by Solange Lopes | Feb 1, 2018 | Career
Workwear: Stripe Fringed Jacket – Photo credit: talbots.com
Our Workwear feature presents various pieces of work-appropriate attire at different price ranges and sizes.
This stripe fringed jacket from Talbots will add a sophisticated touch to any silhouette. The polished stripes are perfect for any day at the office, while the fringes add a modern, contemporary edge.Fashion and fun are combined in this timeless piece that can go from desk to dinner. It’s $169 at Talbots.
In a similar style, I also like this stripe sweater jacket, also from Talbots.
Check out prior workwear recommendations here, here and there too!
What pieces of workwear would you like us to feature? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
This post contains affiliate links and The Corporate Sister may earn commissions for purchases through links in this post. Thank you!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 1, 2018 | Career
7 Ways to Honor Black History Month at Work
For many, Black History Month is an opportunity to outwardly celebrate the history and contributions of African-Americans. While most are continually celebrating Black History Month all year long, it reminds us to keep honoring it in the present and in all areas of our lives, including at work.
Through our careers, businesses and the work we do in general, we have the power to influence mentalities and initiate positive change for better diversity and inclusion. Here are 10 ways that we can honor Black History Month each and every day in our respective jobs, careers and/or businesses:
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Demonstrate excellence through your example
As a minority woman or man in the workplace, you can start by using your own influence. You don’t have to be a CEO, or even a top executive to effect change. Through your example of integrity, commitment and optimal performance, you have enough influence in your team, department or organization to effect change, if only by correcting negative biases or perceptions around you.
Help another employee by becoming a mentor in your organization. As a woman or man of color, you can use your influence to assist young professionals in the same field. It’s a powerful way of honoring Black History month by giving back of your knowledge and professional resources.
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Recognize high-performing women and men of color at work
It’s no secret that many women and men of color tend to be overlooked in the workplace, as a result of negative bias, perception or office politics. Using this opportunity to recognize women and men of color whose contributions are furthering the purpose of the team, department or organization can go a long way in effecting change. Look around for women and men of color who may not get the recognition or appreciation they deserve, and choose to spotlight them as well.
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Volunteer at a not-for-profit
Many organizations promote service day events. How about suggesting one of those events take place at a not-for-profit benefiting a local Black or minority community? This is a great way to involve your fellow employees in inclusive community efforts that recognize and impact diversity positively.
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Hold a diversity workshop or event
Many of the negative biases and perceptions around women and men of color at work stem from a lack of education. Holding diversity workshops around topics affecting women and men of color, as well as to highlight diversity efforts that can be undertaken, can benefit everyone in the workplace.
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Support Black and minority businesses
If you’re a business owner, consider using Black and minority suppliers, consultants or contractors. If you’re an employee, you may also suggest diverse suppliers, consultants or contractors that could benefit the organization as a whole.
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Suggest policy changes in your organization
One of the most powerful ways an organization can change is through policy change. Consider suggesting improvements in hiring, retention and compensation policies to be fair to women and minorities? If you can, think about ways in which you can encourage your organization to ensure that women and minorities are proportionately represented as well.
What other suggestions would you add to this list?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 31, 2018 | Career
10 Practical Tips to navigate office politics as a working woman
One of the biggest obstacles that many a working woman faces in her career is navigating office politics. The subtle yet very much existing bias against working women, combined with the wage gap and other gender inequalities in the workplace, make it challenging to master the politics of office life.
This is especially prevalent for working women as many of us tend to feel uncomfortable in confrontational situations, political maneuvering or quid pro quo behavior. Yet, being in an office also means having to deal with office politics. It means having to operate within the political fray that makes up a large part of corporate and business environment because work politics are simply inevitable. Personal and work-oriented goals collide in the workplace, as people seek promotion and compete for limited positions and resources.
10 Practical Tips to navigate office politics as a working woman-2
As a working woman, navigating office politics has been one of my greatest struggles, especially as an introvert. Between complicated inter-personal dynamics, energy-charged business meetings, and other political challenges at work, I was often left at a loss and confused. It took many years, conversations, lessons learnt and research to even begin to understand how to start making a dent in this imposing obstacle for working women.
