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Monday, April 25, 2011

What?! Step Away to Get More Done?

If you like getting things done it's easy to convince yourself the most productive way to go after it is to sit at your desk, focus, and plow through whatever is on your plate until you are finished. I don't know about you, but I've spent hours chained to my desk due to this mindset. Some of them have been productive and some of them have been down right frustrating! Have you ever noticed that sometimes this technique of too much forcing and too much focus backfires? Every once in awhile what you've got on your plate may be so overwhelming it's hard to decide which step to take first, or how to tackle everything. 

My clients have learned several tips and tricks for moving forward in these situations during my Overwhelm Busters® workshops. One tip seems counterproductive but it works and it can work for you too!  If you're in the overwhelmed mode and find that you're stuck and no matter what you do the flow just isn't there for figuring it all out, rather than wasting more time being frustrated, it may be more productive to take a break. 

Yep, just step away and take a walk outside. Visit another floor in your building. Take an early lunch and browse at a bookstore. Sit outside and read a book. Giving your brain a diversion often allows it to relax. When it's relaxed it is freed up and has the space to creatively problem solve, come up with a new idea, or think of a way to proceed that gives you the "ah-ha" you need to accelerate your productivity.   

It turns out not only can your brain benefit from stepping away from your desk, it's also good for your body.  "Sitting All Day is Worse For You Than You Think,"  a story on NPR's Morning Edition, provides even more reasons to get up and get moving during your work day, whether you're feeling stuck or not!

Have you ever stepped away and found it to be more productive? If so, what did you do to take a break? I'd love your comments!

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Burn Out: Beat it Before It Beats You

If you're a high-powered career woman, you know what it takes to stay ahead of the competition -- dedication, focus, a willingness to take everything on, travel, extra hours, maneuvering in a lean and mean environment. I lived this lifestyle. What I didn't realize was, this can be the road to burn out if you're not careful.

For me it was an injury, one day I was on top of my game, the next I was at the bottom of a flight of stairs having fallen after being exhausted from two cross-country business trips. I almost broke my neck. I had plenty of time recuperating to mull over my life. Even though I was successful, I wasn't really happy.  I realized the seductive adrenaline of the rat race was going to have to take a back seat because what I really wanted was to feel like I had a LIFE. My goal became to figure out how to reclaim my life AND maintain my successful career.

If you can relate to feeling burned out, this article Overcoming Burnout, has some great tips. I've worked with many clients to shift them from burn out to balance by looking at their unique situation and coming up with a step-by-step strategy for reclaiming their life without giving up a successful career.
 
For me, the first step in reclaiming my life was the decision to do it differently.  How about you? Have you ever felt burned out? What do you do think is important for dealing with it? I'd love your comments.
Questions? Feel free to contact me.

Thursday, April 14, 2011

Believing You can Create Your Career Path

"Of all the forces that hold women back, however, none are as powerful as entrenched beliefs" ... states a new McKinsey report, "Unlocking the Full Potential of Women in the US Economy," by Joanna Barsh.

As my clients and I work together to find the right job that resonates with who they really are and to realize their true potential, we explore beliefs about success, opportunity, the past, and who, or what keeps them from getting what they want.

From my experience some widely held beliefs about what it takes to be successful in your career are:  
  • you need to always be available to stay ahead of the competition
  • keep taking things on to prove your ability, your capacity and your worth
  • keep up or they'll find someone else who will
  • if you've put in the time you deserve the promotion
  • just wait (don't ask) and good things will come your way
  • I'm so busy I don't have time to do what it takes to create my career path
These beliefs can exact a heavy price -- burn out, exhaustion, disappointment, frustration, and going blindly down a path you didn't chose to an unfulfilled and unbalanced life.

Career success begins with the belief that you CAN create your own path.  Career success is sustained by constantly revisiting two fundamental questions, "what do I want to achieve?" and "what am I doing it for?"

Have you carved out a career path that you love? What beliefs do you think are necessary for achieving success in your career?

Monday, April 11, 2011

Overwhelmed at Work? Tips for Asking for Help

If you're feeling overwhelmed at work, you're not alone. My research shows that the majority of professionals I surveyed felt overwhelmed 50 to 75 percent of their work week. 

