario where the person gets emotional and judges our leadership to be inferior. Therefore, we avoid difficult conversations believing they will come to no good. Vincent Van Gogh said, Lets not forget that the little emotions are the great captains of our lives and we obey them without realizing it.” When I coach leaders, they often had not thought through the reasons they avoid any particular conversations. Yet talking about their avoidance helps them realize their excuses have no substance and having the difficult conversation will make them a stronger leader. They gain control instead of losing it. What are the top mental barriers people must overcome in order to succeed in their careers?  1.  They have to know all the answers. In today’s complex and quickly changing world, there is no way anyone can have the answers to every problem, but most people feel they need to, especially top performers. They then become sensitive to criticism and refuse to take risks where they might fail. They also have trouble delegating to others where they have to embrace the unknown and trust people. This stunts their growth as a leader. 2.  They don’t develop and use their self-awareness. Without this, they make decisions based on emotions and quickly justify them with logic. This also leads to a person not being aware of the impact they have on others, especially when their words or actions have a negative effect.  3.  They get stuck doing what they are good at. The more experienced professional often fall into ruts where they don’t try new things and don’t accept the new ideas of others to protect what they have created for themselves. Even people who were once very innovative and enjoyed trying out new things get stale over the years. They unconsciously fear they have more and more to lose without recognizing how much they can gain with an open mind.   What are some strategies for overcoming these obstacles?  1.  Let go of knowing. Leaders have to learn to be comfortable with making decisions with what they know and let go of having to know everything before they move forward. They also need to let go of knowing what others are going to say and do in their conversations. If they think they already know what is on someone’s mind, they won’t be curious enough to hear beyond the words to decipher what the person really needs and fears. The leader has to be curious, being sincerely interested about others’ experiences and ideas.  2.  Learn how to recognize when a distracting emotion emerges. When situations and conversations begin to feel risky, messy, or emotionally unstable, leaders need to notice when their bodies tense up or their breathing shortens, so they can release the tension and return to being present. Then they should develop their emotional intelligence so they become better at witnessing how their thoughts and emotional processes are affecting their choices, statements, and behaviors. They learn how assign meaning to events. They catch the judgments they are making about people. They see how they are rationalizing their decisions or inability to decide. A coach can help them develop this awareness. 3.  Exercise the mind to stay agile and accepting of fear. They should try new things weekly if not daily. This could mean driving a different way to work as well as listening and trying out some of the ideas their employees offer them. They should travel to new places on their vacations, especially locales where the cultures are very different from theirs. They also need to find lessons in their mistakes so they see them as opportunities for growth instead of failures. The most successful people have failed many times. How can employers initiate difficult conversations without damaging the relationship with their employees?  1.  First, to build trust, the person must feel the leader’s goals and desires are in his or her best interest throughout the conversation and beyond. The leader must enter the conversation with the purpose of helping the person discover solutions so she grows in the process. The purpose is not to fix her problems or to make her into being someone else. The person is not a means to an end for the leader; the person’s development is the end goal. 2.  Before meeting with the person, the leaders should set an emotional intention for the conversation. What does the leader want the person to feelâ€"inspired, hopeful, or courageous? The leader must consciously choose to feel this emotion at the beginning and during the conversations. If the leader is angry or disappointed with the person from the beginning, the person will never open up. The leader sets and maintains the emotional tone. Therefore, the leader also has to be careful not to lose his or her emotional grounding. If the leader feels the conversations will get uncomfortable, a good technique is to choose one emotion and use this as an anchor. If something is unnerving, the leader should say this word quietly to him or herself to shift back to the feeling. Some good words to use are “calm,” “courageous,” or “patient” to stay open while listening and keeping the conversation on track.  3.  The leader should also recall the good work the person has done and remember that he or she is doing his best with what he knows now. The leader’s regard for the person is critical to the outcome. Even if the leader disagrees with the person’s perspective, the leader has to honor the human being, holding the person in high regard (as the leader would like in return). Hopefully, the leader can help the person live into his potential during the conversation. Can you give an example of a leader or organization who is executing your methods well today? Leader example: I was working with general manager of a division being sold to another company. One of her directors had become belligerent in meetings and kept finding excuses for his team being late on deadlines. She was thinking she might need to let him go. Instead, we explored how she might use the Discomfort Zone techniques to discover the source of his resistance and what he needed to get on board with the transition. From the conversation, she discovered that the director felt left out of the decision making, which increased his feeling that he needed to protect his team. She also found that he was in fact, not getting some necessary information he needed to keep his team on target with all the changes so they were falling behind. She then scheduled regular meetings to update the director and listen to his concerns. The director committed to come to her when he had concerns between their scheduled meetings. As a result of their continued conversations, his team started meeting their deadline s. The relationship between my client and the director improved to the level where she felt she could start grooming him for a higher position once the sale was completed and they were under new management (and, she was named CEO!). Organizational example: The CEO of a shipping company in Europe asked me to teach a course on Courageous Coaching incorporating the methods from The Discomfort Zone for his executive staff. He had found that by teaching his leaders to use coaching skills, the engagement scores in the company soared. The result was high productivity with low turnover. But he wanted to go to the next level, which he found in my work. He told me, “Shipping isn’t all that exciting. I need for my leaders to develop the minds of their employees to help them grow beyond their limitations.” I taught his team how to make stronger connections and listen more deeply in their conversations. As a result, they were better able to help others think through their blind spots and sources of resistance so they could see themselves and the world around them more broadly and effectively. The CEO felt they were making the cultural shift he had hoped for, where leadership conversations went beyond mundane problem solving to meaningful inte ractions that gave people a better life. Please be sure to pick up a copy of Dr. Reynolds new book, and consider trying to employ some of her strategies to improve your career!