If you’re reading this, and are wondering what steps you can take to navigate your particular office or business’ office politics, here are a few practical tips to get started:
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Start with your mindset
I often say that it all starts with our mindsets. What you picture in your mind has an interesting way to manifest. For this very reason, it’s crucial to begin the work within, more specifically in your mindset.
Examine your mindset as honestly as possible, and question the particular beliefs that you hold about yourself and as related to your work, career or business. What are those disruptive beliefs that create fear when it comes to your career or business? Are you challenged by inter-personal dynamics and confrontation, and if so, why? How can you get more comfortable dealing with inter-personal dynamics at work? Asking yourself these questions, and exploring avenues to strengthen your mindset and re-frame your view of office politics as positive and productive can make all the difference in the world.
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Get clear about your motives and goals
One of the reasons why many of us may shy away from office politics is that we’re not clear about what we want. In order to stand your ground in the political jungle prevailing in most offices and business, you must be clear about your motives and goals.
What are your objectives when it comes to your career? What goals do you have in mind for a specific project? What motives drive you as related to your work? Understand these will help you gain the clarity you need to face the professional political landscape.
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Understand the personalities and motives of others
As important as understanding your motives and goals, is understanding those of others around you. It can be challenging to read, let alone control, the complex situations arising in the context of office politics. Considering the mix of personalities and motivations that are most often part of office environments, it can be easy to get lost in the shuffle.
Learn to observe the personalities of those around you, before making any premature assumption or having an early reaction. In addition, try to understand their motives. What does their personality tell you about who they are? What could their motives be as related to a particular project, assignment, or to the team, department or company in general? The more information you can get along these lines, the better you’ll be able to strategically prepare, plan, and create options to manage political situations.
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Advocate for yourself
A large part of successfully navigating office politics is being able to advocate for yourself. This doesn’t mean adopting a defensive stance, or even promoting yourself at all times. Yet, it means placing yourself in positions where you’re able to demonstrate what you bring to the table.
Don’t hesitate to share results you’ve achieved, and to show the benefits that you can bring to a given project, assignment, team or even company. Even better than tooting your own horn, it’s crucial to strategically understand what would constitute a benefit to others, and present it as your unique competitive advantage. This will take you from uncomfortable “bragging” to strategic “serving”.
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Make strategic alliances
In order to successfully navigate office politics, you must learn to recognize the political organization chart. This is not just your formal organizational chart. Rather, it’s about identifying the real office power players around you. Who really has authority around you? Who’s respected and listened to? Who mentors others?
Make strategic alliances with those whose influence you admire and who can help you in your career growth. Build relationships that are mutually beneficial while absorbing as much knowledge as possible.
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Leverage informal networks
In addition to understanding who the power players are and building strategic alliances, you must also get familiar with the social networks at hand. What are the groups or cliques in existence around you? Who gets along with whom? Where are the interpersonal conflicts?
Deciphering the social networks around you can also help you navigate the influences at play. It will also save you from unfortunate faux-pas in your career.
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Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer
This expression perfectly applies to office politics. Understanding the power players, as well as the informal networks, will help you distance yourself from those who use others for their own purpose. While you should be courteous at all times, you should also be careful of what you share with them.
Understand what motivates them, and steer clear of their negative politicking.
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Go above mentorship, seek sponsors
While mentors can pour wisdom, advice and knowledge into you, sponsors can actually advocate for you. These are the people, usually in leadership positions, who will intercede for you and invite you into rooms you wouldn’t normally have access to.
Navigating office politics successfully will require you to have sponsors that support you as you manage the political atmosphere at play.
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Use emotions as your personal compass
Working women are often falsely described as being too “emotional” to successfully navigate office politics. What is most often seen as a success impediment for women at work, is actually a strength. As working women, we can actually leverage our emotional quotient and use it as a compass to be politically savvy at work.
This includes being attuned to our emotions to identify the type of people and environments you’re dealing with. This will help you plan, prepare and adjust how you navigate office politics.
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Adopt a successful behavior
Look around you and identify successful behaviors you can model. Learn to understand your organization’s culture, as well as what works in it. As a working woman, be a model of integrity by limiting how much you deal with gossip, being positive, and rising above conflicts.
