10 Habits to Advance Your Career and Change Your Life

Ann Grove and Barrie Byron Veteran presenters who are passionate

about lifelong learning and experienced in embracing change

TWITTER #stcpmc13 @AnnGrove @barriebyron

10 Habits to Advance Your Career and Change Your Life

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Presentation Notes

BARRIE resilient and optimistic people make more money and are more highly valued by their peers. In addition, they are more likely to be hired and promoted, and less likely to be laid off. Positive attitude is a soft skill, and like any other soft skill, can be learned. Some people actually call this “learned optimism.” So today we are going to share with you the top ten habits we use daily to reframe the challenges in our lives and advance our careers. This isn’t about the power of positive thinking; rather, this is about adjusting your approach to life, and thus changing some of the realities of your life, which leads to greater satisfaction and advancement. One of the things we will be talking about today is happiness. If you are struggling with depression or anxiety, please know that our hearts are with you. We do not want to minimize or oversimplify those challenges. We hope you find some inspiration and encouragement today.

10. Look at the whole picture


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ANN Rely on multiple metrics to assess and evaluator your performance. For instance, If you are a job hunter, don't grade yourself solely on your checking account balance. This account is a single point of time. If you are working, don't grade yourself solely on your salary, even if your salary is high. We all know there are plenty of highly paid professionals who fail daily in many respects. A single data point taken out of context can make you believe you are better or worse off than a more complete picture. As a consultant, business development and getting the next job sometimes requires 25 outreach efforts and 25 possible rejections to secure the three jobs that make a year’s work. Some of the outreach efforts result in work years later. Send out ships. Keep a “me file” Improve record keeping


9. Decide to be happy

QTIP: Quit taking it

personally

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BARRIE Happy people don’t have the best of everything, they make the best of everything QTIP principle: Quit taking it personally Working acquisitions Decide to be happy. Be very discerning about what information or experience you allow to ruin your day or steal your sleep. Attitude is infectious. Surround yourself with people you admire and respect. Glass half full, keep pouring. Rocket hiring me because of my attitude. Gretchen Rubin, project happiness Follow Gretchen on LinkedIn Develop and use tools Choose your peers wisely


8. Focus on things you can change

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ANN Serenity Prayer, adopted by many types of support groups: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,�The courage to change the things I can,�And the wisdom to know the difference. Avoid churning. Notes from our chat: change jobs, change who you work with, or change your approach or how you think about it. Continually conduct social experiments: change and change again. You can’t change the way someone else acts or thinks, you can change yourself and how you think and act. Example: did not renew contract with a difficult manager. Choose carefully the clients I work with. Employees get paid even when you stay the same. Consultants and business owners get more flexibility. Marketing business project.


7. Embody positive self-talk

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BARRIE Believe in yourself, Be your own cheerleader Believe it to achieve it Share your intentions: Speak them aloud, believe in your accomplishments Performance evaluation: career development plan, professional development plan. Don't say anything to yourself that you wouldn't say to your best friend or sibling. Your outlook on life is a direct reflection of how you see yourself.�(a "Barrie-ism" is "it's not how you look, it's how you see") -Avoid the habit of negative self-talk. -Be supportive of yourself. -Self discipline, keep beautiful perspective The Company We Keep segue �


6. Earn trust

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ANN Earn trust, foster relationships with people we trust We thrive in positive relationships, assess relationships in an ongoing basis Ensure that people in your life support you and help you be a better person Limit time with and break off relationships with people who bring out the worst in you Let go of people that do not hold you in the highest space Collaborate with people you trust and admire and respect Ended 20+ year relationships with college friends Volunteer if you can’t change a job right away, broaden resume with skills and experiences For job changes (within company, new job) ask to meet with team members as well as hiring manager Keep an inventory of your life It Is Better To Be Alone, Than In The Wrong Company Tell me who your best friends are, and I will tell you who you are. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl. But, if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights. “A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.” The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate – for the good and the bad. The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity. An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you. Consider this:�– Never receive counsel from unproductive people.�–Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always the first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person.�–Don’t follow anyone who’s not going anywhere. With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it.�–Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life.�–Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships.