This New York Times article "It's Not Mount Everest. It's My Workload," provides some tips to keep in mind when you need to ask for help. Some tricks my clients have learned from the Overwhelm Busters® trainings I offer is how take personal leadership by presenting strategies that enhance your reputation and create a win/win for you and for your supervisor. For example, contribute your ideas for solving the problem rather than just asking for help. Maybe a deadline needs to be re-negotiated, or there is a more efficient way to carry out the task at hand. Having a solution ready when you make a request shows you are thinking about results, you're a problem solver, and you have considered others who might be impacted by your request. Frame your request for help as a win/win and the better your chances are for getting your needs met.
Have you ever had to ask a colleague for help? What worked well for getting others to pitch in when you were overwhelmed? I'd love your comments.

Wednesday, April 6, 2011

Creating a Home Office that Supports Your Success

Yesterday I posted "What Does Your Office Say About You" and received a comment asking for additional tips for people who have a home office that no one else sees. It's my pleasure to provide three tips for creating a home office that supports your success.

It is just as important, maybe even more so, to consciously establish an office that supports you in being successful in your business if you're working at home. Why? If you're a solopreneur, you're most likely alone a good part of your workday. So you've got to stay motivated, focused and energized and a powerful, harmonized, balanced, nurturing space can help you do that.
  • Claim Your Space. Some people I know who work at home have no designated "office space."  They are what I call "office gypsies" -- have lap top will travel. They may work at a kitchen table, in the living room or bedroom, or go to a coffee shop. If you're finding it hard to stay focused, you're easily distracted and not grounded, this could be a contributing factor. Stake a claim on a designated space for your work. I work individually with clients to review their office set up to make sure it functionally supports their work style and provides a good foundation from which they can be successful. I've even helped people who work in their garage create work spaces that support productivity and prosperity!
  • Surround yourself with only things that you love. If you work alone its important to stay motivated. Being at home it's easy to get distracted by chores, TV, or other at home temptations corporate folks don't face. Working in an environment that is inviting helps you stay motivated, focused and energized because you want to be there. Situate your desk so you have a view out the window, keep fresh flowers on your desk. Add personal touches like pillows in chairs and colors that make you feel calm.  Remember, what surrounds you either energizes you or drains you. You want your workspace to be uplifting so it can encourage your creativity! 
  • Place things in your office that represent the success you want to achieve. For example, maybe one of your goals is to be on the cover of a national magazine. Make up a mock magazine cover with your picture on the front and hang it on the wall to remind you of where you're headed.  (This is a lot easier to do in a home office than in a corporate office!)  If you want greater prosperity put something in your office that makes you feel rich. (In my work with individual clients we pick items that are most meaningful to them. I review their space in person or on-line to let them know where the objects should be placed so they support the goals they want to achieve. Aligning your space with your goals helps to remove hidden blocks to success and accelerates the achievement of your goals.)
I hope this additional information helps you create a space that is productive and empowering. Let me know if you have questions about creating your own peak performance environment by leaving a comment or emailing me directly at Linda@LindaHardenstein.com.

Tuesday, April 5, 2011

What Does Your Office Say About You?

Most of us think about the image we want to put forth, especially in the workplace. We dress for success, create logos to send a specific message, create cards and ads that brand us, but we often forget that our work space also sends a message about who we are and our success.

What do you want your office to say about you -- you're stressed, on top of things, capable of handling a promotion, balanced, at peace, overwhelmed, or in chaos?

You want a space that energizes you, reflects confidence in your abilities, keeps you productive, focused and in the zone - right?  I call this a Peak Performance Environment. A place where you want to go every day that supports you in being your best and reflects your goals and your successes.

