by Solange Lopes | Oct 1, 2014 | Career
How to avoid repeating the same mistakes at work – Photo credit: politic365.com
I’m a learner by nature, which really means I specialize in trial-and-error (sometimes more errors than trials). Now, if I were a meteorologist (no offense, but this is the only science where the difference between 30% and 50% rain won’t get you fired) or were in any way paid to make mistakes, that might work. As it turns out, I’m not, and neither are most of us.
Yet, messing up constantly at work definitely has its consequences Psychologically, our unconscious is constantly at odds with conflicting desires within us, pushing us to repeat the same mistakes we are intent on avoiding in the first place. Hence the procrastination and self-disappointment that ensue…
However, there are ways to not only avoid repeating the same mistakes, but to actually get ahead of your self-destructive tendencies and actually better your performance before even completing that task or project:
1. Have a Feedback System! We’ve already talked about how important feedback is. Yet what is even more important is to have a system to leverage the feedback you receive. I have a habit of saving all the feedback comments I get into an Excel spreadsheet organized by task type. This would help you have your feedback centralized in one place, and refer to all the items you’ve missed in the past to better your current performance. And it works!
2. Build Checklists! I can’t talk enough about checklists! If your career were your wardrobe, checklists would be those solid, sturdy, reliable granny panties no one wants to wear, but everyone feels comfortable in. But I digress…Any task type or project, from writing a basic email to building financial projections, has some kind of protocol to abide by. And as mere mortals, remembering how to do everything well is a tall order. Build checklists, at least for the most important tasks or projects, leverage your know-how and feedback into it! Now all you have to do is make sure all the boxes are checked, and voila!
3. Be Proactive and Ask for what NOT to do! A great manager taught me negative assurance can sometimes be just as good, if not better than positive assurance. Before starting a project or task, even as you’re still in the planning phase, ask your manager for what NOT to do. What are things to avoid? How should this memo NOT be drafted as? Ask and you shall receive…
Now my aunt Mimi may tell you when it comes to husbands, third time is the charm. Yet when it comes to our careers, we may want to limit the charm of repeated mistakes before we end up officially divorcing our chances of success at work…
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 30, 2014 | Career |
Apple Watch – Photo credit: refinery29.com
So I’ve been fascinated by the Apple watch since it’s been unveiled on Sept. 9. When I read that it’s being displayed in the Colette store in Paris during the Paris Fashion Week, my natural human curiosity (some would argue it’s slightly super-human) went into overdrive.
After all, in the era of Google Glass and other technology wearables, consulting your watch for the latest news or weather information is nothing short of totally ordinary, right? And as a celebrity in its own right, the Apple watch would be making one of its fashionably coveted entrances during the Paris Fashion Week, bien sur!
Apparently, in other tech-related gossip, the Apple Watch apps would be installed from your iPhone, and managed and controlled through a dedicated iPhone app. It will not be available until early 2015 and will start at $349!
My $0.05: Although I’m not a tech fanatic, I like the idea of a smart watch. And if it can help me be more productive and organized, I could trade some shoe shopping for it, especially considering the starting price is not ridiculous. However, I wonder if Siri could sound more like Denzel Washington. Hello Apple, please hear the ladies out…
How about you? Will you be investing in an Apple Watch? What do you think?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 30, 2014 | Career
Vince Camuto Cross Front Blouse – $88 – Photo: bloomongdales.com
This Vince Camuto cross-front blouse is a modern twist on the traditional work blouse (for a sleeveless version of this blouse, check out our prior selection here). Loving the draped cross front with its practical scoop neck lining, and flattering high-low hem with vented sides.
I’d pair this cross-front blouse with easy slacks for work, and minimal jewelry like these ice gem
Ice gems hoop earrings – $26 – Photo: baublebar.com
hoops earrings. This blouse is $88 at Bloomingdale’s.
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 30, 2014 | Career |
Interviewing and pregnant – Photo credit: pinterest.com
Interviewing when pregnant is rarely a comfortable position to be in. Could the pregnancy stand in the way of you getting the job?
My friend N. went to interview for a lateral position in her company. Despite the obvious bias I have towards her as a friend, N. is one of the most talented and genuinely engaged people I know. N. also happens to be expecting her second child. Interestingly enough, although she was perfect for the position, she was told her pregnancy would get in the way of her fulfilling the job duties.
By now, you are probably thinking the manager interviewing my friend was some middle-aged, conservative, maybe even sexist male. And if you were betting your monthly shoe allowance on it, you’d probably come up a pair of stilettos short…The female manager interviewing my friend was smart, vibrant, pleasant, and she is 38.
