Category Archives: Jobs

What’s Your 2016 Spring Surprise?

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spring-1256806_640Spirit is an invisible force made visible in all life.  Maya Angelou

It happens often, you change for one reason or another. People you knew a number of years back are unable to accept the change. Apparently you surprised someone because of your development growth. What kept you together in a circle no longer applies It could be as simple as you no longer enjoy eating a certain food, or you lived in the same neighborhood and moved away, or you received a promotion that the other person wanted. Your Spring Surprise happens and you want to move forward.

Alternatively, you may be on the cusp of a change – in the process of transition. Your challenge is to assist someone to accept the transition in your career. Using the emotional intelligence matrix of. . .

observing,

describing,

accepting,

not taking it personally, and

not judging the other person. . . is one strategy to consider. Choosing Who Do You Want to be Known As during the transition process is your personal responsibility that you do not take likely. 

This weekend as the Spring Equinox greets us, very best wishes for YOUR Spring Surprise. . .

So, I

Persevered.

Resilience paid off.

It’s the first day of Spring and

Not too late to

Give back to those who were kind to me.

Doubts tried to creep into my mind for a while this past winter.

And were swept away.

Yearnings will come true as you focus on

what’s important to you. ©Jo Ann M. Radja*

 

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

http://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

https://creativecommons.org/by-nc-sa

* This anagram was first published by me on March 20, 2015 via LinkedIn.com/Pulse

 

 

A Parody for early March, 2016

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Here is a parody on the issue of customer service.  It’s the first week of March, 2016; we recognize that we are only responsible for our actions as we attempt to diffuse the conflict “ball” thrown at us.  One way is to find humor in the situation. . .

E. xcuse

T. he unwelcoming you

H. ear.

I. t’s Thursday and we have few

C. ustomers.

S. o, we forget the service training we were given.©

As You Choose Who You Want to be Known As this month of March, consider humor as a means to diffuse conflict.  Enjoy.

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

https://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

https://creativecommons/licenses/by-nc-sa

 

 

Why We Often Stand Firm. . .

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Today is my Anniversary of writing on WordPress and I thank all of you for continuing to visit my blog.50bff48f11f940ecee9eae5f5e8b9138ListentoUnderstandnotReplyGeniusQuotes.netOver the past two weeks, I have travelled outside of Illinois for business and to another Illinois County.  These trips afforded me an opportunity to Listen to Understand.  The first instance was arriving at the airport, some two hours later because of bad weather.  The  Van Driver believed he would not receive a tip because he dropped me off less than two hours before flight time.  Of course, this safe driver and was not responsible for inclement weather.

The second example of Listen to Understand occurred the next day when I caught a cab to reach the business meeting.  (I chose not to walk because it had begun to rain and I was meeting people I had not met before.)  This young driver typed the destination into his GPS  and the GPS directed him onto a wrong highway.  He circled back and became confused; we began our trip all over again as it became clear he more easily found a business by the building name, rather than the address.  Both drivers were paid and each had “bent down heads” because they were listening for a reply to a possible negative encounter.  Personally, I was grateful I arrived safely at each destination.

The third instance occurred when I arrived back in Illinois after midnight .  The driver who  was scheduled to meet me, was unable to exit  the car park because of a password reset mix-up; the window attendant gave him a pass.  He told me his story as he explained that I almost didn’t back to where I lived in Chicago in the middle of the night.  While all three of these instances portray how we often stand firm when we speak, managing yourself leads to less conflict.

As You Choose Who You Want to be Known As this week, consider how you manage a potential conflict when someone else stands firm. Enjoy your week!

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

http://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa

 

What’s rolling into your Year of 2016?

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The following anagram was published today via LinkedIn Pulse at http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-rolling-from-2015-your-year-2016-jo-ann-m-radja:

H opes we had occasionally came true.

A nd we still pursued and pressed forward.

P erseverance may pay off as

P erhaps 2016 may be the

Y ear we vision it will be.

Y et, it still remains our choice to

E mbrace the negative

A nd

R eframe our hopes, targets and expectations into the year 2016!©Jo Ann M Radja

As you Choose Who You Want to be Known As have the best year ever in 2016!

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

https://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

http://creativecommons.org/by-nc-sa

December Musings for YOU…

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Merry Christmas everyone and Happy Holidays.  The above photo was shot last evening of the Prudential Building, here in Chicago, across from Millenium  Park.

This is the search result for John Lennon and Yoko Ono’s “So This is Christmas…”

John Lennon – Happy Xmas (War Is Over) – YouTube

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z8Vfp48laS8

Artists: John Lennon, Yoko Ono, Plastic Ono Band

Featured artist: The Harlem Community Choir

Album: Some Time in New York City

Released: 1972

Lyrics: So this is Christmas, and what have you done / Another year over, a new one just begun / And so this is Christmas, I hope you have fun / The near and the dear ones, the old and the young… Full lyrics on Google Play
 ————–

Last week I published a Post on LinkedIn Pulse and Twitter.  Here is the link: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jingle-all-way-jo-ann-m-radja

https://twitter.com/Coach_Jo_Ann/status/677295234523529216

However you celebrate the December holidays, please Choose Who You Want to be Known As during the festivities.