Leadership Presence For Women on the Rise with Ora Shtull - Classy Career Girl

Leadership Presence For Women on the Rise with Ora Shtull Recently, I had the amazing opportunity to interview Ora Shtull,  The Glass Elevator: A Guide to Leadership Presence for Women on the Rise Ora Shtull is  an Executive Coach. She helps senior executives  in Fortune 100 companies enhance their Leadership Presence â€" the ability to engage, connect, and influence in the workplace. Executives who have worked with Ora over the past 15 years are thriving at their jobs, being promoted, and making smooth and seamless transitions. In addition to coaching high potential NY executives, Ora has served as Adjunct Professor of Business Communication at NYU Stern School of Business. She is the author of The Glass Elevator: A Guide to Leadership Presence for Women on the Rise and is a featured speaker at events across the US, inspiring leaders to communicate with confidence and lead with impact. Here are highlights from the Ora Shtull interview: What is leadership presence? Leadership presence is your ability to engage, to connect, and to influence in the workplace. Leadership presence has nine component skills. The higher your leadership presence quotient (LPQ) the more professionally successful you’ll be. You’re not actually born with this LPQ; it is something that you develop. What are some mistakes that hold women back from becoming leaders? Women sit at the table with men but don’t speak up as much as men.  Women often neglect networking.  Women hate tooting their own horn and the idea of self-promotion. We have to extend our networks, inside and outside the company. We all need a tribe (network) because a tribe will teach us new things and help us do our jobs better. “The power of WE is a lot more commanding than the power of ME.” How can we grow our network? Give to gain the idea of being generous. Your network naturally grows because people will get attached to you.  This week invite a colleague for coffee or introduce someone in your network to someone else. Also, nurture your needs. A recent study identified six particular needs: support, expertise, influence, feedback, validation, and energy. Women value the quality of connection. What you can do:  This month attend an industry event and increase your online presence. How can women speak up more? Ask a strategic or solid question or make a commitment to speak up at every meeting. What do you wish you would have known as a new professional woman just starting out in her career? There are so many people out there in the world that are simply waiting to help you and all you have to do to ask. As women, we forget that we have the power to ask for help. Thanks, Ora!

