Tag Archives: Thinking

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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A Way for Silence

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When you fall down, are you alone or are you in public, or was someone nearby that helped you stand straight.  Because I have a weak right ankle, there have been a few times I have fallen down during the daytime in pubic when the pavement was not even.  The way of Silence surrounding this event is astonishing.

Since I did grow up in a football family, I watched the 2014 Super Bowl.  Early on,  sports announcers gave positive explanations why the Professional Denver Broncos may have been nervous and missed certain plays.  This worldwide event has been taken apart and analyzed by many experts in the sports field.  This blog is focusing on a different aspect to this event. . . The way of Silence.

Many of us have grown up with advice, “If you have nothing good to say, don’t say anything.”  When someone is down, you don’t step on them and make they feel worse.

I took a look for a reporter’s take on the 2014 Super Bowl published this morning and found: http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947809-super-bowl-2014-blowout-score-was-most-shocking-result-in-years.  The way of Silence was taken by a reporter who gave quiet reflection.  He wrote in a positive way how the Broncos were not the only Offense Team beaten in a Super Bowl.  The way of Silence allowed reframing to take the sting out of the Broncos performance.

We can’t change what happened yesterday in our careers.  We can only Choose Who We Want to be Known As when we fall down.  Hopefully, we can fall into the Way of Silence and reframe the situation.  Have a great week!

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

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http://bleacherreport.com/articles/1947809-super-bowl-2014-blowout-score-was-most-shocking-result-in-years

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

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 →

What’s your Influence?

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You don’t have to be a “person of influence” to be influential. In fact, the most influential people in my life are probably not even aware of the things they’ve taught me. Scott Adams We’re saying good-bye tomorrow to the year … 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.

Vulnerability

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It’s not often that we speak about vulnerability in our private lives.   We tend to look to the experts around us to assess and manage the risks we may be exposed to in our neighborhoods, our communities and the world at large.   Our governments strive to keep order for the common good and our well being.  Yet, Vulnerability is an attribute we may not apply to ourselves.  Speaking positively, we are, have been and will continue to be vulnerable.  It’s how we learn about ourselves.

Staff within the Federal Government (at fs.fed.us) describe Vulnerability this way:

FSFedUSGoogle110313vulnerabilityandvaluesWhat’s the exposure if we pursue this strategy?  How are we ready because we’ve taken into account our sensitivities?  Will our contemplated action(s)  be in keeping with our value system?

Adjustment goes hand in hand with being vulnerable as demonstrated by the following graph from a Peace Corps worker named Bailey:

Baileyspeacecorpexperiencejuly2012fromGoogle110313Choosing to become vulnerable allows you to work though and learn about yourself in ways you had not considered before.  If you drew your last few months of activities, what would your graph look like?  How often did you consider yourself to be Vulnerable?  What sensitivities did you realize you had by letting go of a habit, or by learning something new?  

A well-known International Coaching Expert, Brené Brown describes Vulnerability as follows:

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Very recently, I attended a two-day Coaching Seminar on cultural competency.   I participated in a brief exercise to understand and recognize Vulnerability.  It was an enlightening experience.  So please enjoy your activities during this first full week of November as You Choose Who You Want to be Known As.

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

No ONE is looking…

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The true test of a man’s character is what he does when no one is watching.  Coach John Wooten

Another Season has begun this week and people seem busier than ever to catch up on what may not have been finished or even started on their “short list” for 2013.   Many of our Leaders continue to show how they manage themselves in times of increased disharmony in the world.   While the detractors seem never to be satisfied, it’s a lesson for us to witness the positive history unfold before us.

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Wherever we work, we’ve seen situations that don’t make sense to us.  How did that person get the promotion?  What’s the story behind that?  What could I have done differently to  place myself in line for a promotion?  Why didn’t I create an opportunity to be considered for a promotion?        We accept realities of what we can do and what we cannot do.  Yet, as human beings, we work on how we accept the unknown and what the unknown means in our day-to-day lives.

The quotations about Character shown in this Blog remind us of a quotation, from different perspectives.  http://www.bartleby.com/cgi-bin/texis/webinator/sitesearch?FILTER=colQuotations&query=character+is+who+you+are+when+no+one+is+looking  Leaders may not always be right.  They may not always be aware  when someone is “looking” at what they do.  They may not be aware how often someone is watching their performance under very stressful situations.  They do, however, influence us and challenge us to decide whether we agree or disagree with their actions.

3ab79fde905ba3028fbadca1b7841856_viewthosewhodonothingforyogoogle092513uWhat do you do best when challenged with an unknown?  How do you handle yourself when your boss is watching you at work?  Do you act the same way with your co-workers as you do with your boss?  When no one is looking, Who do you want to be known as?

Have a great Fall Season as you look, watch or be yourself!

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

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 →

Just say it. . .

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A week or so ago, I heard a public conversation between two people.  The subject was honesty. This conversation ended with one person believing there was only one answer to the question of what honesty is.  I was surprised by this … Continue reading →