Category Archives: Strategy

Anchors Aweigh to your Choices

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Today is the first day of Daylight Savings Time and we are adjusting to the loss of one hour.    I have come across a few articles recently about how the anchoring choice of a decision comes into play. The conversation of how we truly decide and move forward is always on-going.  Neuroscientists and Psychologists keep us busy reading their latest articles and the above picture shows another view of what goes on when we begin to make decisions.

Anchors Aweigh is a phrase used to release the weighted anchor holding a ship at the harbor.  Anchoring Decisions is a form of cognitive bias we all have which may be based on our education, culture, whether we grew up in a small or large family and the physical environment we enjoyed as children.  When we choose the first piece of information we hear about an event, we anchor on to it.  Although we may ask for some other information, we usually go back to the first piece of information we hear, because we unconsciously believe it to be true.

Perhaps some people haven’t considered how often they anchor what they hear.  Often times we wonder why someone may not move from a “position” and anchoring may be the reason.  Here is an additional view of how our unconscious bias influences our decision making.

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During this second week of March, 2015, consider how you Choose Who You Want to be Known As when reaching out to understand another person’s decision.  Have a great week!

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

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We Celebrate President Lincoln’s Date of Birth

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We celebrate and remember February 12th as the birth of President Lincoln here in Illinois.  Earlier today I published a blog on this subject, via LinkedIn.com Pulse, https://t.co/0Mu2ZA6TFw.  I hope you enjoy these quotations from President Abraham Lincoln.

“Illinois Celebrates President Abraham Lincoln

“No man is good enough to govern another man without that other’s consent.”

“Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed is more important that any one thing.”

“We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice that thorn bushes have roses.”

“I can make more generals, but horses cost money.” And lastly, “I walk slowly, but I never walk backward.”

Enjoy your career day.

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

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“Is it form over function or function over form?”

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Here’s a Post which was published by LinkedIn.com within the past half-hour.:

 

“Have you ever been told, “That’s not what you are supposed to do.  That responsibility belongs to someone else.”  While you may have a Title for your position, it doesn’t necessarily explain what you actually do.  A Form usually relates to one thing and a Function relates to the activity of a specific Form.

The answer may lie in what binds the Function to the Form, whether by a job description, perceptions, testimonials or accomplishments.  As we begin to think about our upcoming Labor Day – how would you describe what you do – is it Form over Function or Function over Form? 

What do your customers expect from you. . . Function or Form? How often has it happened to you that you visit a retail store and what you wanted to buy is not sold by the Form name of the retail store?   Perhaps you contacted an Accounting firm, only to learn that the specialty service you want to hire is not found within the firm’s members?   Form over function sounds simple, but it isn’t.   

Another way of looking at form over function and function over form is to consider the word “feedback”.    Is feedback just a comment or response, or your understanding of what was said, or advice, or an opinion or a demonstration of your listening skills?  While you may have merely given encouragement to someone’s decision, it was received as advice, which was not your intention.   Perhaps this topic is another puzzle for us to work out in our careers because we live in a fluid, every-changing world.  

Consider as you Choose How You Want to be Known As, what is your answer to the Form or Function question.  Have a great day!” 

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

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Belief, Believed, Believing…

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A thousand words will not leave so deep an impression as one deed.  Henrik Ibsen

 

Recently, I heard a statement made by former President Bill Clinton that made me stop what I was doing because I chose to believe what he said.  (http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-transcript-june-29-2014-n143826).  I was reminded how often we believe what we hear because it may make sense to us, yet it doesn’t meet the reality of facts.  What leads us to believe something is true or not?   Belief, Believed, Believing  may come into play with our answer.

We say, I can’t believe it” — when we hear good news about someone we know and we say, “I can’t believe it” when we hear very sad news about a tragedy.  On the other hand, we choose to believe our impressions of someone we just met, because we have a belief our judgment is correct.  Our birth and business cultures strongly influence us as to our Beliefs, what we Believed and are Believing.  Our experiences and schooling surely play out in our Beliefs as well.  As we are approaching the remembrance of the founding of our country in a few days, why do we believe so strongly in America and its values?

What we regard as true is a belief.  Frequently in our careers, we may be asked to describe what we do for a living and how we would describe what we do in a few words. We want our answers believed.

As we Choose Who We Want to be Known As – We Believe in ourselves and what we do.  Have a great Holiday Week!

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

Notes: http://www.nbcnews.com/meet-the-press/meet-press-transcript-june-29-2014-n143826.

The description of the word “belief”, Roget’s 21st Century Thesaurus, Third Edition Copyright © 2013 by the Philip Lief Group.

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One Up, One Down and What’s You?

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Dancing is just part of the discovery, discovery, discovery. Martha Graham

 

During your career, have you danced in the dance of   “One Up, One Down and What’s You?”  It’s been happening frequently in the Midwest this Spring.  The dance begins when you meet someone and you start a conversation.  The What’s You dance occurs when the sincerity of both people leads the dance and each person dances away from an engaging business conversation.
The One Up dance starts shortly after the conversation begins and one person keeps circling around the other, demonstrating a perceived betterment, for whatever reason.  This dance usually ends as each party has opposite views and a sense of connectedness was lacking in the dance.
The One Down dance takes more time.  Patience, Humility, Curiosity or Discovery of self,  or the other,  is flowing through the conversational dance.  Both people feel they have left the dance with a takeaway to be used or considered in the future.
While I just described three dances, I know you can name many others.  What type of career dance have you participated in this Spring?  What did you discover about yourself and has it helped you in your career?  What should have happened that didn’t?  What first step are you able to take, to move closer to the conversation dance that you want? 
Summer officially begins during the latter part of this week.  I hope this Summer Season in your career brings you closer to the dance where YOU Choose Who You Want to be Known As.  Have a great week!
“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach & Change Agent
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“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.©

 

Curiosity – An 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

 

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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The mid, mean or middle

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A few years ago while speaking to someone,  I used the phrase, a person’s viewpoint can “turn on a dime.”  It was the first time this phrase was heard by the person I was speaking to.  This idiom means that change can happen very quickly as a reaction to an event, whether inside ourselves or from one of our senses.     For many of us, we know that we change everyday, simply because we are one day older. We are able to change lanes while driving because we were initially trained to do so and we develop experience to safely do so.  We are able to change our appearance quickly with a new haircut, a new pair of glasses or a new style of clothing.  Yet, to change a behavior, to move from the mid, mean or middle is not an easy task.

Perhaps we need to remind ourselves that we don’t have to move from the mid, mean or middle (which is in the center or between two opposite sides).  It is a good place to be because it allows for an understanding of what is above or below you.  Why does your opinion differs from the first comment or the last comment in a meeting. . . or why caution may be necessary as opposed to rushing to judgment or ignoring that a problem exists.

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Opportunities are available to us.  We may have to create an opportunity or one may fall unexpectedly in our lap.  What opportunities have you noticed over the past few weeks of January, that you wished you had taken?  Was the opportunity what you wanted?  Or is your mid, mean or middle position keeping you happy in your career?  As you think about a difficulty that presents an opportunity now or tomorrow, Choose Who You Want to be Known As.

Keep warm and safe on this day, my WordPress 2nd Anniversary.   Thanks for your time in reading my Blog.

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

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 →