5. Get a mentor

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Presentation Notes

BARRIE Get a mentor The best way to determine if someone can give good counsel is by their fruit. Steven Covey Speed of Trust http://www.johnmcgeelive.com/?p=11 After leaving IBM, still a member of the Greater IBM Community, invited to workshops and web seminars Attended Speed of Trust four issues: your integrity, your intent, your capabilities, and your results Nothing is as Fast as the Speed of Leadership - The number one job of any leader is to inspire trust - Trust always affects two outcomes-speed and cost. When trust is low, speed goes down and cost goes up. When trust is high, speed goes up and cost goes down - Trust is a function of both character and competence - When you build trust with one, you build trust with many An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you. Consider this:�– Never receive counsel from unproductive people.�–Never discuss your problems with someone incapable of contributing to the solution, because those who never succeed themselves are always the first to tell you how. Not everyone has a right to speak into your life. You are certain to get the worst of the bargain when you exchange ideas with the wrong person.�–Don’t follow anyone who’s not going anywhere. With some people you spend an evening: with others you invest it.�–Be careful where you stop to inquire for directions along the road of life.�–Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships.


4. Be a mentor

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Presentation Notes

ANN Grow by giving, fostering trust The best feeling is to give of yourself to others. Introduce people to folks they want to know (your story about introducing the VP hire) Create a legacy. Enhance your skills. The experience you gain by mentoring someone can facilitate your own professional growth, making you more of an asset to your organization. Jack Molisani “rising tides float more boats” by helping others we help the industry we help ourselves and we give the gift of ourselves Secret generosity (STC memberships). Call from woman who was consulting and was offered full time job. Recent reconnection and credits Ann with helping mentor through the challenge.


3. Use healthy communication

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BARRIE Let go of the need to be right Old John Gray ask for what you need, keep lines of communication open, ask for feedback (learn to give non-judgmental feedback)... Toastmasters style (evaluate the situation/project/result... leave person out of equation)


2. Hold people at the highest level

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ANN Do not reduce your expectations, be encouraging. Serve as role model, be your best self. Expect best from other people. Practice gratitude: acknowledge, appreciate, affirm/admire, articulate For example, when others view us with negative expectations, we don’t perform our best. Difficult colleague: newspaper job (call difficult peer to share news of death)


1. Be persistent

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Don’t give up on yourself. Change does not happen immediately Put effort into your life Invest in yourself Keep learning Keep giving Keep trying Practice Don’t give up on others


The Four Agreements by Miguel Ruiz

Be impeccable with your word. Don’t take anything personally. Don’t make assumptions. Always do your best.

TWITTER #stcpmc13 @AnnGrove @barriebyron 12

Presenter

Presentation Notes

(Barrie) The way that we live and work defines us. The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) by Don Miguel Ruiz offers a code for living our life with peace and happiness. (Ann) Be impeccable with your word. Words are seeds, so plant a garden of abundance and hope. Give your full attention to what words come out of your mouth. Just as we take care and use diligence when we craft our technical writing, I suggest that we should also think before we speak. Relax. (Barrie) Don’t take anything personally. Take your work seriously, but don’t take yourself seriously. QTIP (Ann) Don’t make assumptions. Our work places us in proximity to people we may only know on a superficial level, so we must use care not to make assumptions. Use your technical communication skills and find the courage to ask questions. Do not assume that your colleagues know what you need. Be clear about what you need. Communicate, communicate, communicate. (Barrie) Always do your best. In all circumstances, if we do our best, we can feel good about our contributions. Our best varies, but we can learn from our mistakes. Go forth, have an excellent day, and enjoy living and working.

1. Be persistent 2. Hold people at the

highest level 3. Use healthy

communication 4. Be a mentor 5. Get a mentor

10 Habits to Advance Your Career and Change Your Life

6. Earn trust 7. Embody positive self-talk 8. Focus on the things you can change 9. Decide to be happy 10. Look at the whole picture

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Be persistent Hold people at the highest level Use healthy communication Be a mentor Get a mentor Earn trust Embody positive self-talk Focus on the things you can change Decide to be happy Look at the whole picture

• Photos by Barrie Byron Inspiration from many sources, including: • The Wealthy Spirit: Daily Affirmations for Financial

Stress Reduction by Chellie Campbell • The Four Agreements: A Practical Guide to Personal

Freedom (A Toltec Wisdom Book) by Don Miguel Ruiz • The Happiness Project: Or, Why I Spent a Year Trying to

Sing in the Morning, Clean My Closets, Fight Right, Read Aristotle, and Generally Have More Fun by Gretchen Rubin

TWITTER #stcpmc13 @AnnGrove @barriebyron 14

Credits

Presenter

Presentation Notes

Chellie Campbell The Wealthy Spirit The Four Agreements Speed of Trust Steven Covey The Happiness Project Gretchen Rubin