10 Best Employment Years For Graduates - Career Geek

10 Best Employment Years For Graduates - Career Geek Ever since 2008, graduates have constantly been looking at a depressing employment market. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife) Atleast the next two years do not look good for the graduate market. Amongst this doom and gloom, Online Colleges have compiled the 10 best employment years  graduates have faced in the past. There is no surprise the last one on the list is 2007. [ALSO READ:  ApplyApp.ly: Jobs Suited Only For You (US)] This year’s job market was strong on its own merits, but compared to every year since, it was phenomenal. Forty-seven percent of employers surveyed said they planned to hire. More than half of college seniors had  accepted a job before graduating, according to The National Association of Colleges and Employers (compared to just 19% two years later).  Average starting salaries  were up across the board, like the 5.4% increase for chemical and civil engineers, and 6.1% for marketing majors. Even liberal arts wages went up, with history majors making 3.3% more and political science students 5.9% more. Read more on Online Colleges 0

Learn Resume Writing PDF For Free

Learn Resume Writing PDF For FreeIn today's challenging economy, the need to make money comes before everything else, and this is true when you learn resume writing PDF. There are plenty of people looking for ways to make a little extra cash each month and in order to get on the first few pages of the resumes they look for programs that will help them out. They usually do not even know how to write a resume or what steps to take in order to improve their chances of being hired.Resume writing PDF can be learned by someone with no knowledge in this area. It only takes a short amount of time, and it does not cost anything but the Internet connection and a computer. You can learn more about resume writing PDF the same way you learned grammar and English grammar. This skill has been used to become a teacher, a counselor, a child psychologist, a nurse, and a plumber.Learn to use bullet points to break your information down into sections. The four sections include the education, work experi ence, skills, and interests. When you learn resume writing PDF this way, you can easily include the first three. For those interested in education you can write about courses you have taken and those that you have completed.Use keywords to help you narrow down your possible topic. While you are looking at the resumes you want to identify the reason they are interested in you and your skills. You can learn resume writing PDF in this way as well. No matter what the reason you have for writing a resume, you want to include the most important things.When you know how to write a resume, you can go beyond the basics. It is important to remember to add accomplishments that show how you have accomplished your goals. People will not like to see nothing accomplished because they want to see results.You can learn resume writing PDF by going to a community college or technical school and taking some classes. These classes can also give you some advice on how to write a resume and how to correct grammar mistakes that have been made. It is not necessary to purchase professional resume writing software, but it is a good idea if you have the ability to learn this type of skill.When you learn resume writing PDF this way, you can produce the right resume in no time. All you need to know is to follow a set of guidelines and you will be able to do it. Once you learn resume writing PDF, you will be ready to use this skill again, which means you will want to move on to another career and continue to get better.If you are interested in learning resume writing PDF, you may want to try a free education program. This program provides useful information on how to develop resume writing PDF that is as well written as it is effective. The educational program is by a professional and it is very helpful. Take advantage of this program and learn resume writing PDF for the job of your dreams.