Why would a woman deny another woman a position because of circumstances as natural as pregnancy? The interesting part of this professional and moral conundrum is the very same manager who interviewed my friend is also trying to get pregnant, as she revealed to N. “The problem”, she said, “is with both of us being pregnant and an entire department to be run, the situation may become impossible.”
Professional impasse or moral faux-pas? Violation of basic rights or honest, albeit impossibly difficult, decision? While N. seems to understand and even empathize with the negative outcome (partly because this manager was so nice about it), I don’t…
As a women professional, please remember you are under no legal obligation to disclose your pregnancy when interviewing. However, if your state is visible or if you willingly choose to disclose it, this alone should not constitute an obstacle to you getting the job. If it does, you may want to re-consider working for such a company or manager. After all, didn’t Marissa Mayer get the Yahoo CEO job while 5 months pregnant?
Are situations all black-and-white all the time? As with my friend’s example, there can be a lot of gray areas. When joining a smaller company or department where your prolonged absence during maternity leave may cause significant delays or losses, you may want to be more forthcoming about your upcoming availability.
In any case, use your own moral compass and listen to your instincts as you proceed. Evaluate what matters to you, make the best decision for yourself.
As for my friend N., in a weird twist of circumstances, she thought not getting the job actually turned out to be the best outcome. She went home and took a nap. And when she wakes up and reads this, she’ll ask me to start compensating her for using her for inspiration, again…
And I’ll tell her again, that stories that matter are made to be told (and the wine is on me next time)…
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 29, 2014 | Career |
Bullied at work – she knows.com
I wrote earlier about the silent bullying of moms at work. This doesn’t just extend to mothers, but literally to more than half women who say they are bullied at work.
Whether out of shame or fear, we don’t like to talk about being bullied. And due to the mixed, mostly-male and hierarchy-based messages we get at work, we may not even be sure what professional bullying really is. Yet, if there’s one thing we know, is that it feels like anything but good…
What if we started to ask ourselves the question? What if by asking ourselves the question and verbalizing some of our most secret struggles and challenges at work, we prompted companies to do the same?
Are you being bullied at work? Please feel free to take the confidential survey below, or if it’s more comfortable, to start with answering the question for yourself
[polldaddy poll=8339694]
by Solange Lopes | Sep 29, 2014 | Career |
I’m all into tulips these days (check out my previous selections here and here too). I’m loving this modern take on the classic wrap dress, with a flattering tulip hem, and soft jersey fabric featuring a surplice neckline and twisted side with a cascading ruffle.
This dress is flattering enough to limit the amount of jewelry and simplify your hairstyle. I’d pull my hair in a low ponytail or bun as in the picture, and keep the jewelry on the down-low. However, since the neckline looks a bit low (as also stated on the reviews), I would pair this with a black camisole like this seamless cami for greater comfort (and decreased wardrobe malfunctions).
Fragola heels – $80 -aldo.com
And to merchandise this feminine dress, I’d throw in these women’s heels in Bordeaux, and voila!
This dress is $98 at WhiteHouseBlackMarket.
by Solange Lopes | Sep 29, 2014 | Career |
The Silent bullying of mothers at work – Photo credit: essence.com
“This would have been a great project, but you know the hours are long, and you are a mom!”
“We took you off this trip because you know, you have kids!”
Many are the stories and scenarios in which professional mothers are bullied at work constantly. And many are the mostly irrational theories about why women simply don’t make good workers, one of them being that apparently we just happen to be obsessed with babies (which also must be linked with the whole cooing doll thing for girls and roaring cars for boys). And of course it all certainly explains with quasi-mathematical accuracy why women are unable to remain in the workforce, or advance in the corporate ranks.
Yet what is not so much exposed is the insidious, at times vicious of bullying of mothers in the workplace. Of course, there is much less data available to actually quantify the missed opportunities, non-inclusive meetings and countless slights made towards women on account of this so weird and unusual thing called Motherhood.
These are realities that most women at work are very familiar with. Unfortunately, they also happen to be our “dirty” little secrets, those awful experiences we discuss more among ourselves but would think twice about reporting to management or Human Resources.
There is a silent epidemic of bullying mothers at work. And it happens to be more costly than just the wage gap or motherhood penalty. It costs many of us our sanity, sense of self-worth, ambition, and defers our dreams. And because it’s not a loud number or imposing statistical figure, or doesn’t really have a name to call its own, it tends to go undenounced.
So next time you see another woman leave the workforce to stay with her kids, respect her choice. Yet as you say good-bye, you may want to think about whether she took the path of least resistance, or if… she’s really just obsessed with babies…
The Corporate Sis.
