by Solange Lopes | May 6, 2016 | Career
This is our weekly career and lifestyle news update, where we round up exciting news of the last week and we let you have it…ahem, news-wise that is…
Think of it as your career gossiping section on steroids…
And while you’re at it, follow us on Facebook, Twitter,IG, and Pinterest!
Here we go…
- In honor of Mother’s Day this Sunday, Working Mother put together a list of the 50 most powerful moms of 2016;
- And for some additional Mother’s Day inspiration, check out these inspiring quotes from Ellevate Network;
- In exciting news this week, Misty Copeland, the first-American woman to be named a principal dancer in the American Ballet Theater, gets her own Barbie doll. Read it here!
- Did you ever wonder what the most productive times of your day are? Levo has some tips on working smarter;
- Worried about your title? The Personal Branding Blog explains why titles do not matter;
- Ask A Manager tips you off on how to help a staff member feel more confident (and score some leadership brownie points in the process);
- Evil HR Lady lists 10 things every working mom needs (#7 is my fave);
- Investing or Saving? Ellevates Network’s Sallie Krawcheck makes the case for one over the other;
- Wondering what your boss isn’t telling you? Read here about 5 keys to career advancement your boss isn’t telling you, by our guest contributor Karan Ferrell Rhodes;
- Running out of energy at work? Here are 6 foods to replenish your energy reserves in no time;
- I love this suit of the week by Corporette. And oh, here’s my fashion pick for this week!
Happy Friday!
To your success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 5, 2016 | Career
5 Keys to Career Advancement That Your Boss Hasn’t Told You
Today, I’m honored to welcome a new guest contributor to the blog, Ms. Karan Ferrell-Rhodes, founder and CEO of Shockingly Different Leadership (www.shockinglydifferent.com), a leadership development consultancy that provides development programs, best practice resources, and a cross-industry community which transforms “leaders into ultra-achievers” within their organization. Welcome to the blog Karan!
I’ve got to admit that I have one of the coolest professions in the world! As a leadership development strategist, I get to wake up every day and focus on helping super smart professionals get ready for the next step in their careers.
One of the most common frustrations I hear from up-and-coming leaders is that they are dying to use their expertise to make a real difference at work. They just want a chance. But most feel lost and frustrated as to what their senior leaders really want to see from them and how to get more visibility to key people in the company.
Did you know that in most organizations, special secret meetings (called “people reviews”) are held by the company’s top leaders? These are closed-door meetings where your senior executives discuss your job performance and future potential with the company.
It is always fascinating to me when I consult with corporate brass about who in their employee population are their most valuable assets. There is not an executive that I have met yet who is not dying to see awesome work results, new innovative ideas and an employee’s full potential. And ironically, I have yet to meet an employee who wakes up and comes to work with the goal to “fail at all costs.”
So, here’s the million-dollar question. If high achievers like yourself hunger to make a difference at your workplace and your senior leaders hunger to see your best work, why aren’t there a flood of more success stories? Where is the disconnect?
I believe part of the disconnect is due to the lack of transparency from senior leaders to their teams of the criteria for what makes up exceptional leadership and job performance. After over 15 years leading discussions with CXOs to help them identify their company’s most valuable employee talent, there are definitely 5 competencies that most executives look for when determining if you are ready for the next step in your career. Here are the 5 areas you should focus on which will supercharge your readiness for your next great professional opportunity:
- Intellectual Horsepower: Upper management absolutely LOVES thought leaders! However, you don’t differentiate yourself by just being smart. Lots of people are smart. Senior leaders want you to demonstrate intellectual horsepower, which involves raising the bar by using your knowledge, skills, and expertise to spot trends and areas of opportunity for your organization to capitalize upon. Aspiring leaders who are “ready-now” to take on their next challenge are adept at looking at current operations and their industry to discover opportunities that others have passed by, missed, or ignored.
- Intrapreneurship: While it is great to bring new opportunities to the table, aspiring leaders take it to the next level by using their insights to take real action. Intrepreneurship involves taking the lead in building or developing new improvements, products or services. You function as an “entrepreneur” within your company, taking advantage of the company resources to support your initiative. It is crucial that you are able to get comfortable with taking calculated risks and find your inner grit to drive for results by pitching your ideas, planning potential solutions, and recruiting talented colleagues to help you implement your well thought out strategy.
