by Solange Lopes | Jul 1, 2014 | Career
Do You golf – blackenterprise.com
Happy Tuesday!
So, ladies, the question of the day is: “Do you golf?” I’ve heard the question being asked over and over in most of the high-ranking corporate spaces I’ve found myself in, except it was most often addressed to male colleagues. And I’ve also witnessed tidbits of conversations started on the golf course, and continued in the office, which appeared to place some of these male colleagues in better position for promotion. All of this because they play golf?
Yes, indeed…It’s simply the world of business, and golf happens to be its favorite game. For long, it has been the medium through which important deals are closed, business rapport is built, and friendly competition is nurtured…all without breaking too much of a sweat (we need to keep that business appearance more or less intact).
Yet women in the corporate sphere are missing out on the incredible networking opportunities generated by the game simply by being absent from it. According to the book “Even Par: How Golf Helps Women Gain the Upper Hand in Business“, published by businesswomen Leslie Andrews and Adrienne Wax, ‘golf is the new MBA” which can help women break some of the actual and mental barriers keeping them from success at work.
According to an earlier article by the Glass Hammer, and per a Mass Mutual survey of women who play golf, 73% of them agree the game helps them network for business. So should women, especially minority women, get into golf just to advance themselves professionally, even if they might just face as much discrimination (if not more) in the sport as in their respective careers? Or should they simply rely and count on their own strengths to make it up the corporate ladder? Or yet again, are we just missing on an incredible opportunity to learn yet another face of the world of business?
I believe discrimination against corporate sisters in and outside of the corporate sphere is not about to disappear any time soon. Some of the deeply entrenched beliefs about men’s potential versus women’s actual performance, or about how men are more able to turn relationships into business opportunities than women, have been well and alive for decades. We all know change, especially this type of deep belief-based, culturally reinforced change, does not happen overnight.
Yet if there exist possibilities to open the door of opportunities wider, not just for ourselves, but all those coming after us, shouldn’t we at least consider taking a crack at it? Or should I say, a club swing at it?
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 30, 2014 | Career
Easily do app – makeuseof.com
It’s coffee break time, just in time to check in with your to-do list as you’re gulping your umpteenth cup of coffee down…unless of course, you already have the Easilydo app handy on your iPhone or Android.
If you’ve ever dreamt of actually hiring a personal assistant, dream no more…Or rather, keep on dreaming, but consider the virtual assistant thing handled with this app. What does it do? It helps save you precious time by automating some of your daily tasks, like remembering to call the babysitter before leaving work, saving your new work buddy’s information, or setting up the “Happy Birthday” post on your girl’s Facebook timeline ahead of time…
Most of the features are free, and you can also get premium service for $4.99/month or $49.99 a year. Give it a try and let us know what you think…
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 29, 2014 | Career
Two original “Rosie the Riveters” at The Department of Labor Regional Forum in San Francisco held ahead of today’s working families summit – womensenews.org
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Happy Sunday! It is great week-end on this side of the blogosphere, and as we’re relaxing on this beautiful Sunday morning, here’s the round-up of the news we read this week, some which made us smile, laugh, and frown a bit:
Happy Sunday, God bless!
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 25, 2014 | Career
Doing Nothing – beautiful browngirls.com
Hello corporate sisters…So the workday is over, you even got quite a bit of stuff done at work and at home, maybe fit in a quick workout, and are now spending some quality time with the family or your significant other. If you’re single, you may be catching up on personal emails, cleaning your inbox, and even getting a head start on the quarterly forecast for work. Or mixing business with pleasure networking during happy hour (while infrequently updating your Facebook timeline just in case anyone is wondering what you’ve been doing since…5 minutes ago). You got this, you’re used to multi-tasking (which now, according to Fast Company, has morphed into super-tasking!), and for you, there’s never a dull (or inactive) moment (except when you sleep, although theoretically your heavy-duty anti-aging cream is working and your brain cells are regenerating for that morning staff meeting)!
We pride ourselves on doing it all, the job, the housework, taking care of the kids, the hubby and the fake plants…and looking well-rested in the process (thank you ultra covering, SPF 1000 concealer!). And even though we like to think it’s 50/50 in our marriages or relationships, women still spend nearly an hour more per day on chores than women, as The Atlantic confirms.
But how about doing nothing? How about dropping it all, letting it all hang a bit every day? How about allowing after-hours to mean what they really mean? How about getting re-acquainted with the good ol’ boring days (ok, let’s be realistic, 10 minutes) of your younger selves. Think about how you would just sit at your favorite Boston Commons bench after that science elective you pushed back to your last semester, doing a whole lot of…nothing! And how good it felt?
Yes, life is different, you have a job, kids, this guy saying you willingly married him, and some dead plants…You’re busy juggling making that 30-minute meal while updating your Facebook timeline. You’re busy, busy, busy, and…tired, grouchy and unproductive!
In a time when not being glued to your smartphone, not constantly answering “How are you?” questions with “Busy” is apparently socially unconscionable, doing nothing can not only help you relax, recharge your batteries, but also allow your brain to get enough rest to make you more efficient and productive over time. So whether you choose to get your beauty sleep (unplugged from your smartphone, that is), call a girlfriend, or enjoy saying no to your mother-in-law’s crochet appointment tomorrow, be kind to yourself today and spend some time doing…NOTHING!
So, how about doing nothing (yes, it is a science, read more here...after you’re done doing nothing, of course!)
The Corporate Sister.
by Solange Lopes | Jun 25, 2014 | Career |
Rejection at work – idiva.com
Happy Wednesday! Hump Day already, we’re halfway there!
If you’ve experienced any kind of rejection, you know that it’s far from being an easy thing to deal with. And when rejection happens at work, where frankly we spend the majority of our time and unfortunately at times tend to get most of our personal validation from, it can be a seriously tough pill to swallow!
Yet it happens, and more often than we’d like…The project proposal that got rejected; the lackluster quarterly review, or the straight up, unequivocal “No” to our request to be involved in the steering committee for that new implementation. Put mildly, rejection simply “sucks”, and professional rejection is right up there in the “sucky” pantheon of moments we’d rather forget…
So then, what do we do? Do we just suck in our teeth and pout at rejection? Does it mean we failed miserably and all hope is lost? Or, rather, is rejection really one of the most powerful catalysts for redirection, change and improvement? I’d say the latter:
1. Use rejection as an “off course” signal: If you were driving and your GPS kept saying “you”re off course”, wouldn’t you change directions? Well, the same goes for professional rejection. Instead of taking it personal, step outside of your ego and consider whether you’ve just been going in the wrong direction. If what you’ve been doing isn’t working, how can you change it so it does work? If you’re going in the wrong direction, how can you get on the right path?
2. Face rejection and ask how you can improve: Once you acknowledge that you’ve been heading in the wrong direction as related to a specific project, assignment or job, face the rejection even further by asking what you can do differently. What can I do to change this review rating? How can I get to a 10 from a 5? Ask, and you shall receive the feedback you need to take you to the next level…
3. Now put it in practice: Now is the time to apply the feedback you’ve received earlier. Start over, but this time with the lessons and principles learnt from experience and by asking what works! Add the necessary improvements to your craft, career or job, and measure the results you get over time!
How are you dealing with professional rejection?
The Corporate Sister.
