This 6-Week Workshop Helps Women Build Confidence And Negotiating Skills At Work

This following article is a great example of effective and powerful training. I will keep this post short because the article is a must read. But through effective TRAINING and PRACTICE the dynamics of this workforce was changed! Please read this article on the empowerment of women in the workplace!

http://www.fastcoexist.com/3044806/this-6-week-workshop-helps-women-build-confidence-and-negotiating-skills-at-work

THE SECRETS TO GETTING MORE DONE? STRATEGIC SLACKING OFF

Slacking Off??? Less is More??? How so?

Well allow me to explain group. In this new article by Lisa Evans- she explains how less is more. People tend to be involved with so many tasks that they end up being stressed, and producing poor work. Lisa advises to strategically slack off to produce better quality work. For example, when she blogs, instead of blogging everyday, she limited 2-3 time per week. What she found was that her following went up and her work become more coveted since there was less of it. There are 3 steps to strategically slacking off as follows:

1. EXAMINE YOUR LIFE

Write down all the categories of things that take up your time in your personal and professional life—such as meetings, making dinner, helping kids with homework, email, etc. Then write down the things you wish you were doing that you’re not doing right now.

2. RATE YOUR ACTIVITIES ON A JOY SCALE

Go through the list of activities and indicate whether it’s one that brings you joy and you wish you could do more of or if it's something you dread and wish you could do less of. "You don’t want to minimize the things in your life that are actually bringing you joy. That’s not an appropriate place to find the minimum effective dose," says Carter.

3. FIND YOUR MINIMUM

Once you've identified the things that drag you down, consider whether you can change the amount of time and energy you put into each of these things, finding your minimum effective dose.

Feel free to read the brief article attached so you too can learn how to correctly slack off!!!

http://www.fastcompany.com/3045255/work-smart/the-secrets-to-getting-more-done-strategic-slacking-off

Predetermined Resiliency

Resiliency. We’ve discussed resiliency a few times throughout the last few weeks. This article discusses how your ancestors lived their lives reflects on your resiliency today. This article focuses on a study that suggests that women who became pregnant before, during, or after a stressful time in their lives altered their babies DNA and stress threshold. The example that Fastcompany gives is:

“The two most famous studies are about Holocaust survivors, so people who became pregnant around that time, and then people who became pregnant just before, during, or after the famine, which was in the Netherlands around the same time. Those [studies] showed that people who were in starvation or stress just before they got pregnant, because they had either switched on or switched off certain stress genes, the baby was actually born with a different stress threshold than its mother’s genes would have normally given it.”

The article goes on to say that the generation that came after Holocaust survivors suffered from nightmares of being tortured and tormented even though they had never experienced anything like that before. The stress that their mothers dealt with during pregnancy altered how they deal with stress in their lives. 

       I generally think of myself as a calm person and I do well in stressful situations. I went on to ask my mom if she experienced any great stress while she was pregnant with me. She said "eh, not really." She then said "I believed, calm mama, calm pregnancy, calm kid." Then she brought up an example of my high stress threshold. In October of 2007, my dad was deployed and we were evacuating from the second fire that we had experienced in Southern California. During the previous evacuation in 2003, my dad was there so my mom was relatively calm because everything was being handle. When my dad was away for the second fire, my mom was scrambling around the house to collect all the irreplaceables. She was running around and talking to herself and in panic mode. I don't remember what I did, but she always tells me that I sat her down, basically told her to get ahold of herself, and prioritize. 

        We've been through a handful of natural disasters and negative experiences. Since that second fire, my mom will look to me for her "voice of reason" during catastrophy. 

I don't know if my high stress threshold is because she was a calm mama or because that's just the type of person I am. If the study above is true and our ability to deal with stress is decided before we're born, is there anything that we can do during our own lives to grow our stress threshold?

Ask yourself if you're a calm person, and then ask your mom if she experienced any stress or trauma during pregnancy. I'm very interested to see if there is a correlation. 

Thanks for reading! 

