Helene Lerner's Blog, page 134

How to Stop Being Biased

I have seen far too many cases where women are not promoted based on bias, where a male leader, or sometimes even another female, makes an assumption that a woman can’t be in leadership because she will leave and start a family, she doesn’t think strategically enough, or she won’t be assertive.

Have you caught yourself judging someone based on your biases? If you want to be an outstanding leader, you need to start being a great role model and be aware of your behaviors and beliefs.

Be conscious of your visceral reactions, thoughts or any judgments you have about the next three people you see.  What story immediately comes to mind?

Notice their age, clothing, skin color, and any other visible characteristics at the root of your bias and story.

Next, create a different story about what they do and who they are. Seeing other possibilities will help filter out your biases and wrong assumptions about people.

Here’s an example. You're at a dinner party and an older woman seems not to be paying much attention when you speak with her. You think she’s not taking you seriously because you are significantly younger than she is. But later, you find out from the hosts that the woman is introverted and often quiet at large parties.

-Simma Lieberman, "The Inclusionist"
Career Coach
www.simmalieberman.com

5 Ways to Know You're Ready for a New Job

 

Are you thinking about a career change? Here's one of our favorite blogs that offers some food for thought this weekend.

If you've hit a plateau in your current job or career, the summer months can be an excellent time for a re-evaluation. Earlier this year, a large survey reported that 80% of American workers wanted to change jobs and statistics show that employees will have 4-6 completely different careers in their working life! Not jobs – different careers. In my career coaching practice, I have recognized five indicators why people change careers:

1.The Passion is Gone
You dread getting up for work in the morning. Or perhaps your job is leaving you unfulfilled, and you know there is something better out there.

2.You're Not Progressing
You've worked hard for years, but you're not getting recognized or promoted. 

3.You're Day Dreaming at Work
You find your thoughts wandering, wondering what else is out there.

4.You're Industry is Retracting
You're in a career that is not growing, such as Architecture, and you need to change for economic reasons.

5.Your Talents are Being Underutilized
You are more capable than your current role allows.

Staying in a boring or disappointing career can cause a great deal of personal unhappiness. However, the grass is not always greener, as the saying goes. So before you leap, explore:

A New Position in the Same Industry
If your company is large enough, perhaps there's a good fit for you in a different department or a new company/organization.

A Career in an Adjacent Industry
If your career sector is experiencing limited job growth, explore a new career which is related.

If it is time to explore a new career however, here are few things to consider.

Challenges
One challenge for professional woman is the struggle between what you really want to do (if known), your “dream job,” and the realities of financial/family obligations. Before you make any sudden moves, research potential new career paths and their job growth projections with the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Changing careers is intimidating, so verify that your new career field is positioned to grow before you jump!

Assess Your Career Toolkit
A new career path may require new skills and the summer months are a good time to enroll in classes at a community college, as they offer shorter schedules including weeknight and weekend classses. You can check out university extension programs, where you can often complete a certificate or degree in 2 years or less. Also, many universities conveniently offer a variety of curriculum's online.

Changing careers can be a daunting endeavor. Success can be yours however, with due diligence, careful research, and a strategic plan. There's no time like the present!

- Kristi Enigl, Global Career Coach

 

Why You Need To Know About Nellie Bly

[image error]

David Friedman is a brilliant composer and good friend. I saw a reading of Front Page Girl (the story of Nellie Bly) and loved it. For those in Connecticut, you might want to go and see it. I do hope it gets to Broadway. Here’s an interview I did with David about the show.

Why were you intrigued by the story of Nellie Bly?
 
She was perhaps one of the most influential women in American history. Born in 1864, Nelly was a woman of daring, innovation and achievement in a time when the majority of women were allowed to be none of those things.
 
Eventually, she talked her way into a job as an investigative reporter with the editor-in-chief of the New York World, Joseph Pulitzer, the most powerful newspaper man in New York.
 

What was your process in writing the songs?

Songs in a show have to progress the plot and stand alone at the same time. I write songs about events in the style of the period. I also write emotional songs that are written in a contemporary style because emotion is universal.
 
