Category: Professionalism

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Let’s Talk

Remember that part of the Holidays is about being present in the moment with those closest to you. You may break bread to connect with these people in your life. The food is there to signify the importance of the event and also to make it easier to focus on the conversation. And to be present in the moment may require a conversation starter.

Get to know each other better, ask the question(s) you always wanted to ask.

Here are some sample questions to use with working adults:

  • What are you most excited about right now? Why?
  • What have you learned from this experience?
  • What is not perfect yet?
  • What are you willing to do to make it the way you want it?
  • What are you willing to NOT do to make it the way you want it?
  • How can you enjoy the process?
  • What is the most innovative thing you’ve done recently?
  • Focus on the conversation. Get to really know what is going on with this person.

Here are some sample questions to use when speaking with children:

  • What was your favorite part of the day?
  • What’s your favorite class or subject at school? Why?
  • What’s your least favorite or toughest subject at school? Why?
  • What was the biggest challenge for you right now?
  • What made you smile or feel happy today?
  • What made you frown or feel sad today?
  • What is your favorite thing to do with the family?

You can also ask children: “Would you rather” questions, such as “If you could choose a superpower, would you rather choose flying or invisibility? Why?”

Here are some sample questions to use when speaking with elders:

  • What do you remember about your parents and grandparents?
  • What do you want family and friends to remember about you?
  • What life advice would you pass on to your family and friends?
  • What was your favorite thing about school when you were young?
  • What were your friends like when you grew up?
  • What was your first job?
  • What was your favorite job?
  • Who were your heroes and role models when you were young?

There are many more questions than this that you can ask. 

Remember to look into the eyes of the person you are speaking with and have fun with the questions.

-RG

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Top 5 List: Be A Better Co-worker

Top 5 List

As hybrid working, co-working, and open work environments become more popular people will be more likely to spend a significant part of their day working next to someone else. And there’s a greater chance that’ll be working next to someone they don’t know. In an effort to help maintain a comfortable and stress-free work environment we owe it to each other to be respectful, kind, and courteous. Here are a few tips for being a better co-worker.

Meetings – if there’s a need for a meeting okay then use a meeting room. To have a trusted colleague come over for a quick exchange is one thing and acceptable by most professionals. However having a small group meeting at your desk can be disruptive to everyone else in the workspace.

Eating – avoid turning your desk into a dinner table, there is no need to eat your desk. A cup of coffee and a small cookie or even a cup of fruit is fine. If you absolutely have to eat at your desk try to bring foods that don’t have strong smells.

Dress – showing too much skin can be offensive and can have a negative impact on the way that people perceive. You don’t always have to dress in professional business attire, just make sure that you’re not dressed for a day at the beach. A hoodie and sweatpants may not be the best option either.

Phone – be aware of others around you when speaking on the phone. Loud talkers may inadvertently share private or confidential information that others may not be interested in hearing. Be especially cautious of using a hands-free speaker. Trust that no one wants to hear your personal conversations. Consider stepping away from your workspace and the folks that you share the work environment with, if need be.Grooming – there should be absolutely no personal grooming at your desk. Some of the most offensive things that bother people the most include nail grooming, teeth flossing, and applying deodorant. Basically if you do it in the bathroom at home then you should NOT do it in the office.

-RG

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Embrace Diversity In The Work Environment

There is no single (or preferred) strategy to help embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) in the work environment. It’s important that all members of the organization recognize that continuous forward motion is the only way to achieve success. Here are a few strategies to get started:

Start the conversation – this starts with the leadership team. Open the door, set the tone, and send a very clear message that DEI is something that will be discussed openly and acted upon.

Increase transparency and accountability – organizations that do not operate with a high level of transparency and understanding of what is being done to increase DEI, will not feel that enough is being done to make a sustained improvement.

Inclusive leadership skills must be developed – simply being aware of unconscious bias or having a basic business sense for DEI is not enough. Awareness is important, however, it doesn’t automatically mean that action will be taken. Leadership needs to learn the tools, understand the frameworks, and utilize the skills to help close the gap between theory and practice.

Take notice of diversity during conversations and decisions – leadership must create the conditions in which diverse viewpoints will be represented, they must be purposeful in seeking out people with opposing viewpoints, they must delegate equitably, and then proactively identify opportunities for all to maximize professional development.