- Stakeholder Savvy: Stakeholder Savvy is one the best predictors of effective leaders but one of the most poorly understood leadership competencies. Stakeholder Savvy is the big brother of interpersonal skills. It is your ability to simultaneously assess social situations, workplace dynamics, and the priorities of various stakeholders. High achievers are able to process all three in order to be able to operate effectively within challenging environments. To develop your Stakeholder Savvy, consciously try to expose yourself to different types of people, social situations, and work to develop your ability to “read” other people’s perspectives, nonverbal clues, and personal agendas.
- Courageous Agility: Rarely does every work day go perfectly for you, right? I’m sure you have stories of when office politics or the dynamics in the workplace were in play and made the devil in you want to come out. Top leaders are masters at courageous agility, which is having the fortitude to stand up for what you believe in and do the right thing, even when the consequences and future is unclear.
- Executive Presence: This competency is the granddaddy of them all. When an individual shows strong executive presence, they are able to make clear and convincing oral or written presentations on their point of view in order to gain or maintain support. Executive presence uses a combination of the previous 4 competences to be able to:
- Articulate the new opportunities they or their team members discovered (intellectual horsepower)
- Gain support for moving forward with new initiatives (intrepreneurship)
- Manage the expectations and morale of multiple stakeholders with competing priorities (stakeholder savvy)
- Keep all parties calm, excited and hopeful both in good times and in bad (courageous agility)
I’ve given you a few inside tips of where to focus your efforts in order to motivate your senior leaders to help you pave a path that will increase your impact at work and ultimately grow your career. These 5 areas are the most common that I’ve seen, no matter your job profession or industry.
What other areas of focus have you seen at your organization that are key to future career advancement and success?
Ms. Karan Ferrell-Rhodes
by Solange Lopes | May 3, 2016 | Career
Corporate Catwalk: Floral Gathered Dress
Hence today’s floral-with-a-classic-edge Corporate Catwalk pick, this gathered dress from Loft! Loving the easy neckline and cap sleeves on this dress, as well as the slimming detail at the waist.
Yay or nay?
To your success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | May 3, 2016 | Career
Are You Too Intense at Work?
Except when that person is you, and you display all the symptoms of Overachieving Syndrome at work, then it’s another story altogether…After all, it’s easy to get intense about work. We spend most of our time there, put on most of our weight there, and get most of our stress between our desks and the watercooler, or coffee machine, or candy jar for that matter…
I was that…ahem, person. The annoying woman with the 10-page report at the meeting. Yes, the one who gave everyone a headache with too many granular details, and way too many questions..right before lunch. And while it may have looked good to some, it was just not the right way to go about being productive, efficient or happy at work.
Piling on the intensity at work can only lead to burnout, dissatisfaction, and an overwhelming desire to eat loads of Haagen Dasz sea salt caramel ice cream…In addition to keeping you from scoring that promotion…
So what’s one to do when you’re just too intense at work? For my legions of recovering corporate overachievers, here are a few tips I picked up along the way to dial down the intensity:
- Focus on productivity, not perfection. Most overachievers are perfectionists, especially in the workplace. Which also means they tend to be under stronger pressure with deadline-driven projects, and ad hoc demands of all kinds. When things tend to get increasingly busy, productivity matters a whole lot more than perfection. So although you may want to dot all your I’s and make sure you picked your favorite font, producing that report in time for the team meeting is actually a lot more important.
- Dial down on the people-pleasing obsession. Overachievers want to please everyone. The boss, the team, the colleagues, the family, the mailman. Just everyone. Which also happens to be a direct, one-way ticket to Pushover Land. While you may think you’re your boss’s go-to person, you may just actually have “worker bee” written all over your forehead. It may be high time to grow some backbone, learn to say “no” and ask for the help you need so you can focus on your duties. Not everyone else’s…
- Strategize instead of just working hard. For the longest time, I thought hard work was the solution to success at work. Along with long hours, and a solid dose of “face time”, right? Wrong…There’s a difference between overachievers and high-performers. The latter think strategically to position themselves and their companies to achieve victory. The overachievers focus on doing as much as possible. Instead of trying to shove as much work down your corporate brain as possible, think about strategizing and actually doing the work that allows you to get the fulfillment, advancement and balance you want.
Are you too intense at work? Or do you know someone who is? What other tips would you have for them?
