Missed, Misstep or Mistake

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  Mistakes are the portals of discovery. James Joyce    Since we are not perfect, we often place stress on ourselves when we don’t fully understand what happened following a “blip” in our careers.  Was it a mistake or a … Continue reading

Chance Encounters…

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Don’t look down on people unless you’re trying to pull them up.  Anonymous
 
Early Friday evening she heard
That’s her – and she was called a b_ t_h.
He continued in bad form a few  minutes later.
It’s always surprising how often you need to
Control your reactions
So the situation is diffused and not reactive.©
 
 
Entering the store, she immediately felt uneasy,
     although she was
 Told the preceding evening to come to the store.
Having reached the counter, she was quizzed
     as to why she was in the store. 
It became clear her words were not believed.  She 
Carefully reached for her phone and 
Showed the call details.  Workplace public
     treatment of customers can discount good
     behavior of other employees.© 
As you CHOOSE WHO YOU WANT to be BE KNOWN AS this consider how you handle your close encounters.
Enjoy your week!
 
“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Agent and Change Agent
 
Note:  http://www.wordpress.com/disclaimers

 

 

“Curiouser and Curiouser”

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Google051414We are what we repeatedly do.  Excellence then. . .  is a habit.  Aristotle

 

A trusted  friend of mine and I had interesting chats about how office politics is like story plots from Alice in Wonderland,  by Lewis Carroll.   While we both held management positions, you do need to have an outlet in the office where “venting” can occur.  It was always a safe conversation, without violating any departmental confidences.  In fact, when we were close to ending the talk, we both looked forward to saying, “It’s like Alice in Wonderland, isn’t it.”   We smiled,  and moved onto the next Curiouser and Curiouser  situation we were paid to handle.

 

Today, some 150 years after Alice in Wonderland was published, we apply curiosity differently in our careers.  Curiosity is a good thing, especially in a coaching environment.  People want to be understood and a Coach wants to understand the client to facilitate the client achieving the agreed, targeted goal.

 

Curious – an act of empathy to learn from and engage another person.©

 

CuriosityAn emotional concept for serving another person.©

 

Curiouser and Curiouser – An ability of demonstrating servant leadership in the workplace

 

Have a great week As You Choose Who You Want to be Known As when curiosity presents itself!

 

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

Ethics and Compliance Week 2014

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Our system of morality is a body of imperfect social generalizations expressed in terms of emotions. Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr.

Early in the morning, he wanted
To meet.
He was late for almost an hour and never apologized.
It seemed he totally forgot.
Can leaders make mistakes? Yes, they can. A
Servant Leader would own his accountability. ©

Everyone was ready for the meeting. It
Touched many to
Hear the first Speaker’s enthusiasm of her strategy, that
Increased attention to the message. It
Caused many to sit up.
So keep an open mind for the name of the industry as the
company’s name may surprise you. ©

Have a great week in your Career!

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach & Change Agent

If you’re interested, The Society of Corporate Compliance & Ethics (SCCE) has expert videos for you to take a look at:  http://www.corporatecompliance.org/Resources/ResourceOverview/ExpertVideos.aspx

 

Courage can build Trust

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Be sure you put feet in the right place, then stand firm.

Abraham Lincoln

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E-Everyone gossips, people say.

T-Today it takes courage to reply

H-How the Office doesn’t permit gossip.

 I -Interesting how the first step to

C-Confirm what the values of an office are

S-Seems daunting to many people. ©Jo Ann M. Radja

E-Extra documents need

T-To be shown to verify

H-How you can afford a debt.

I-It’s easy to obtain.

C-Confidence builds trust

S-So that collaboration can begin.©Jo Ann M. Radja

Have a great day as you Choose Who You Want to be Known As!

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coaching & Change Agent

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What Pieces are YOU picking up?

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A successful man is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks others have thrown at him.  David Brinkley

CT weather1.JPGOne way of interpreting David Brinkley’s quotation is to understand you have to be self-reliant in your life.  You Choose Who You Want to be Known As at any given moment of  time.  Sometimes we surprise ourselves and other times it a great effort to work through whatever process is before us.  The question becomes. What pieces are you picking up in your career?

The photo above could be seen as plastic pieces on asphalt or another mixed media art project in the making, or a schematic design of a puzzle maze or magnified pieces of broken glass.  The reality is,  it is a cracked ice formation on the Chicago River.    What we see is perception.   Our perception is formed by past experiences, the present moment, the time of day, our culture and our values.   How mindful we are of our emotions and the emotions of others will drive our perceptions as well.

If you had to pick up pieces today that were left by someone else, what would your first step be?  Pick up the pieces, finish the task and then move on.  Ask someone for assistance because the job entails more than you are able to handle at this moment? or, walk away from the pieces and let someone else take care of it because it’s not your responsibility anyway?   Since the readers of this blog come from so many professions, there is no correct answer.  If the pieces are left for you to deal with this week, Choose Who You Want to be Known As.  Best of luck as you choose!
“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach and Change Agent

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Feed, Fodder or Feedback

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Feed, fodder or feedback — it’s the Monday morning “quarterbacking” of what your impressions, comments and responses are about an event, project or idea. Within our culture, the idiom, “Feeding frenzy” is an aggressive attack on someone by a group. … Continue reading

December doesn’t take a back seat, ever!

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Is it the end, or the beginning.  You DECIDE.

We often consider what’s left to do during the month of December.  Many cultures within our communities celebrate a number of  holidays in December, usually with streams of LIGHT.  What if December doesn’t take a back seat, ever!   What if you start considering what’s important to you today in your career and what you presently know you have to work at to achieve it.  Here are a number of food for thought quotations for you to consider:

 

Make a pact with yourself today to not be defined by your past. Sometimes the greatest thing to come out of all your hard work isn’t what you get for it, but what you become for it. Shake things up today! Be You…Be Free…Share. Steve Maraboli, Life, the Truth, and Being Free

If your dream is a big dream, and if you want your life to work on the high level that you say you do, there’s no way around doing the work it takes to get you there. Joyce Chapman

 

The three great essentials to achieve anything worthwhile are, first, hard work; second, stick-to-itiveness; third, common sense.  Thomas A. Edison

 

Sometimes there’s not a better way. Sometimes there’s only the hard way. Mary E. Pearson, The Fox Inheritance

 

Every job from the heart is, ultimately, of equal value. The nurse injects the syringe; the writer slides the pen; the farmer plows the dirt; the comedian draws the laughter. Monetary income is the perfect deceiver of a man’s true worth. Criss Jami

 

She was tough in the best sense of the word. She’d taken blows, the disappointments, and had worked her way through them. Some people, he knew, would have buckled under, found a clutch, or given up. But she had carved a place for herself and made it work. Nora Roberts

 

All success comes down to this . . . action.   Rob Liano

 

Whatever action comes to mind, Choose Who You Want to be Known As.   Have a great 1st week of December.

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Executive and Career Management Coach

Note:  The above quotations are found at http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/tag/hard-work.

What’s your EXERCISE?

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“EXERCISE.  .  .  Accountability,  Ability,  Learning,  Professionalism, Intuitiveness” A few days ago, I heard a phrase that resonated with me.  It was spoken by a Senior U.S. Government Official.  The phrase is, “It’s not an empty exercise.”  Many of you in … Continue reading

Pushing, Pushed, Push

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Pushing, Pushed, Push sometimes is very helpful to try out a new option, opportunity or idea you or your company may have.  Forum groups have been part of mainstream America for well over 25 years.  We want to know how … Continue reading