Pay attention – the growing challenges of DEI efforts have been highlighted due to hybrid and virtual working conditions. Some groups have reported that the virtual working environments come as a relief where being at home has provided a safer place to conduct work during the pandemic. It is clear that flexible work arrangements bring huge benefits, it also creates a risk for widening the diversity gaps and possibly creating new ones. Leadership (and all other members of the organization) need to pay attention to how all people are being treated. Leaders should be intentional in the way they engage and acknowledge each person and their value to the organization.

Act as an ally – acting as an ally for someone is similar to being a catalyst for change. To embrace diversity in the workplace is to advocate on behalf of others and contribute to creating fair working conditions for everyone. Additionally acting as an ally becomes even more critical when supporting historically those groups that have been excluded and may face unique challenges.

Commit to change – to look inward is a very critical piece to enhancing a culture of diversity, equity, and inclusion. Each member of the organization should consider their own leadership strengths and opportunities as they relate to these best behaviors and best practices.
Building a platform – it takes every member of an organization to take action to embrace diversity. It requires the work of the individual, the team, and the entire organization. This work is difficult, so all of those involved should be considerate of others by maintaining their coworker’s sense of self-esteem and demonstrating empathy. Empathy is key. Leadership should continue to spread the message that there is always work being done in this area as well as modeling the behaviors they want to see in their teams and develop a loop for feedback.

-RG

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Top 5 List – Tips To Prepare Students For College

You might be surprised to learn that more than half of first-year college students say they aren’t prepared for college, despite being academically eligible to attend.

College readiness can ensure this doesn’t happen.

By definition, college readiness is the set of skills, behaviors, and knowledge a high school student should have before enrollment in their first year of college. Counselors and teachers play a key role in making sure this happens and can help students find academic success in college. If you’re already a teacher, or studying to become one, it’s important to know how you can effectively prepare your students for college.

Why is College Readiness Important?
The transition from high school to college is a major one. In many cases, students move away from home and embark on a new life chapter—both academically and personally. It’s crucial for parents and teachers to understand why college readiness is important so that they can better prepare students for a successful college experience even before enrollment.

Multiple studies show that college readiness improves a student’s chance of actually completing their degree. But the impact is even bigger than that. According to a report by American College Testing (ACT), high school graduates need to be college and career-ready in order to have a properly skilled workforce that meets the demands of the 21st century.

Below are some ways teachers can equip their students for that next academic step.

How Can Teachers Measure College Readiness?
True college readiness requires both academic and real-world skills. In fact, the ability to solve problems, work in a team, and be resourceful are viewed by some experts as equally important to mastering mathematics and reading. So, while many colleges use ACT/SAT scores or a student’s high school GPA to measure college readiness, there are other indicators or “soft skills” that teachers can look for.

Essential Soft Skills for College Readiness

  • Time management
  • Critical thinking
  • Communication
  • Networking
  • Goal setting
  • Collaboration
  • Problem-solving

Here are five tips you can use to better equip students for college success.

Focus on Executive Function Skills – Executive function refers to the mental skills that we use every day to learn and manage our daily lives. They include things such as memory, flexible thinking, and self-control. These skills can develop at different rates in different students. One way you can help support students in developing these skills is to establish a mindfulness routine that includes regular self-check-ins, self-reflection, intention setting, and gratitude practice.

Make the Classroom More Rigorous – It might be a challenge at first, but updates to the curriculum to include more intensive coursework is key to ensure students are well equipped with the broader set of strategies they’ll need for college. You can do this by implementing a challenging curriculum and assign longer, more complex assignments that involve things such as research, collaboration, and problem-solving.

Another thing you can do to help prepare your students for college is to teach them the value of extracurricular activities or after-school jobs. These things demonstrate to college admission officers that a student is well rounded and capable of handling the responsibilities that come with college.

Consider Social Aspects of College – Teachers can better prepare their students for college by teaching the social-emotional skills that they need to thrive in a post-secondary setting. Assigning group projects that promote collaboration and encouraging students to become involved in school activities, volunteer opportunities, or cultural events can encourage students to flex their interpersonal skills.

Teach Practical Skills – The best way to teach practical skills is to create coursework that allows students to put them into practice. Educators should look for opportunities to incorporate real-world skills into their instruction. For example, if you’re a math teacher, you can teach students how various math concepts relate to financial literacy, budgeting, or even preparing food.

Encourage Additional Preparation Resources – Prep courses and Advanced Placement (AP) classes are two of the best ways to academically prepare students for college. Not only do they give students a preview of what’s to come, but in many cases, students can earn college credit and get a head start on their college career.