To your success,
The Corporate Sis
by Solange Lopes | Apr 30, 2016 | Career
Beyonce’s Lemonade – Photo credit: rolling stone.com
Unless you’ve been living under a rock, or away from civilization somewhere on an exotic island somewhere (in which case, may I join you?), you’ve heard about Beyonce’s Lemonade album. The ground-breaking visual masterpiece made a lot of media noise, as it artfully explored themes of infidelity, anger and forgiveness, among others, against a brilliant backdrop of sheer musical and artistic genius.
As the highly talked-about album made its debut amidst rumors of infidelity and cheating allegations in Queen Bey’s marriage, and while the rest of the world is still trying to find out who “Becky with the good hair” aka the “other woman” is, I couldn’t help but see yet again another one of Beyonce’s career-defining moment. One of those make-or-break moments that single-handedly take your work and career to the next level, and the next level, and the one after that…
One of those moments that may appear like you’re taking unreasonable risks but where you’re actually sealing your work with a success stamp…One of those moments where it’s not just about showing up on time and getting the job done, but bringing another dimension to your work and career…
And while we’re not Beyonce, and apart from all the cheating media craze, we can all stand to learn a few lessons about what it takes to define your career in such a way that it not only stands out, but that it also keeps defining it for the better.
- Be authentic. In other words, “come as you are”. In Lemonade, we see the raw, exposed, real Beyonce. The one who may be hurt, or angry, or resentful. We often talk about keeping our private and career lives separate. Yet when you spend upwards of 8 hours at work, with other breathing, living human beings, there are chances the already thin veil of separation between work and personal gets even thinner. It’s hard to hide being pregnant, or going through a divorce, or having to run out to bring your son extra diapers at daycare…And in all of this mishmash between work and life, showing up as authentic as you can be is an advantage, more than it is a liability. There’s always going to be someone who’s not going to like or appreciate you. But your best work always comes from a place of authenticity and genuineness, a place where you can help, inspire and meet others halfway…
- Expose your vulnerabilities. In Lemonade, Beyonce almost gives us permission to breathe and admit to our vulnerabilities. To those dark and grey areas in our lives where things are not as perfect as they may seem. The strongest leaders are not scared of admitting to their flaws and shortcomings. It’s OK to admit that you don’t have all the answers…but that you’re working on it. Or to recognize you messed up the quarterly team report. Or that you’ll need some time off because you’ve been blindsided at work (hello Kelly Ripa). It’s part of being authentic, and leading from the heart. Showing yourself as vulnerable will also make you more approachable and real to your colleagues and bosses. And it’s also what will make your career soar to new levels…
- Learn to confront and leverage conflict. It’s obvious Lemonade is not exactly Beyonce’s way to shower us with romantic ballads and make us see the world with rose-colored lenses. It’s raw, real, and dripping with conflict and drama. Yet that’s exactly what makes it so good. In your career as well, learn to not always seek to avoid conflict. Instead, confront it in a professional yet edifying way. That co-worker who stole your work and is now claiming it? That boss who’s threatening to fire you? Don’t run, address it! Even better, leverage it, and turn the mess into a message. Claim the rights to any work you may have done. Dare to have a conversation about the future of your career, or make a tough but necessary decision! Unlike Beyonce though, please keep the baseball bats and curse words out of it while at work…just sayin’…
- Use your talents! Beyonce has been widely criticized for keeping mum in the media and hardly allowing for any interviews. It’s in her music, in visual ground-breaking albums like Lemonade, that she expresses herself best. And it’s though that medium that she reminds us of the impact of her career…In the same way, use your talents and best attributes at work to shine. While you should aways strive to have a well-rounded set of skills, don’t be afraid to tap into your skills to give you an extra edge. Are you a great public speaker? Tap into that skill by making impressive presentations to management. Are you skilled at crafting memos and reports? Use your writing skills to shine in the office. Use what you’ve got…
- Explore new territory. With Lemonade, the Queen Bey stepped onto new territory. Deeply personal territory…You too can switch it up every now and then in your career. It’s actually recommended to have a wide array of experiences and skills to make it to the top in any field. Most CEOs have previously worked in various departments of their companies, or have been sent to various countries to hone their leadership skills. Being willing and ready to explore new areas is par for the course when it comes to defining and re-defining your career. So think about volunteering for that foreign assignment in Brazil for a year. Or rotating to a different team next quarter. Be open to the new…
- Let the chips fall where they may. With Lemonade, Beyonce has faced A LOT of controversy. And still is…But what if that’s the price to pay for greatness? For daring to step up and bring your career to another level? And what if even when we think we have all the control on our careers, many times we just have to give our best and let the chips fall where they may. Like when you have to make that hard executive decision that may turn some members of your team against you? Or when you have to deliver a particularly tough review to someone? Or even when it’s time for you to step down and go on to a new career? Do your best and let the chips fall where they may…
- Let your work speak for you! I mentioned earlier Beyonce has been widely criticized for not being more vocal in the media. For not speaking out and giving out more interviews to media outlets. Yet what I can see behind this silence, is the desire to let her work speak for her more than any interviews or public appearances would. Likewise, in your own career, let your own final products, and the quality of the work you provide, speak for you. Yes, you have to speak up! Yes, you also have to contribute and participate in the Big Corporate conversations! But after all is said and done, what remains are the results of the efforts you’ve put in. It’s that conclusive medical report you spent weeks writing, that will now be used as a template for the entire hospital. It’s the documentation of the evidence you’ve obtained through that audit that will help improve the company’s operations by 25%. Produce your best work and let it speak for you!
