Tag Archives: career manage

A Coaching Tool for YOU

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“The world as we have created it is a process of our thinking. It cannot be changed without changing our thinking.”  Albert Einstein

We often wonder where sayings and phrases come from.  Recently, I saw an Ad touting “me time.”  Although I’ve heard this slogan a few years ago, I came across an article I saved on this subject.  The article’s heading read:  “Your Me Time- makeover worksheet.”  It is found in the “Health GUIDE,”  page 190 of the July/August 2008 Health Magazine @ health.com (Editor unknown).  The worksheet was published in 2005 in the reference below*.
The well-known authors, consultants, founders, Jim Loehr and Tony Schwartz * developed and published a number of self-development tools in their book,  The Power of Full Engagement, Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal.   The “Me-Time-makeover worksheet” is another name for creating a map of your energy, developed by Loehr and Schwartz.   Your energy falls into four categories:  Emotional, Mental, Physical and Spiritual.  Each category requires you to list HOW you spend your energy during the day.  You then contemplate where you can change yourself to recover, your energy balanced consciously, where you want it to be.
Not everyone appreciates keeping a journal or diary. Yet, describing this energy map me-time worksheet as a “coaching tool” tends to be welcomed by many people.  I believe this is so because when you come to your OWN understanding of how you act, the change in behavior is more sustainable.  Your own self-development belongs to you as you Choose Who You Want to be Known As.    Here’s another interpretation  of the me-time energy makeover worksheet for your use:  spendrecover-text-for-map
Enjoy your Winter Season and pat yourself on the back for your resilience in dealing with the weather! 
“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Executive and Career Management Coach
* Loehr PhD, Jim and Schwartz, Tony.  The Power of Full Engagement, Managing Energy, Not Time, Is the Key to High Performance and Personal Renewal. Free Press (January 3, 2005) 256 pages.    [This book was a New York Times Best-Seller.]

Waiting for…?

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One of the activities we engage in daily is Waiting. What do you do while you are waiting for…? What emotions rise to the surface? Most of us have experiences both positive and unpositive while we wait. What we do … Continue reading →

Your Time is Airline Time…

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This morning I read an online article posted by Gregory Karp, Reporter at The Chicago Tribune newspaper.  Karp wrote about a scientist at Fermilab, Jason Steffens.  Steffens studied the efficiency of airline boarding arrangements.*

Airlines provide safety and great customer service by boarding its passengers in a timely way.  They also increase the probability of saving flight air time and fuel, all things being equal.  There are five conventional methods of boarding customers:  Elites, board back to front, windows-middle-aisles method, random boarding and block seat boarding.

I’ve never taken into consideration, as a value choice, what method an airline chooses to board its passengers.  I’ve just considered safety, price, time schedules, baggage claim experience and customer service.  Is an airline’s boarding method important, when choosing as airline?     What value choices do you include in your work that may not be transparent to those around you?  How important is it for your team to agree upon its value choices necessary to complete the project?  What value choice would you like your customers to know you include in your services?

Have a great week as you choose Who You Want to Be Known As!

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coaching & Change Agent 05/21/12

*Reviewed May 21, 2012, Gregory Karp, “Popular Airline Booking Configurations.” The Chicago Tribune Newspaper, originally posted on or about September 22, 2011

Ethics to YOU Too! tmpending [Blog #3]

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Ethics to YOU too! TMpending [Blog #2]

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™©SCCEblog#2

Courage or Not Taking It Personally

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Over the past week, a number of strangers offered comments that were unsolicited. Although I was in a business setting,  I heard, “The blouse is new, the shoes look clean but the jacket is outdated.”  “Your name really is this  ______,  not what you are calling yourself!”  and finally, because I had small drops of moisture on my glasses and wanted to take the drops off,  “You shouldn’t be cleaning your glasses, you should be speaking to the people other there!”    Perhaps these comments belong to the new phrase “organizational rudeness.”   As a Professional, you learn to listen to and not immediately respond to words so as not to take the words personally.   What causes you not to “take it too personally”?

A man may cry out in pain and may blame everyone around him in a hospital, and the staff doesn’t take it personally.  A woman giving birth may cry out against her pain, and the staff doesn’t take it personally.    What causes us to not take anything personally?

