by Solange Lopes | Dec 17, 2013 | Career |
Photo: madamenoire.com
It’s year-end, and while some of us corporate sisters are vying for a promotion or raise, others are considering finding a new place of employment. New decisions are being made, new resolutions are being subscribed to (read our post on why you shouldn’t subscribe to professional resolutions this year), new professional avenues are being looked at…As this year is drawing to a close, we are all looking for ways to better ourselves, to make it further this year than last, and maybe to even finally look at this “glass ceiling” in the face and confront it once and for all…Yet few are the discussions around one aspect of our corporate struggles that we, as corporate sisters, should mind even more than others, the big C, that is, the corporate culture we are evolving in or are getting ready to evolve in as we accept a new job, a new position, or embark on a new corporate adventure.
According to wisegeek.com, “corporate culture” is “a set of characteristics that define a business”. It not only involves “employee attitudes, standards, rites and rituals”, but also reflects characteristics found in society, such as the hierarchy system for instance. Or cultural stereotypes, erroneous assumptions, sexism or flat-out racism. And just like society, it can be positive, neutral, or plain negative… One of my big corporate sisters once told me this about the corporate jungle: “If you hadn’t experienced the real world, well, you’re about to!” In other words, if you didn’t know, now you know…
As corporate sisters, from those of us who are just entering the corporate jungle to the rest of us who have been doing the corporate “do” for a while now, culture is KEY! In order for us to evolve and grow in any environment, especially in the professionally challenging corporate space, we need to mind the culture at hand and wonder IF, and HOW we fit in. Yet it is one of the questions that is rarely asked in interviews. It is also one of the components of our success as women, and double minorities, that is not as much talked about as its resulting negative effects. Why is it that when we enter a room, we as humans are able to sense the “culture” in the room, and either adapt to it or separate ourselves from it? Likewise, when we commit ourselves to a corporate environment in which we intend to evolve and succeed, we should evaluate, measure and pre-position ourselves within the culture that we are entering.
Many a corporate sister has felt the disheartening pressure of a male-dominated, at times racially charged corporate environment. And since corporate culture is but the reflection of our culture as people in general, it should no longer be surprising. What should still surprise us, on the other hand, is that even as we struggle against and many times rise above the challenges of our world culture, we yet to have to put more into question the professional cultures we commit our successes to, possibly before we actually suffer from its negative effects…
So the next time we consider a raise, promotion, or new job, or even just a lateral move in a different department of the same company, maybe one of the first questions we should lean in and ask ourselves, as well as the person on the other side of the table, is: “What is your corporate culture, and how do I, as an ambitious, driven and successful corporate sister, fit in?”
Are you minding your corporate culture?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Dec 16, 2013 | Career |
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As corporate sisters, we like to stay active…in style. And yes, those two principles can be combined…that is, with the right accessories. Like the new edition of the Nike Fuel Band, which not only helps you measure out your activities (from breaking a sweat at the gym to running the mall), but also comes in limited edition rose gold so you can actually take your bling with you!
It’s priced at $169, and if it makes you happy, healthy and stylish, why not?
Have you seen a great accessory that you’d like to share? Please post a comment or send us an email at thecorporatesister@gmail.com!
The Corporate Sister
by Solange Lopes | Dec 16, 2013 | Career
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Looking for a sweet Christmas gift for the corporate sister in your life, or just in the mood for some sweet yet festive bling? Check out these simple yet fabulous Lily earrings from Stella and Bow. Whether to jazz up your corporate day, or as a festive touch to your holiday evenings, these sweet silver studs will make you smile…
At $39, less is definitely more this season…
Have you seen a great accessory that you’d like to share? Please send us a comment or an email at thecorporatesister@gmail.com?
The Corporate Sister
by Solange Lopes | Dec 16, 2013 | Career |
Photo: blackloveandmarriage.com
A new year is looming near, and before we can say “Happy New Year“, it will be here, what with its slew of New Year’s resolutions that we won’t follow through, plans that we’ll forget about after about a week (or a day), and promises that we’ll most likely break…Like that spankin’ brand new gym membership on January 2nd, that will turn into a stale commitment in just a few weeks, along with our 1/2 pack of hard-earned abdominal muscle…Depressing? Yes! Annoying? Hell, yes! Impossible to change? Nope….
I decided to stop subscribing tothe “New Year’s resolutions” annual membership a few professional years ago, as I noticed that the longer the list of things I promised myself (and others) to do, the shorter the list of accomplishments I actually managed to produce. You know, things like cleaning my inbox, keeping my to-do list up-to-date, packing my lunch, being more vocal at work, or getting that super promotion….A few days later, after the feeling of newness wears off and real life, along with new projects to start, old assignments to fix, new deadlines and old complacency, set in, yet again, there go my overcrowded inbox, neglected to-do list, and… where is my lunch at again? Yeah, right….
Truth is, only 8% of all people actually turn their New Year’s resolutions into actual achievements. For the remaining 92% of us, we just keep recycling them for the next year…And why exactly is that? Well, probably because somehow some way we forget to ask ourselves the right questions before committing to the “perfect” (and unattainable) plan of action… Simple questions like, say:
- What do I want?: What do I want out of my career? Many of us will undoubtedly answer “success. Yet, how do we define success? Would it be in terms of flexibility, money, advancement? What do YOU want? And if you think you want it, you may want to think again how hard you really do….
- Why do I want what I want? What is it about that promotion, those flexible hours, the extra money that makes is so worth it? Is it the extra time we’ll get to spend with our families? The opportunity to pursue this other career? The gratification of knowing that we can do it? What is it? When you start putting a name on your motivation, it starts taking shape, form, and possibly, reality….
- Who else is part of my decision tree? We are not alone in these important career decisions and resolutions we make. Most likely, there are people around us, before us, after us, who matter much and whose impact weighs a lot on the commitments we make. Whether it be a significant other, children, families, or the desire (and duty) to make a difference and open doors for other corporate sisters coming after us, our actions and decisions are loud advocates (or deterrents) for others….So it may be worth defining who these “others” are, and delineating how our paths will, and should affect them…
While these sound like basic questions, they are some of the hardest questions to answer, and some of the most painful at times…And these may very well uncover some hard (and surprising) truths about who we truly are, and who we truly aspire to be…Let’s prepare for and welcome these truths, in the awareness and realization that when it comes to starting on a new path, a new year, or any new decision, the process is at times as important, if not more, than the outcome itself….
Will you skip the professional resolutions this year?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Dec 14, 2013 | Career
NY&Company Shirred Cardigan $15 – Photo: nyandcompany.com
‘Tis the season to…shop! On our retail sales and discount radar this week-end, the deals are numerous and the sales are raging. So get to your Christmas list, and get to scoring some deals…
- The Limited is offering 50% off everything until 2pm today!
- Express is still offering 40% off everything for the next 2 days!
- J Crew has all prices marked 30% down, in stores and online!
- Macy’s is having its Super Saturday today, with an extra 20% off new looks and great gifts!
- For the shoe aficionadas, online site Shoedazzle.com is offering 30% boots for VIP Membership only!
- Ann Taylor has 50% off everything; use code HOLIDAY50 online;
- LOFT is offering 40% off everything (use code WINTER online);
- New York & Company is also offering 50% off almost everything, with a unique sweater promotion at $15 (now that’s a sweater steal);
Ready, Set, Shop!
Seen any great shopping deals for the fashionable corporate woman out there? Please post a comment below, or email us at thecorporatesister@gmail.com!
The Corporate Sister