What did you think of Beyonce’s Lemonade album? What other career insights do you have about it?
To your success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Apr 29, 2016 | Career
Weekly News Roundup
This is our weekly career and lifestyle news update, where we round up exciting news of the last week and we let you have it…ahem, news-wise that is…
Think of it as your career gossiping section on steroids…
And while you’re at it, follow us on Facebook, Twitter,IG, and Pinterest!
Here we go…
- Taking risks in your career is always a bit scary, right? Ellevate’s founder and Wall Street veteran Sallie Krawcheck tells you how she takes career risks (and we all may want to take notes);
- Wondering what skills to add to your resume? The Muse lists 12 that will make your resume much stronger;
- In celebrity career news this week, the Kelly Ripa-Michael Strahan saga continues, as we realize being blindsided at work happens to the best of us. Levo League shares 3 ways to deal. And as for me, here are my $0.5 about the whole thing;
- Yesterday was Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day in the US! And for those of you wondering how to co-exist with little ones at work, U.S. News suggests these 6 productive ways;
- We hear a lot about hiring more women in corporations. But do we really know what women want when looking for a job? This great piece from Ellevate gives you a solid idea;
- Next time you swap your eyeshadow for your lipstick as you’re rushing out the door to make it to your 9am meeting, consider one of these 7 ways of turning your morning mess into morning success (and watch the eyeshadow too);
- Going for a raise? Some of the savviest members of Ellevate Network give you a piece of their mind on what may just be one of the most important conversations of your career;
- Next time you’re ready to order in at work, consider these 5 reasons why working late is bull… (and pack up and go do something fun instead);
- And unless you’ve been hiding under a rock, you’ve heard of, seen, or read about (not necessarily in that order) Beyonce’s new Lemonade album. In the midst of all the talks and rumors, CNN decodes it for us.
- Did you know there’s an art to maintaining an organized closet? WhoWhatWear tells you how successful women do it;
- To finish on a fashionista note, how about sporting that fringe trend at work? Here’s my edgy but cool corporate catwalk pick for this week.
Happy Friday everyone!
Love,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Apr 28, 2016 | Career
So we all know unfortunate things happen at work…Things like the Kelly Ripa and Michael Strahan drama, or down in the non-celebrity world, like when your boss pulls an icky assignment on you, or your colleague steals your thunder in the team meeting…
After all, we spend over 8 hours at work, surrounded by people we may or may not have anything in common with, doing work that may or may not (slightly) get on our last nerve…Not to mention having to keep it all politically correct and PG-50 (I made that one up) most of the time…
Yet in the midst of all the work dynamics and drama, is it ok to vent at work…about work? Is it fine to tell your co-worker you’re not a fan of the new manager, or or that your colleague just went behind your back? Is venting at work about work ever ok?
My $0.05: Ok, venting is human. And so is venting at work. Realistically, not venting at all in the workplace is close to impossible. Besides, there may be some good things to vent about, including anything that may lead to increased efficiency and productivity.
In general, unless you’re venting to a trusted friend, avoid speaking about anything that would make you feel uncomfortable if repeated. Use your best judgment: if it can hurt your career, it’s not worth venting about!
What do you think? Is it ok to vent at work?
The Corporate Sis.