Monika

Article Link:http://www.fastcompany.com/3045229/how-your-grandparents-lives-affect-your-resilience-to-stress

Clashing Personalities in the Meeting Room

The article that I have chosen is titled, “The 3 People that Stand in the way of a Productive Meeting.”  The article, by Molly Owens, describes each non-productive meeting person and how to prevent each person from ruining the meeting flow.  The three meeting killers are the idea killer, the repeaters, and the chatty Cathy’s.  This article caught my attention, because I don’t think this article just relates to the 3 people who prevent meeting productivity.   I feel these people also delay group discussions and brainstorming, classroom efficiency and are just plain ol' workplace annoyances.  These people can put a damper in any workplace environment and can place a reason why some people dread going to work or attending meetings.

Nobody likes the negative Nancy.  Although, being able to look at the downfalls that could arise with new concepts is still important.  The trick is keeping the negativity in check and providing positive concepts as well.  In my years as a student, I haven’t come across a ‘repeater.’  Maybe that’s bad because maybe that’s a signal that I may be the repeater…but I’m pretty sure I don’t repeat other's ideas over and over again...at least I hope not.  The article says to use a white board to write down ideas so the group can not bring up the same ideas over again, which I think is a fantastic idea for people who struggle to create new content.

I may fall into the category of the ‘Chatty Cathy.’  Over time, I think most people know how to deal with someone who's goal is to provide their input, jokes or side comments in every meeting.  The meeting organizer needs to set time frames, and be able to pull the team back onto the topic and ask to hear everyone’s voice. 

These 3 people who are identified as individuals who disrupt productive meetings can’t necessarily change their personality.  Extroverts are going to be people who are more open to communicate and participate in class and work activities, whether it is offering ideas or bringing humor into the discussion.  Some individuals struggle to provide new, original ideas after other ideas have already been given.  We have all been in the position where we weren't able to contribute to the team of felt the topic at hand was something we couldn’t  wrap our minds around or connect too.   Therefore, these 3 people can be deleted from the working environment nor changed their personality, but with proper use, training and structure these types of personalities can be molded to benefit school and work environments. 

Link:   http://www.fastcompany.com/3044967/work-smart/the-3-people-that-stand-in-the-way-of-a-productive-meeting

Letter from Mother to General Martin Dempsey

The mother of the first Navy Seal to die in Iraq writes a letter to General Martin Dempsey in reaction to what he had to say about the town of Ramadi.
General Dempsey make remarks in response to the possibility of Ramadi falling under the Islamic State. Dempsey would say that "Ramadi isn't symbolic in any way. If it does fall under the control of the Islamic state that doesn't mean that the campaign is over." The mother of Marc Lee who was killed back on August 2nd, 2006 wasn't too pleased with this answer. Lee's mother believes that because the city of Ramadi mattered so much to her son and his fellow soldiers that it should mean something to not only the general but to Congress as well. Not to mention all the soldiers that were able to come home alive but still had lost limbs and are currently live with PTSD as well as many other life changing mental illness'. The families who lost a loved one aren't the only ones that are suffering with a situation like this one.
To me this was a very interesting read because even though we are pulling more and more soldiers out of the Iraq and Afghanistan area, doesn't mean that  there isn't affects of the war going on. There is still obvious violence with the Islamic state happening and because we aren't over there offering protection the state that we help build is just going to crumble right back down.

http://www.foxnews.com/us/2015/04/20/open-letter-from-mother-first-navy-seal-killed-in-iraq-to-general-martin/