Preparing students for the financial responsibility of college is important, too. The Department of Education’s financial aid toolkit offers multiple free resources for teachers and their students.

-RG

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Reflection And Change

Tips for Faculty: Reflection and time to consider change

The pandemic resulted in a dramatic shift in instruction and learning models for college faculty. What began as temporary measures in response to an emergency may end as a catalyst for the transformation of higher education. The end of the fall semester is an opportunity to review and reflect on what is and is not working as institutions continue to navigate uncertain times.

Most campuses will welcome students back for full-time, in-person learning this fall. As a result of continuing COVID outbreaks, many courses are still being offered as a mix of in-person and online learning. The seismic disruption to higher education has resulted in the largest adoption of technology ever, allowing faculty to reconsider how they teach and explore new ways to teach, mentor, and coach students.

For all the upheaval, this has been a time of experimentation. Institutions have had to shake up every process and policy to respond to the needs of faculty and students. It is time to fully embrace technology, particularly with routine tasks. Technology can support faculty in spending most of their time in direct engagement with students in person or online.

This break between semesters is a good opportunity to reflect on new practices that promise flexibility in how instructors teach and assess their students. Questions to consider include:

  • Are there frequent opportunities for students to collaborate and learn from one another?
  • Are feedback loops between students and faculty open and productive?
  • Is course content and pedagogy still relevant after all this change?
  • Have new practices to stimulate student engagement been implemented?
  • Are equity and student success embedded in new practices?
  • Has the focus shifted from instructor-led to student-centered learning?
  • Do students have agency in how they manage their own learning process?
  • Are courses and topics connecting to students’ personal and career goals?

Faculty should be encouraged to take time to review and reflect on how the last 14-16 months have changed their teaching practice.

-RG

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Top 5 List: Improve Service To Others

Top 5 List

Many business owners operate from this mindset related to customer service: “if you can make your customers happy everything else will simply take care of itself”. But what about those small businesses that simply don’t have the resources to create and implement an effective program for customer service that their employees can use? Here are five easy ways that can improve customer service that won’t require any special training or any additional resources.

Be professional – a professional exchange with customers in-person, on the phone, or in an email will have a major impact on how people communicate with you. Be caring, courteous, polite, and attentive at all times.

Thank you – simply say thank you and let your customers know you appreciate them and their business. This can be done with a quick phone call, a handwritten note, a small gift, an email… Or simply remembering them the next time you interact with them.

Accessible – make it easy for customers to reach you or a member of your team. This can be done through email, voice mail, text messaging, and even social media. These are all great ways to make yourself available and to respond promptly.

Ask – ask customers what they need or what can be done to make things right for them. Never put your customers on the defensive by asking why is there a problem here.

Follow up – follow up with customers especially in those cases where you feel a customer may not be 100% satisfied. It’s surprising to see how few businesses actually do this in a way that is personalized or individualized to that particular customer.

-RG

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Build Trust

One of the greatest skills that we are all possessed with is that of building trust. And because of this our skill to build trust can be strengthened deliberately and improved upon.

Trust simply means “to believe that something is true”.

There are some very simple reasons for not trusting others:

  • We don’t believe they have the knowledge or skills to get the job done
  • We don’t feel that they are experienced enough to do their job well
  • We don’t trust people because they are different, or do things differently
  • We don’t trust that people will deliver results consistently

If we don’t believe that it is true that someone will do a proper job for us, then we simply don’t trust them.

Regardless of your role or position within your organization, it is imperative to take a leadership approach to identify where trust is broken – and then fix it.

Let’s agree to do good things by developing and building trust with each other… Rather than simply just trying to identify those people, we can’t trust. 

Stop labeling people as being “not worthy of trust”.

I’m confident that by removing judgment, identifying the pillar of trust that needs to be repaired, we will build more positive and engaging work relationships built on trust.

-RG

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Top 5 List – Find Motivation

Top 5 List

Here is a Top 5 List to help you get back in the work groove after vacation, even if you’d still rather be at the beach. Or at any time during the year when motivation is lacking.

Create lists – The night before or the first thing in the morning, make a list of everything you need to do for the day – especially the difficult stuff. This is most effective if you write it on paper instead of inputting it into your device. Make multiple lists if needed (example – personal & business). This will result in more things being checked off. Actively checking things off a list provides the motivation to do the next task.