Where and when is the show playing?
 
The show is playing November 6 - December 8 at the Spirit of Broadway Theater in Norwich, Connecticut. For all the information and show times, click here.

Career Coach: Welcome to November

It's a new month, and that means a new career coach here on WomenWorking.com. Simma Liberman, aka the Inclusionist, is here to answer your career questions. She will be contributing articles throughout the month of April. We'll let her introduce herself!

I’m Simma Lieberman, a consultant, speaker, and executive coach based in Berkeley, California. For the past twenty years, I’ve been helping organizations create inclusive work cultures where everyone can do their best work. I've helped women throughout the world develop strategies to leverage their talents and skills in order to be seen and heard the way they want to be at the office. This month, we’ll focus on ways you can take your place and space in your professional life — and get control of your career at last.

Intrigued? Check back on Monday for Simma's first post. To ask a question or make a special topic request, send an email to administrator [at] womenworking [dot] com, or leave a comment here on the blog. Here's to another month of workplace wisdom. Welcome, Simma!

 

 

 

 

 


 

How Running Teaches You to be Successful

Laure Stoma is a Louisiana-based sales professional and runner who was at the Boston Marathon in April during the bombing. Her fiancé Leo was competing in the race and she was there to support him. The two are racing in the upcoming ING New York City Marathon and are requesting pledges on behalf of Boston Children’s Hospital.

Here is our interview with her.

Describe your experience in Boston.

I was at the finish line waiting for Leo, ready to take a picture as he crossed. Then the bomb went off right across the street. Waiting for him to get to me was the longest four minutes of my life. The bomb knocked me off my feet.

It puts everything in perspective and makes you feel more fortunate for the things you have. Leo and I have always done everything together – I didn’t know we could become any closer than we were but we are now. I’m grateful that I can get up and run every day. The lives of many of the people there were changed forever.

What have you learned from running that applies to your career?

My fiancé and I went on a 20-mile run recently and it rained for probably 90% of it. At the end, our shoes were soggy and we had blisters. He looked at me and said, “Remind me why we’re doing this again!” With anything challenging in life, you have those moments when it’s not easy to keep going – but if it’s important, you stick it out.

How does running help you deal with stress?

I’m an early riser. I’ve learned that doing something active first thing in the morning gives me the motivation to keep going all day at work and maintain my energy so I can spend quality time with Dani, my 17-year-old daughter.

-Sarah Cooke

What You Need to Do to Unleash Your Potential

In the seminars and trainings I've done across the country, I have sometimes asked participants, “How many of you believe you have more potential than you've been able to turn into reality?” Every hand in the room would go up; some fast, and some slower. We know we are capable of more than we realize, but sometimes we're not sure how to pull it off.  Here are three keys:

Be clear on what you want: It's easy to live the life others think we should live. It takes courage to do the work needed to uncover what is important enough to you that you will make it happen regardless of fears, obstacles and setbacks. When you identify what you really want, you will be unstoppable.

Think bigger, take small steps:  Getting clear on what you really want in life requires thinking bigger than we're used to. We often bury our real desires under small ones and then settle in life. Think big, really big, then bigger. Once you're there, it's time to break the larger picture into small steps.  Make them small enough to match where your confidence and skills are now—and then get going.

Be urgent—but be patient: To unleash more of our potential, we have to feel a sense of urgency. Otherwise, we'll pay more attention to our excuses than our opportunities. To increase your urgency, think about the “why” behind your dream and how it will change your life. But remember to be patient. Without patience, we have unrealistic expectations and we get discouraged and quit.
 

-Alan Allard, Leadership Coach/Life Coach
www.alanallard.com

 

Two "Maniacs" Carve Out a Halloween Spirit

Halloween is tomorrow! So we spoke with Chris Soria, co-founder of Maniac Pumpkin Carvers in New York City. Chris and his business partner Mark Evan have done some creative carvings for celebrities and have appeared nationally on popular television shows.

How did you get started?

We have a works space now but we started carving in my apartment – there were pumpkins everywhere. We’d have the coffee brewing and a few friends would be helping us out. The apartment would look like a surreal pumpkin laboratory. Each year we’d get more requests. We eventually realized that we could have a seasonal business.

The name “Maniac Pumpkin Carvers” is catchy. How did you come up with it?

We’re actually not as dangerous as we sound! The business started off as a hobby. We were watching a lot of horror movies and the name came up in conversation. We also have to carve pumpkins like crazy to fill all our orders, so it seemed like a perfect fit.

Do you and Mark have backgrounds as artists?

We have illustration backgrounds and graduated together from Parsons School of Design at The New School.

You’ve carved pumpkins for some high-profile people. Who have been some of your most interesting clients?

We’ve worked for a wide range of clients, both corporate and individual. We’ve done some pumpkins for the Food Network. We’ve done a lot of work with Martha Stewart and we carved a pumpkin for Taylor Swift.

What is it that makes your pumpkins unique and popular?

What we’re capturing with the pumpkins – whether it’s an image from film or fiction, a celebrity, a character or some sort of monster face – they’re objects from pop culture that people have some familiarity with and it’s fun to see that represented on a pumpkin.

 

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

[image error]

Real Talk with Wendy Williams

As promised, here's our interview with Wendy Williams. She wants to be known as someone who is REAL, and she is! Check out our video and hear Wendy's thoughts on breast cancer survivors, her family, real beauty, parenting, confidence, guilt and ME-time.

Video Editor - Dominique Guerra

If You Think Wendy Williams Can't Do It, Think Again

Just got back from filming an interview with Wendy Williams. She's fabulous! When people told her she couldn't do it, whatever the "it" was, she said, "I'll show them!" And she did.

With all she does -- she's a mom of a 13-year-old son, wife, and popular TV host -- she finds ME-time. Look for our video of the interview, coming soon!

It's Time to Stop Being "Nice"

[image error]Here's a blog with a message we thought we could all hear again.

One of my coaching clients, Lorena, told me she overheard two senior executives discussing an opening for a senior director position that would be made public in two weeks. She thought she would be the best candidate, so I told her to go for it and suggested we use our coaching session to develop a strategy. By making the first move, Lorena could be hired before anyone else even applied. 

I could immediately sense her hesitation. She said she was worried about ethics, and that it might be unfair to other people who want to apply. Since she had overheard it, and not been told about the job directly, Lorena thought it would be better to wait for the official announcement. 

Now, Lorena is not new to the workforce. As a manager responsible for six different sites in the western region, she had not gotten a promotion in five years and was feeling stuck. Like many other women, she was waiting to “be discovered” as the best candidate. She didn’t want an “unfair advantage.” 

I told her what I’ve told other women for years: taking advantage of an opportunity is not unfair or unethical. It would be unethical to lie, sabotage a colleague, or tell a competitor your trade secrets. But this is not the case. If you think you are the best candidate based on the skills, experience, and passion you would bring to the position, you are doing your company a great service and have a responsibility – both to you and to them – to apply right away. 

The truth is, if you wait until the right time, you may be waiting until retirement. Being “nice” is a losing strategy. Wanting to be liked by everyone is a losing strategy. Not taking power to move ahead is a losing strategy. Instead, take a few minutes to decide where you want to be in six months, a year, and five years, and then create a roadmap to get there. No one will hand you a new job or a promotion – you must go out there and take it. 

So I sat down with Lorena, and we listed all of the reasons why she was the best person for that job – we discussed her experience, skills, expertise, and what she could bring to the company in this new position. We rehearsed what she would say, how she would say it, and the body language she would use. She approached the two executives she had overheard, and said she could save them the time, energy, and resources of going through resumes and conduct interviews. Her confidence was impressive.

Today, Lorena is the newest senior director at her company. And it’s because she didn’t confuse “being nice” and “being liked” with being ethical. If you don’t show up and announce yourself, no one else will. You may be the most-liked employee, but you’ll be standing on the sidelines as you watch everyone else move past you.

–Simma Lieberman, Career Coach