I am reminded of the philosophy of Miguel Ruiz who offers that it belongs to the person speaking in anger, to be angry.  It belongs to the person speaking rudely, to be rude.  It belongs to the person who is out of line, to be out of line.

Mistakes happen and most are true accidents of time, of attention, of nature, of unforeseen events.  It’s how we behave when an accident occurs that drives a conversation or event.

While attending a conference recently, one of the event coordinators laid long fabric I.D. holders on the welcome table.  I placed one around my neck and fastened it to the Name Badge.  Within minutes it become clear something was wrong and I didn’t feel well.  My eyes were burning and I knew I was exposed to an allergen, perhaps on the I.D. holder?  I returned the I.D. holder and the Coordinator knew by looking at my face what was wrong.   I didn’t ask for, yet She sincerely apologized and we went on our separate ways.  No discussion took place, nothing was taken personally, we just went about our day.

“Sticks and stones may break my bones, but words will never hurt me.”*  I do believe this phrase needs a bit brushing off, so it can gain popularity again.  What do you think as you choose Who You Want To Be Known As?  Enjoy your week!

“Jo Ann” M. Radja, Career Management Coach & Change Agent May 2, 2012

*The Christian Recorder in 1862 suggested the Sticks and Stones phrase really represents courage –“True courage is doing what is right, despite the jeers and sneers of our companions.”

Better Days Ahead for You. . .

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A while ago, I caught myself becoming annoyed by a perception of rude behavior.  Have you been in that situation recently?   The second time it happened with this company, I asked the person I was speaking to, if I said something he thought was inappropriate.  The answer was, No.  I did explain to him why I asked the question, in an effort to see if I said something that may have led to the other’s behavior.  He then put me on hold.   What I subsequently learned was that he listened to my prior call, and verified what had happened.  He said I was okay, but was I really?

Reframing is a Coaching concept.  It means to restate the issue in a more favorable light, resulting in positive thoughts.    As you become more aware of how YOU are facing the situation, you are able to move the focus from frustration to – how can I find the answer to move the process along for me because I am responsible for my actions?

Reframing is not necessarily keeping your emotions in check, rather, it is about becoming aware of what’s driving the frustration, at that moment, and how you move out of it.   All of this may take seconds or minutes.  Learning what it takes to move through our emotions during the day is a process.  Yes, a process which takes practice.

Who do you want to be known as…a frustrated person, feeling stuck?

Who do you want to be known as…a proactive person, learning to Reframe an awkward or uncomfortable situation for yourself?  Understanding how choosing a different way to approach a situation, leads to understanding yourself better.  You may surprise yourself so that you will have a better day in whatever you may be doing.   Have a great week!

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

March 19, 2012

Just One Minute. . .

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While housekeeping in my apartment late Sunday afternoon, I listened to a Spiritual Leader* speak about his views on how people seem so angry all the time.  Have you noticed the angst coming out of mouths of people lately, or for quite some time?  Spiritual Leader Rabbi Harold S. Kushner described it as “free floating rage.”

This was my first experience hearing Rabbi Kushner speak.  He came across as so honest and forthcoming about his life experiences that I was drawn into what he had to say.  I was attuned to coaching questions that were intertwined within his talk… When was the last time you experienced a random act of kindness?  How happy are you in your life right now?  What are you doing about it?

People have been so resilient over the past few years, dealing with unforeseen weather conditions, too much rain or too little; drought conditions; hurricanes, flooding, power outages lasting more than one week in outlining metropolitan areas,  first-time horrific tornadoes in some U.S. cities; earthquake tremors reaching across a few U.S. State lines or occurring in places close to our homes for the first time.  Whew! That’s just the weather and not everything else going on in our lives.  Is it any wonder we don’t seem to be agreeable?

Finding just one minute today to consider how much you really have coped with and what you are continuing to cope with in your life just might help you. After you’ve taken a few minutes to do so, why not give yourself a pat on the back.  Acknowledge your coping mechanisms for all the good that you’ve accomplished for yourself and for others.  Consider taking just one minute daily or weekly and keep reminding yourself the good that you do.   You may find your mood shifting upwards and becoming the person You Want To Be Known As.

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

*30 Good Minutes.org  (Sunday, January 22, 2012).