by Solange Lopes | Mar 25, 2015 | Career |
We’re all about spring cleaning our careers , our minds and life this week, and as many friends and corporate sisters and I often discuss, one of the biggest challenges we face in the area of work priorities. And considering the bulk of our time is spent at work, how do we reconsider and re-evaluate our work priorities?
My $0.05: I am not a status quo type of girl, so in order for me to produce my best work, I need to shift things up a bit regularly, especially when it comes to my work schedule. Here are some of the tips that have helped me the most in that area:
1. Do a work roundup! I usually look at what I’ve accomplished in the past 3 months, identify the best, highest and lowest points. What did I excel at? What was a total miss?
2. Shift priorities! Based on my work roundup, my priorities do shift. Whether it’s taking a class in an area I need to improve in, capitalizing on my strengths to launch a new project, or correct past mistakes, I am quick to shift priorities!
3. Find your zen! It’s important for me to be well mentally, before I can excel professionally. Any re-evaluation or self-review I engage in has to take into account my mental stability, and what really makes me whole and fulfilled as a person. If that is in alignment with my work, we’re good to go! If not, there’s more work to do…
How about you? How do you spring clean your work priorities?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Feb 24, 2015 | Career
When it’s better not to speak ups work – Photo credit: happyblackwoman.com
“Tis better to be silent and thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt”. Abraham Lincoln
A lot has been said about the importance of women speaking up at work, as well as the numerous obstacles they face, especially for women of color, when trying to do so. There are many biases and obstacles against female employees speaking up in the workplace, from the proverbial “manterruptions” to the simple fact society is not yet accustomed to women leading and contributing significantly at work. Yet, part of being effective and successful at work, is also knowing when to not speak up.
In today’s extremely political workplace, speaking up is crucial. Yet distinguishing between when to express one’s opinion and when to reserve them for a more appropriate time or occasion, can also be just as important. Here are 5 situations when you should consider whether not speaking up may actually work to your advantage:
- When you need to listen: Learning is more effectively done by listening than talking. Take advantage of mentoring opportunities, or occasions when constructive criticism and advice is offered to you to learn and position yourself at work. Rather than talking, absorb the newfound knowledge and take precious notes!
- When you don’t need to be right: You don’t always need to be right, at work or in life. Mistakes happen, and part of managing them is owning up to your errors and committing not to repeat them. In these instances, the less you say to justify yourself, and the more you do to fix the problem, the more reliable and trustworthy you come across as!
- When you’re being too competitive: Healthy comparisons and competition can help you better your performance. However, trying to one-up a co-worker and undermine their performance so yours looks better, is always a bad move. Focus on success, yours and everyone else’s. Congratulate your peers and management on their achievements, and celebrate others’ successes!
- When you’re biting on more than you can chew: Under-promise, and over-deliver, should always be your mantra. Do not bite on more than you can chew at work, especially when your performance evaluation heavily depends on it. Be realistic, assess your deadlines and only speak up to offer promises you can actually deliver. Otherwise, silence is golden…
- When you need to wash your mouth with soap: While casual swearing may be OK in certain office environments, keep your language clean as much as you can! In doubt, keep civil! You never know what can come back to haunt you in the future, so keep it clean and cool…
When do you think it’s better to keep quiet at work?
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Nov 21, 2014 | Career
Photo: ghanacelebrities.com
I wrote earlier about 5 ways social media is ruining your career, and before you click away to get back to your Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, please hear me out. Have you ever asked yourself how much time you really spend on social media while at work? Or do you just avoid the question altogether (because the answer would make your head spin)? Well, maybe you should, maybe we all should…
According to Entrepreneur magazine, the average millennial spends 18 hours consuming media, mostly content by peers. Business Insider found that social is now the new Internet activity, while BusinessWeek is astounded that the average American is neglecting their pets in favor of social media (shut the front door!). And out of all that crazy use, 60% of all employees admit to wasting 30 minutes to an hour each day at work on the Internet and social media. And unless you’re a social media manager (which most of us aren’t), there’s no rhyme or reason for all this social voyeurism while on the clock, talking about you’re trying to keep in touch…And even then, there’s an app for that…
So, really how much time do you spend on social medial while on the clock?
[polldaddy poll=8467301]
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Nov 12, 2014 | Career
Eternity app – Photo: itunes.apple.com
Wondering where the day has gone! In between work, life, and all the other obligations that fill our lives, the one thing that continuously seems to elude us is time! And of course, there’s an app for that…
It’s called Eternity, and it is structured to point out what you spend your time on! And while you may not be willing to admit it just yet, you may need to deactivate your Facebook account (ok, temporarily…)…
My $0.05: The $2.99 investment for this iPhone/iPad app is worth realizing how much more you could be achieving (or how much less you need to be doing)…
The Corporate Sis.
by Solange Lopes | Oct 31, 2014 | Career
Mask – Photo: http://ecx.images-amazon.com
It’s Halloween! As we dress our kids up today, and slap some funky mask on to reveal a whole other side of our personalities, what if we applied the same concept to our work? How much are we really taking the time to think about the many facets of our careers? How many of us are tapping into the vastness of our experiences and allowing it to permeate our work?
Many of us have incredible stories of survival and overcoming. All of us have many different, profound facets to our personalities. As you’re reading this, you may speak two or three languages, be the first in your family to graduate from college, be a successful immigrant, a gifted engineer, doctor or aspiring student. Yet very few of us come to use our potential to pursue our calling, excel in our current careers, and inspire others to do the same…
So today as you’re thinking about the many facets of your work, think about all the ways you can re-invent your career and bring added fulfillment to your life and others’. And if you’ve got a few minutes, here’s an interesting TEDx talk on reinventing our work:
