Top Tip for Managing Change!

I’ve been working recently with a large group of employees undergoing change. Like so many people at the moment they just don’t know what the future holds and that’s difficult. How can you start dealing with things if you don’t know what ‘things’ are? How can you manage change?

Self Esteem and Change

When we find ourselves in a state of change (over which we have no control, like a major reorganisation) our levels of confidence and self esteem can drop. In a Gallop poll on what makes for a good workplace ‘knowing what my job is and what’s expected of me’ came out as number one.

During periods of change we rarely know what’s expected of us, or what our job will be. And that leads to a fall off in productivity, less work satisfaction, and a loss of self worth. And this loss of self worth occurs just at the time we need to feel on top, to be on the radar for new roles!

Change Exercise

Here’s an exercise to try out to boost your confidence. It is crucial to remember that you are much, much more than the job you do. You have multiple skills and qualities gained over your life. Some you use in your current role; some you have probably forgotten that you even have.

Take a sheet of paper, draw up four columns headed ‘work’, ‘home/life’, ‘hobbies’ and ‘other’. The columns are just for guidance so don’t get bogged down with them.

Now list every single skill or attribute that you can think of. You don’t have to be an expert, just have some knowledge in it. It’s simply knowledge you could share if asked.

For example, you may have experienced some life events that you’ve never actually evaluated, like a divorce. The increased knowledge and experience from this will be massive but you’ve probably just absorbed it into your life without fully appreciating the experience gained. It will have included managing finances, managing loss, forging a new life, new friends, maybe helping children and family come to terms with the change, possibly involvement through the courts. Take time to think about it.

Maybe you have acquired a qualification while working, or childrearing? Perhaps you have run a charity stall? Maybe you bake cakes? Perhaps you’ve walked the Pennine way? Help out with a kids’ club? This is really a very wide ranging exercise and anything goes. It doesn’t matter how long ago; those skills, attributes and hard won knowledge are still there, accessible to you if you choose. Hopefully once you actually start the ideas will keep flowing and you will get at least 20 things down. Yes, I do mean 20. Get a friend to help if possible. Better still, do this exercise with  a friend.

Now look down your list. Know that you are much more than the job you do. You’ve gained a lot of experience and skills in your life; they make you who you are. This experience of change will add to those skills and qualities.  You will be stronger. You will survive.

If you are undergoing change at the moment, you may find this post on Does Change Make You Feel Stressed? helpful.

And if you are managing staff through a change process, I can send you a free ebook, simply email me.

Photo Credit: Boris Peterka

Do You Work Twice as Much as You Need To?

Have you got things in your life that don’t work very well but somehow you just haven’t got round to replacing them? Maybe a clock that is a bit erratic about deciding to share its alarm on time. So you get round that one by setting your mobile phone to go off at the same time?

Maybe you have people in your life that are a bit unreliable too? Perhaps colleagues who aren’t quite reliable enough so you have to make alternative arrangements, have a plan B just in case they don’t deliver?

Perhaps it’s sentiment, perhaps it’s being too busy to take stock, and perhaps it’s fear of making a change, but if this sounds familiar there is a good chance you are working twice as much as you need to.

Sometimes we need to sit down and take a long, hard, realistic look at how we’re spending our time. I’m not suggesting you throw out friends and colleagues who don’t ‘deliver’, but maybe a quiet and assertive word might help both of you. If the idea of saying what you really feel seems daunting, take a look at this article ‘What Stops You Being Assertive?’

And you can actually throw out that inefficient alarm clock!

“In My Day….”

Whenever I hear those three little words uttered I have to fight the tendancy to scream back:

“It’s STILL your day! You’re here, right now. This is your day too!”

Live Life Fully

If you have an idea in your head that you are past your prime, maybe you need to reconsider your definition of prime? Life is for living until life stops. How can you possibly know what your prime moments were until the very last breath? There are endless possibilities, whatever your age, if you open yourself up to them.

So, grab this week with both hands. Don’t let your limiting thoughts stop you living life to the full. Banish the words ‘In my day‘ from your repertoire; it is STILL your day, today, and tomorrow. Go grab it with both hands!

Photo Credit: My mate Sharon. Picture features my Mum 82 (who always goes for it), me, my soon to be daughter in law, my husband and son. We’re dressed up for Bath’s Jane Austen parade!

What Can You ‘Upcycle’ in Your Life?

I love that word ‘‘upcycle‘.  It means reuse something, recycle something by adding something to it. Not throwing something away when it appears to have outlived its usefulness to you, but doing something to it which adds to its value or appeal.

New for Old

I was prompted to write this following a short break from work with my daughter, (I recommended a break if you can-you’ll find yourselves thinking about loads of things you can upcycle without even trying!)

In my absence my darling husband had begun work on painting our kitchen units. Last year we upgraded the work tops to blue pearl granite (gorgeous since you ask) but kept the solid wood cupboards as they were still in perfect order. But they had a wood stain which was out of keeping with the granite and the rest of the updated room; they’d lost their appeal. And so ‘we’ decided to repaint them. (In the interests of full disclosure I should probably mention here that I made the decision, husband ended up painting….)

Little Things Can Make a BIG Difference

In the way of things this has taken a while…but coming back from my holiday I was amazed at what a difference those few cans of paint have made. (And, of course,the blood sweat and tears that have been shed while I was sunning myself by the pool, with a Pina Colada, thinking about upcycling my business…)

Anyway, back to the point! Seeing my cupboards painted has cast the kitchen in a whole new light, literally and metaphorically. The bright colour makes the room look better but also other parts of the old kitchen appear brighter and better. It has enhanced much more than the cupboards themselves.

And that change has made me think about other aspects of my life, or more specifically my business. I’m going to take some time to think about where I can add value without losing my essential core.

What parts of your life could do with a bit of a review? How can you add value to your career, your life, without losing the essential you, while being true to yourself?

When did you last ‘upcycle’ you?

Photo credit: Kslyesmith

Your Career Plan – Got One?

I work with women from across all professions. Occasionally I will come across someone who has planned out her career but not that often.

I’m not talking about a very rigid plan but about having a good sense of where you want to be. It’s a cliché (but clichés get to be clichés for a reason!) but if you don’t know where you’re going it’ s hard to plan a route! Even sat nav won’t help!

Plan Your Career

Your job takes up a large part of your life. It makes sense to give it as much attentiion and time as you do when planning other less significant parts of your life (like a new piece of furniture! Truly , we can spend longer than buying a sofa than thinking about our working lives constructively).

Take time out to think about where you want to be, what level you aspire to, how you want your work and home life to be. Listen to the free download (on the right) on this site, talk to friends, use a coach, read a book, research the newspaper ads, do what you need to do to take control and plan your route! Of course, there will be hold ups and delays and occasional fast forwards, but that’s the fun of it. As long as you’re going in roughly the right direction you can be sure you’ll get there in the end!

Photo Credit: Kiff Backhouse via RockwaterStudio

Just How Good Are You?

Probably much better than you think! We women are very very very good at underselling ourselves. Modesty is all very well, but if we give ourselves negative messages long enough they become our reality.

So from time to time we need to give ourselves a confidence boost and remind ourselves of all the things we’re good at (if this has you breaking out in a sweat already you need to come on my RenewYou course!)

There will be masses of things you do well. You may feel you don’t match up to the article you’ve just read about the women who has it all as well as unblemished dimple free skin, but trust me she has her unconfident days too!

Beat The Confidence Wobble

So you need to be ready for when the confidence wobble strikes and here’s how. When you’re having a good day list all your qualities, strengths and achievements. I mean everything! Yes, even that certificate you got for when you first swam 100 yards! Keep it close by and add to it as other things come to you.  There should be at least 30 things on this confidence boosting sheet of paper and you can keep adding to it.

Keep the list to hand and next time the wobble strikes, take it out and remind yourself of your talents!  Take yourself back in your mind’s eye to those times when you did well and remind yourself that if you’ve done it once you can do it again!

How do you give yourself a quick confidence booster?

If you’d like to read another very short post on confidence (with cute pic) go to First You Wobble, then You Walk Tall

Photo Credit: Billy Alexander