Sony122015 070

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

https://www.creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa

https://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

 

Monday Musing – 16 days into November 2015

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no_barriersBINGsearchforcontinuityimaes111615 Continuity in everything is unpleasant.  Cold is agreeable, that we may get warm.  Pascal

 

New words that describe continuity, words we might want to use and one word with 12 meanings are the subject matters of the following three recently posted articles on different aspects of continuity in today’s workplace.

 

http://www.inc.com/minda-zetlin/38-convincing-words-and-phrases-to-adopt-immediately-.html

 

http://www.inc.com/geoffrey-james/12-reasons-to-hire-employees-who-make-mistakes.html

Have a great week in your careers!

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

http://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

4th Day of Ethics and Compliance Week 2015

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Even when there is no law, there is conscience. Publilius Syrus It’s Ethics and Compliance Week and I would like to share with you two anagrams for you to consider. Have a great week! E nvy crept into the conversation … Continue reading →

Impossible fun . . . with curiosity

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th6NJHG7XZMickeyMouseclipartBING092515It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.   Curiosity keeps leading us down new paths.  Walt Disney

Earlier today I published a post on LinkedIn Pulse with the Title of The Three R’s.  http://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/three-rs-jo-ann-m-radja.  Here is a modified version of that post.

A man in a creative job had been working on a new project. He submits it to the client and a discussion ensues. Even though the project was deemed unacceptable for the marketplace, he believed the discussion was fair. It was such a shock and a setback to subsequently learn his staff was hired away from him (except one man) by the company who deemed his work was out-of-fashion. This story occurred sometime during the 1920’s.  Whether it is a myth or a restatement of history, unfortunately, this story rings true for many people.
The terms of reinvent, re-engineered, retooled or right-sized were not spoken in this creative man’s era; his story has universality for us today, some 90 years later.  What Walt Disney did with his one employee was to collaborate and re-work his original drawings. Mickey Mouse was then born and introduced to the community. Many of the action terms we use today – customer driven, vision and focus, brain-storming new ideas and visualizing real-world activities for the new character – took place in the development and implementation of the Mickey Mouse character.

How quickly do you rebound from a serious let-down? What did you tell yourself to regroup and continue on? Did you re-frame the situation or just recognized perhaps the timing was all wrong? Stating these questions another way: What feedback did you receive that continued the spark in you to recognize, relate and resolve your actions to the next step? How frequently do you rely on YOUR three R’s As You Choose Who You Want to be Known As?

During the month of October, I hope your three R’s work to your best advantage as you recognize, relate and resolve.

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

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa

http://wordpress.com/disclosures/

. . . on the Contrary

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Earlier today I published two anagrams you might enjoy reading on LinkedIn Pulse at https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/whats-contrary-you-jo-ann-m-radja. The text of that post now follows:

C onventional wisdom

O ften, yet not always, is right.

N ow is the time

T o consider whether the

R isk we’ve focused on merits,

A n all-out program

R oll-out this quarter. I vote

Y es. How about you?©Jo Ann M. Radja

E nergy to keep up with

T he reading

H as its downside. The upside

I s the kernel of applicability to understand

C onsequences we face in the

S hort term.©Jo Ann M. Radja

                 Have a great Fall Season in your career as you Choose Who You want to be Known As.

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

http://www.wordpress.com/disclosures

http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa

LINING Your Portfolio . . .

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I do not pretend to start with precise questions.  I do not think you can start anything precise.  You have to achieve such precision as you can, as you go along. Betand Russell

I’m not sure when it exactly happened; I think it started with my first photography course at college.  Lines fascinate me, perhaps because what they represent in your mind becomes a design that you live with in your life and your career. As we approach the end of the month of August, another opportunity presents itself to create, enhance or begin a new line, lined or lining in your career.

Earlier today, I published another version of this theme as a LinkedIn Publisher at: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/lines-lined-lining-jo-ann-m-radja.  Here is a copy of the text for your review:

“It’s somewhat rare that we do  not find a line running through our careers.  When our career began we had straight lines between a resume + interview + job offer.  Within a year or so our performance may have warranted  a testimonial or recommendation.  Our performance lined a file and formed a lining within our portfolio.

Today, many of us have accepted we move though our careers via a step line of asking many questions.  How are we able to >>>>>?     How can I modify my >>>>> to achieve >>>>>?       What do I have to do to complete >>>>>?  What are the expectations for this assignment and how will my performance be measured?   What questioning gives us are steps to embrace whatever perceived or real negative may lie before us.  More importantly, we exercise whatever control we have to accept and choose a line of action. 

We are presented with options and possibilities as we approach the last four months of  2015.  As you choose Who You Want to be Known As, what questions will you ask yourself to continue lining your portfolio?  Enjoy your 4th quarter of 2015!

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

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http://www.wordpress.com/disclosures