Are Your Job Search Details in a Shoebox or on Yellow Sticky Notes

Are Your Job Search Details in a Shoebox or on Yellow Sticky Notes Are Your Job Search Details in a Shoebox or on Yellow Sticky Notes? David, an unemployed senior banker, is a high-performance athlete. He’s a very competitive marathon runner and, during our job search coaching sessions, he showed me how he documented a rigorous pre-marathon training regimen. He tracked each workout, recorded what he ate for every meal, and noted how he adjusted his goals the closer he got to race day. Yet David had no plan or preparation for his job search. When Susan, a pharmaceutical sales representative, showed me her list of opportunities she had applied for, it was scribbled on various yellow sticky notes with random bits of information, sometimes with the company name, rarely with the title and name of the contact and stopped after about 5 pending opportunities. Michael was reorganized out of a job and had been looking for a new position for six months. He has a family, rent, and expenses and had been in what he called fulltime job search mode. He believed he was doing everything right because he had a good résumé, he had applied for over 50 jobs and he had five job interviews. But Michael had not landed a job offer yet. I sat down with Michael and asked him to show me his progress. I was looking forward to seeing someone who was organized around the single most important thing in his life right now: his job search. He started doing a verbal checklist from memory. Michael had no organized process for his fulltime job search. Like most job seekers, David, Susan and Michael did not have everything in one place… anywhere. Not in a binder, in a shoe box, or on a computer. Yes, they could tell me about this company and that one and “gee, I thought I was going to get this one.” It gets worse. I asked David to show me what he has been submitting to each job application and he handed me his résumé. Susan, how about an example of a cover letter? How about a sample of your follow-up letter you sent to the recruiter or hiring manager? Susan admitted, sheepishly, that she did not follow up on any applications and Michael shared that he didn’t write cover letters. He thought nobody read them and his years and years of experience outlined on his resume would get him the job. Solution: Organization! I want to help you to land the perfect job! Together we’ll get you started on your job search â€" the right way. After three decades of hiring, coaching and assisting thousands in their job searches, I built the Cut the Crap (CTC) Job Search Organizer for you. Start fresh, re-boot and take charge of your #1 job â€" YOU â€" by organizing your way to success. Start with the advice, tips and tools I’ve put together, right here. Read my blog, watch the videos, sign up for my newsletter and check out the resources I’ve gathered for you. And purchase the CTC Job Search Organizer and 8 other downloadable tools here, or get a copy of my new book, Cut the Crap, Get a Job! A New Job Search Process for a New Era. For under $20.00, you will get a revolutionary, complete end-to-end job search process AND all of the downloadable tools you need to execute your personal job search (valued at over $49.00). More importantly, you’ll get your next career job faster by being the BEST. Good luck, job seeker! I’m here to help!

11 Careers for Die-Hard Perfectionists

11 Careers for Die-Hard Perfectionists 12 Flares 12 Flares Helen Evans, Marketing Manager of JobTonic, has been in the career development field for 5 years. She likes to share interesting tips to help people find their dream job. Her goal is to share what she has learned about searching job. Dream job is closer than you imagine. You can find her on Google+, Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. Do you strive for perfection in everything you do? Perfectionism may drive your friends and family crazy, but this trait can work to your advantage in certain careers. When a job requires meticulous work, you call in a perfectionist. Here are 11 careers for all of you die-hard perfectionists out there. 1. Director From stage shows to movies and television, directors are responsible for making sure that a production runs smoothly. Choosing scripts, hiring talent and overseeing the work of the crew and cast are just a few of the many tasks directors take on. 2. Airline Pilot If you’re a perfectionist who loves flying, an airline pilot may just be the perfect career for you. Pilots are responsible for the lives of hundreds of passengers, so they need to be accurate and exact every time they fly. Plus, this is a career that will feed your need to stay organized. How? Pilots create pre-flight checklists to make sure that the aircraft is suitable for take-off. 3. Accountant Accounting and perfectionism are a match made in heaven. As an accountant, you’ll be responsible for ensuring that your clients are adhering to the law. You’ll also prepare financial documentation and tax returns. 4. Court Reporter Court reporters are in charge of documenting every word that’s spoken in a court room.From hearings to legislative meetings and trial, court reporters need to be accurate and exact in their work. 5. Editor If you have a creative side, a career as aneditor would suit your perfectionist personality. You’ll be in charge of ensuring that writing is grammatically correct and suitable for the publication’s audience. Editors are meticulous and scrutinize every word on a page. 6. Surgeons Surgeryrequires a steady and meticulous hand. Surgeons must be incredibly precise when performing procedures to ensure that the patient isn’t harmed during the operation. With such high stakes, it’s really no surprise that most surgeons are perfectionists. 7. Pharmacist When it comes to medication, ensuring that a patient receives the correct dosage is of the utmost importance. Pharmacists need to be extremely accurate when they dispense medication, which makes this the perfect job for a perfectionist. 8. Computer Programmer Computer programmers are in charge of creating software applicationsand developing websites. When writing code, programmers need to be precise and accurate to ensure that the application does what the programmer intends it to do. 9. Surveyor To calculate distances, surveyors must use precise measurements. They’re also in charge of calculating the angles and direction in between points. They also work with cartographers to create maps.If you want to find job opportunities for true perfectionists,surveying is a smart career choice. You can find all this job openings on job search sites like JobTonic, Ideed, Monster and others. 10.     Vet Technician Vet technicians assist veterinarians in giving medical care to animals. Their job is to record information about the patient’s weight, food intake as well as their vital signs. In some cases, they may perform diagnostic tests and draw blood. If you have a love for animals, add vet technician to your job search list. 11.     Wedding Planner Wedding planners are in charge of planning and organizing their clients’ weddings. It’s their job to make sure that everything goes perfectly on that special day. If you have a knack for organization and are a true people person, a wedding planner is a great career choice.