Most importantly, always remain professional, and adopt an organizational, rather than a personal, perspective.
What other tips do you have to navigate office politics as a working woman?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 26, 2018 | Career
Welcome to our weekly career, entrepreneurship, lifestyle and fashion news roundup! Think of it as your online watercooler/work gossip station/coffee break spot for now…Want to add anything to our list? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
- The Daily Muse tips you off on how to save yourself when everyone else in the office is getting sick;
- The Indeed blog reveals how U.S. workers are satisfied with their salaries;
- Recruiting Blogs lists 3 situations when social media can harm your job search;
- Ellevate Network lists 9 steps to killer consistent content for your social media and beyond;
- Evil HR Lady shares the HR policies needed to hire and retain more female talent;
- Forbes lists 4 things women entrepreneurs must have before starting a business;
- Ellevate Network advises us on getting the job flexibility we want;
- Lifehack reveals why your credit score dropped 200 points;
- Corporette shares what to wear to work in the winter;
- Food52 lists 11 wintertime recipes to remind you of summer;
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister
by Solange Lopes | Jan 23, 2018 | Career
I’ve always been fascinated by productive people, and how they manage to use the same 24 hours we all have to accomplish what most won’t even dream of doing in a lifetime. What I’ve come to understand is that these people are not more special than any of us. They have simply learnt to leverage processes, habits and tools that make them more productive than the expected average. Surprisingly, some of these tools may be simple products that we can all use to increase our productivity.
Having the right tools around us and at our disposal can make the difference between optimal productivity and average results. Here are 7 simple, must-have products that will help you be more productive:
Words to Live by Calendar – Photo credit: amazon.com
One of my essential must-have products to keep productive is a calendar, especially one that I can keep my eyes on. I keep one in my home office, as well as in other rooms of the house to keep track of my commitments.
Product Pick: Words to Live By Wall Calendar
VIZ-PRO Magnetic Dry Erase Board- Photo Credit: amazon.com
There’s nothing like seeing your plans and goals written in bold letters in front of you at all times. This is why I love white dry erase boards, where I keep my weekly, monthly and quarterly goals detailed. They are also especially useful for impromptu meetings.
Product Pick: VIZ-PRO Magnetic Dry Erase Board
Post It Recycled Sticky Notes – Photo credit: amazon.com
Post-It notes are what I call my “backup brain”. I always have a set on hand to jot down a quick thought, organize my ideas or simply write down information on the fly. I even use Post-It notes to organize the different chapters and sections of my books and articles!
Product Pick: Post-It Recycled Super Sticky Notes
Sloane Stationery Geek Chic Notebook – Photo credit: amazon.com
As a creative and professional, I know ideas can come up at any time. Having a notebook I can fit in my bag on-the-go also allows me to have a place to jot down ideas, information or just quick notes anywhere.
Product Pick: Sloane Stationery Geek Chic Notebook
Boxis Paper Shredder – Photo credit: amazon.com
A cluttered desk or environment translates into a cluttered mind. This is why having an efficient shredder on hand to get rid of redundant or unneeded paperwork is key. For professionals or business people dealing with confidential information, having a shredder on hand can help avoid any liability issues by eliminating unnecessary private information.
Product Pick: Boxis Paper Shredder
Kate Spade New York Document Holder – Photo credit: amazon.com
We all need a makeshift life inbox where we store paperwork we may not have had time to address yet. I always have a document holder on my desk for all the odds and ends I sort out at the end of the week.
Product Pick: Kate Spade New York Document Holder
Micca Digital Photo Frame – Photo credit: amazon.com
Optimal productivity is best activated in a state of happiness. This is why it’s important to remind yourself of the people and things you love, and surround yourself with them. I love having pictures of my family and loved ones on my desk as I work, as they remind me of my purpose and what really matters to me.
Product Pick: Micca Digital Photo Frame
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Personal Hygiene products
Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer – Photo credit: amazon.com
Being productive also means presenting your best self at all times. This is why it’s important to have access to personal hygiene products that allow you to feel and look good while working. These include basics such as hand sanitizers, nail files, hand lotions, or even dental floss.