Celebrate all achievements – Set small, attainable goals for yourself to complete throughout the day, everything from making phone calls to finishing a report. Then take some time to reward yourself when each goal is reached. Get a coffee, go for a short walk, or listen to a brief podcast…something not work related. As long as it is within reason, whatever you feel you deserve.

Start with the difficult items – A long list of tasks can be overwhelming and discouraging, resulting in very little being accomplished. Especially, if you delay addressing those difficult items. You’ll feel better about yourself and your ability to take on the tougher jobs and finish the day with more enjoyable tasks.

Change things – Many of us fall into a routine, both at home and at work. Breaking that routine, even just once in a while can give us a fresh perspective and renewed energy. Perhaps work from home, change your hours, or simply hold meetings in an unusual place.

Collaborate – Surrounding yourself with others, even those who may also feel unmotivated, can lift the whole group. Keep it light and fun. Get people laughing. Try some word games or company trivia before getting down to business. Sometimes the best way to improve productivity is to think less about being productive.

-RG

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Unlock Your Potential – Do This

What are you most proud of?

Grab that thought that just appeared in your mind. That’s right, the very first one that appeared when you read the question. For me, the answer has little to do with achievement, and much more to do with a time where I was able to contribute beyond what I originally thought I was capable of. In my mid-20s, I became the Senior Project Manager for a large retailer. What was supposed to be a temporary journey to lead several of their new construction projects, turned into a multi-year, amazing adventure.

The most profound times of our lives are the situations and challenges we couldn’t have planned for; yet choice-by-choice and effort-by-effort we ended up making it through better off than when we started.

The key to surprising yourself with what you’re capable of is to stay open to discovering more on your journey. When faced with a challenge, don’t default to “I can’t.” Instead, center on what you can work towards. The reward is the richness of experience and the awareness that your capability often extends far past what you imagined being possible.

I’ve seen many examples of leaders (in the news this year) stepping up during the pandemic to work towards achieving more:

The manager who made the ask of her greater department to donate leave for an employee who needed extended time off to recover from COVID.

The coach who expanded his team’s roster to take on more players so more kids could have the opportunity to play and exercise during online school.

The senior manager who went without pay for three months to retain junior team members.

The boss who would not accept a parent’s resignation so she could provide childcare for her kids; instead, he worked to create a flexible schedule for her to get through until schools reopened.

Each of these leaders approached challenges with an eye for how they could be of service to others, finding a way to make things happen, even when it meant sacrifice or extra effort. When you face a challenge, focus on the work towards mentality: the first step you can take to overcome it. Then, keep stepping, knowing that with the most difficult matters we face, the value is in the experience not the outcome. And, through it all, look for ways you can contribute to supporting others. That’s leadership.

-RG

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Say No To Being Time Poor

Like many, I’m time poor. (I actually think I may be bankrupt.) But, I’m learning a few powerful lessons during this stress test (known as the Global Pandemic) that I’d like to share.

Before You Commit to Anything, Get Clear on Your Priorities. You might think it’s crazy to take on all of these things that we do and I do agree, I’d also like to offer that all of these activities must be aligned with our top priorities. For example:

  • Family
  • Professional Development
  • Support & Service To Employer (and community)

For the record, I’ve said “no” to things recently, to make room for my “yes” replies When asked if I want to get involved in anything new, I say, “let me think about it” before I agree to move forward. Clear priorities give me guidelines on whether I should say “yes” to anything new.

You Can’t Do Everything. We all have limitations. What I’ve learned is that I can’t be everywhere at once, I don’t always make the best decisions, and there are others willing to step up and help when asked. To manage, we have to delegate and empower. Sometimes it’s hard for people to give up control as they assume more responsibility. You can delegate authority, but not responsibility. When you delegate authority, you give people autonomy – something we all crave. Any task that has been delegated can be a great learning opportunity for someone else.

Sometimes Good Enough Is….Good Enough. We’re all busy and in the greater scheme of our lives, things matter but maybe not as much as we think. When you’re busy, how you allocate your minutes is critical. During the week, there are things I spend time on and things I don’t. There are things that I perfect, and there are things I choose not to. In your world, you know when you’re trying to make perfect things that don’t matter. The key is being able to recognize when good enough is really good enough.

For all of us, we strive to feel full lives. I’ve given up on the idea that life can feel balanced – is anything ever really balanced?

-RG