Secrets To Instantly Get Your Confidence Back

Confidence, I believe is the absolute most important thing heading into the workforce but also life. From the moment you walk into the office until the moment you are handed a hefty project confidence is at the foundation of your personal success. Fastcompany.com featured a blog post by Gwen Moran that gives keys to gaining confidence when faced with pressure. As a basketball player I have found that I play best when I am confident. Confidence gives you the mental ability to not just perform a task but perform a task well.
Moran writes that the first step when faced with pressure is changing your physiology which I think is most closely linked to tapping into your mental capacity. The blog suggest that when feeling nervous to try deep breathing and stretch. This will help you to refocus on the task at hand. I know I  get the butterflies and feel like I'm short of breath in anticipation of a game or presentation but deep breathing can calm your nerves giving you that extra push before you perform. The blog also eludes to self pep talks and how they can also be effective while attempting to gain confidence. You are your biggest supporter and no one can motivate you and build you up like you can. Encouraging yourself is monumental in life in general but especially when you need that extra push when attacking any type of task. Aziz Gazipura founder of the Social Confidence Center emphasizes the importance of pep talks by saying its vital to reassure yourself by saying that you have the proper training and the track record for success. Like wise CEO of the Center for Personal Reinvention Jon Rubino stresses the focus on your personal value. If you are called to perform a task it is because you are able to do so, you carry some sort of importance to the company, act like it. Another key to getting and keeping your confidence seeing the bigger picture, or as the article refers to it "connecting to a greater purpose". When working on major projects remember not to be threatened but rather remind yourself why you are completing that task and what it means to you personally. The final key I picked up from this blog was in my opinion is the most important. Gwen Moran writes that often when faced with completing a task we are so driven by achieving certain outcomes that if we don't get a certain outocme our confidence takes a hit. As individuals we can only can control two things, attitude and effort. Let both of those things guide you and the sky is the limit for you in any environment you submerge yourself in.

Bad Decisions lead by Unconscious Biases

The article I chose talks about biases and how they can be beneficial, but if used too often or incorrectly can be detrimental.  The article is based up on the ideas and knowledge of professor Norma Montague, which has been published in the Journal of Accountancy.  Montague developed five bias’s that could be very harmful if they are used incorrectly in any business environment. 

The first bias is availability:  This when you pull the most available information to make a decision.  To prevent this situation from occurring probe your own answer.  Where am I getting this answer?  Is this formulated from my own mind?  Or did someone else tell me this?  Is this answer repetitive or has it only occurred once?  An good example of this bias is assuming a customer won’t want you to check other stores for the availability of a certain item that your store doesn’t have in stock.  What you are doing is deleting the options and facts about the customer and providing your own.  Maybe the consumer lives in the area where the other store is located, or maybe the customer is headed that direction tomorrow for work or a child’s birthday party.

Anchor bias is the information that is given to you for you to make a decision upon.  The anchor bias is used in the business world when dealing with budgets.  When your boss comes to your office and asks you to formulate a marketing strategy for a spa treatment for the month of December, you will be given a budget in order to work around.  In some cases the budget is plenty to work with but most are cut a little short.  The budget is your anchor, and your negotiating skills are now going to be put into play.  When in an anchoring situation, look for the facts and details of the situation, try not to assume the anchor that you have been given is all you have.

Overconfidence is the fourth bias and we, as future business leaders, may see this in our future in big corporations and you may have already experienced in your education process.  Have you ever been in a group project and you set deadlines of when we need to meet, when the PowerPoint needs to be created and when you’re going to memorize your speech?  In that instance, have you found out that your group has to meet one more time, or there isn’t enough time to put the PowerPoint together, or you delayed your speech practice so far, that you’re not able to memorize it?  This is the bias of overconfidence.  You have set the bar for success so high you aren’t able to achieve to final result.

The last two biases’ that Montague explains is a rush-to-solve and confirmation bias.   Rush-to –solve bias is found when a time restraint is placed upon the decision maker.  When a time restraint is in place, a student or future business leader will have to rely on any and all information that they already know, instead of doing their due diligence.   And the confirmation bias is when a business leader assesses only one-side to a situation of information.  The leader doesn’t   evaluate if their position is respectable or accurate.  This is a person who ‘thinks they are right.’

Overall, what can be pulled out of these biases is take your time, do your research, never settle for what’s in front of you, ask questions, don’t assume and don’t overestimate the situation at hand.  To change and prevent these biases a future business leader needs to understand their own learning techniques.  The way an individual learns is also important.  Impulsive learners work quickly and may fall into the availability and rush-to solve bias categories.   Whole-part learners will succeed when dealing with the anchor bias.  They are more than likely to ask questions to gain the big picture.  Reflective learners will be less likely to fall into any of these bias categories because these individuals are thinkers, slow and are precise.  Age differences will also be a factor to these biases based on how much knowledge an individual has to include into their bias.  

Link:  http://www.fastcompany.com/3045035/work-smart/5-common-unconscious-biases-that-lead-to-bad-decisions