Product Pick: Purell Advanced Hand Sanitizer
Tory Burch Tote Bag – Photo credit: amazon.com
Being productive is also having what you need on hand. This includes having a sturdy, elegant bag to store everything you need to work productively. I love a chic yet efficient bag I can take from desk to dinner.
Product Pick: Tory Burch Tote Bag
Art Print Small Poster _ Photo credit: amazon.com
Motivation and inspiration are the foundations of productivity. I love being surrounded by inspirational quotes I can look up to at all times, especially on days I’m feeling low and un-motivated.
Product Pick: Make It Happen Art Print Poster
For more office and productivity supplies for working women, CLICK HERE to check out The Corporate Sister’s Amazon Influencer List!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 22, 2018 | Career
Workwear: Ruffle-Cuff Sheath Dress – Photo credit: macys.com
Our Workwear feature presents various pieces of work-appropriate attire at different price ranges and sizes.
This Lauren from Ralph Lauren patterned sheath dress from Macy’s is the epitome of professional boho chic. The ruffled cuffs are an original addition to this otherwise classic sheath dress that’s also perfect from desk to dinner. It’s available in sizes 0 through 12 at Macy’s.
I also like this similar Calvin Klein two-tone bell sleeve sweater dress, also from Macy’s.
Check out prior workwear recommendations here, here, and here too!
What pieces of workwear would you like us to feature? Email us at corporate@thecorporatesister.com!
This post contains affiliate links and The Corporate Sister may earn commissions for purchases through links in this post. Thank you!
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Jan 22, 2018 | Career
Being productive, especially as working women, is always a challenge. No matter how motivated you may be, accomplishing your goals and objectives as efficiently and productively as possible is rarely an easy feat. You may have discipline and great habits already in place. However, without the motivation to take you from planning to execution, there is no hack or tool that can help you muster the productivity you need.
In order to keep yourself motivated, you need to be inspired. This is one of the reasons why I love motivational quotes, as I can take them with me anywhere on the slowest day or week to keep me going. When these quotes are coming from women whose work I particularly admire, they’re even more impactful. These women have mastered the art of being productive through their careers, businesses and art, and have opened the doors for the rest of us to strike our own marks.
Here are 10 motivational quotes on productivity from kickass women like you to get you pumped as you tackle your goals and objectives:
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“And at work I have a rule that you’re not allowed to come into my office unless you’re coming into my office with a solution to a problem, and not (only) with a problem.” – Shonda Rhimes
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“I’ve accepted my procrastination as part of who I am. As such, I do designate days where I allow time for procrastination.” – Issa Rae
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“I build in 15-minute breaks so that I can take some quiet time and close on one meeting before I go to the next. I’m a big believer in taking time to pause and reflect, particularly when you’re working on some of the big challenges in the world.” – Melinda Gates
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“After I had Malia, I began to prioritize exercise because I realized that my happiness is tied to how I feel about myself. I want my girls to see a mother who takes care of herself, even if that means I have to get up at 4:30 so I can do a workout. …” – Michelle Obama
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“I really try to ask myself the question of nine. Will this matter in nine minutes, nine hours, nine days, nine weeks, nine months or nine years? If it will truly matter for all of those, pay attention to it.” – Whitney Wolfe , CEO of BumBle
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“Protect the time and space in which you write. Keep everybody away from it, even the people who are most important to you.” – Zadie Smith
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“I don’t listen to anything while I work — I prefer silence in order to be most productive, but I do occasionally steal away for a few minutes to meditate and get refocused”. – Katia Beauchamp, CEO of Birchbox
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“One, I have to realize that I’m not in control of everything, but I am in control of some things, and I am in control of my reactions. I am in control to my responses to pressure.” – Janelle Monae
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“Perfection is the death of all good things, perfection is the death of pleasure, it’s the death of productivity, it’s the death of efficiency, it’s the death of joy.” – Elizabeth Gilbert
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“Be curious, don’t retire, and keep very active. Never stop working at something”. – Martha Stewart
What other productivity quotes for kickass working women would you add to this list?
To Your Success,
The Corporate Sis.