Hallie Recommends - The Prosperity Game - Hallie Crawford

Hallie Recommends - The Prosperity Game Clap your hands, stamp your feet and sing Hallelujah! Were having a revival! A Prosperity Revival! Thats right! My colleagues Jeanna Gabellini and Eva Gregory, CPCC’s, Master Coaches, Speakers and Authors of several programs and books, including Chicken Soup for the Soul â€" Life Lessons for Living a Prosperous Life, with Jack Canfield, due out in March ’08, have instructed thousands on how to deliberately create a life by design. They are regularly featured on radio and in the media, and are recognized authorities on the Laws of Attraction. And NOW, Jeanna and Eva want to share with you, their most popular tele-program ever. . . The one and only:Prosperity Game! Yes that famous 4-month program that infuses every cell of your being, every area of your life, every twitch, itch, whim and dream with the power of the Law of Attraction. Come on now and sing Hallelujah! because everything you want is already yours! You’ve just got to open up and let it in, and The Prosperity Game shows you how! You will learn, explore and play with the very principles, laws and strategies that have allowed Jeanna and Eva to create six-figure incomes, thriving coaching practices, co-host their own radio show and publish a book with Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hanson. Join Jeanna and Eva for (4) fun-filled, high-energy manifesting months of attraction strategy supported by proven processes and practices, cutting-edge group coaching and unlimited email coaching, community support and tons of fun! They’ve added new methods and strategies that will allow you to raise your vibration with ease and get you into the flow fast. Youre going to get: • 12 one-hour sessions spread over a 4 month period. • Unlimited email coaching between sessions. • A 90-page Playbook that you can use over and over. • A complete understanding of how to shift your energy to receive what you want. Each session focuses on creating maximum prosperity and turbo-charged attraction in every area of your life so you can: • Put yourself at the top of your list • Create rich, rewarding relationships that really work. • Enjoy perfect health, always. • Skyrocket your wealth in ways that you love, love, love. • Get maximum results by redesigning your daily routine. • Turn those shoulds and have tos into I just cant wait tos. • Take action ONLY from a place of inspiration. The specifics: PLAY THE PROSPERITY GAME Date: Tuesday, Jan. 8, 2008Time: 11am-12pm PT/ 2-3pm ETTuition: $1295 when paid in full by Dec. 31st, 2007. (Regular Rate $1800!) All classes will be recorded. Class dates will be the first three Tuesdays of each month after January. Decide that in 2008 you’ll be dialed in to your goals and ‘mojo’ by joining in The Prosperity Game! Jump in HERE! I recommend checking it out! Have a great weekend! Certified Career Coach