How do you create a Peak Performance Environment? In my work with hundreds of executives and business owners we've aligned their office space to support them in achieving their goals. Managers have gained promotions, department chairs have raised more funds, HR managers have made their offices more comfortable, increased harmony and reduced conflicts and entrepreneurs have upped their income. They have learned tips and tricks to make their workspace more productive, balanced and harmonious and you can too!  Here are some things you can do right away to begin creating a work environment that sends a positive message to others and keeps you performing at your peak:
  • Your desk IS your mission control. Keep it as neat as possible to reduce distractions and keep you productive. Have designated functional areas on your desktop for managing the flow of your work, for example, an in and out box for paper flow, a stand up rack for your action items and storage space for things that aren't a priority right now.
  • What are your professional goals? Do you want a promotion? Does your office reflect what you're shooting for? For example, a high powered career woman wanted to be a VP. Her office was full of stuffed animals and dying plants. Stuffed animals are appropriate in some environments, for example if you're working with children, but if you're in a hard hitting corporate job your environmental message is incongruent -- the stuffed animals are out of alignment with what you're trying to achieve.    
  • Clutter is a time waster. Its not uncommon for people in office settings to spend up to five hours a week looking for things. Can you imagine how much more you can accomplish with five more productive hours in your work week?  Clutter also causes stagnation in the flow of your energy and can contribute to feelings of stress, anxiety, overwhelm, loss of control, depression and even shame. If you're feeling overwhelmed at work, sometimes its worth it to take a time out and clear the clutter from your desk. Getting organized can make you feel less overwhelmed and more in control of your day.  
  • Conduct your own office review. Stand at your office door. Close your eyes for a minute. Open them and take a look around your office with fresh eyes. If you didn't know the person who resides there, what would you deduce about them if you stopped by and looked in their office?  Does it reflect what you want, or are there things in there that are blocking you from achieving your goals (like the stuffed animals!)? This exercise works even if you're a solo entrepreneur and working alone. What is your office saying to you every day? Is it reflecting back to you the success you want in your life?
If you'd like to learn more about how an office makeover can help you achieve your professional goals or how to create your Peak Performance Environment, contact me

Do you work in an office you love? If so, what makes it such a great place to be every day?

Sunday, April 3, 2011

What Does it Take To be a Great Woman Boss?

Would you rather work for a woman or a man? "The Conversation: Male Vs. Female Bosses, on Forbes.com (April 2010) references several studies, one showed 90% of women surveyed preferred male bosses. I've been contemplating women in leadership roles since I watched the movie, "The Next Three Days" this weekend.  It began with two women bantering about whether it is better to work for a male or a female boss. One of the women in the movie was later accused of killing her boss.

I've known many women who have been held back, stifled, stressed and emotionally abused by female bosses. I've experienced both good and bad female bosses and I've been a female boss. From studying leadership and coaching women executives to gain promotions in high-powered organizations, in my opinion, a good woman boss possesses several qualities:

She knows herself well, she views herself as a leader and she's found her edge -- she's authentic and has a vision about what kind of environment she wants to create for herself and her staff.  If she worked her way up the ranks she remembers what its like on the rungs of the ladder and she doesn't expect her staff to balance her checkbook, pick up her dry cleaning, or bring her coffee. She creates a team atmosphere and pitches in when necessary to help get the job done. She rewards good work, listens, guides, and mentors -- even if it means a valued employee gains a promotion and leaves her. She is politically astute, collaborates with colleagues and knows how to work within a system to get things done. She knows she's a role model and she doesn't hesitate to be an example of success in the workplace.

What do you think? Have you ever worked for a great or not so great woman boss? What leadership qualities do you think are necessary for women bosses to have to change this perception? I'd love your comments.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

How To Ease Your Job or Life Transition


Meet Jan. She started a new career. She's always been successful so it's hard being in a new role she hasn't mastered yet. She goes into work every day with the best of intentions -- to be productive and useful. She finds herself sitting at an empty desk waiting for the boss to be available so she can get some direction. She's bored out of her mind from reading the company manual. She's frustrated and anxious for this "know nothing" phase to be over because she's feels useless. She's used to being an expert who knows her stuff! 


Have you ever started a new job, been promoted to a new role, become a new parent or a retiree and felt the discomfort and challenge of starting anew? Being in transition isn't easy.  It requires letting go of the familiar and being willing to stumble, make mistakes, and wobble with grace on the way to walking in the shoes of a master.  

I love helping people make exciting and successful life transitions. We work together to find the strategies that make their transitions smoother and accelerate their ability to get what they want out of life. In my many years of helping hundreds of clients make successful career transitions, move into retirement and set and achieve their personal and professional goals, three important factors emerge for making smooth transitions:
  • Recognize that you're in a transition phase. This time of not knowing doesn't last forever and it is an essential part of making a change. 
  • You need a strategy that applies to your unique way of learning.
  • You need to determine what it takes for you to feel productive, valued and good about yourself at the end of the day and how to get that satisfaction.
So how did Jan get moving forward? She had to recognize that the transition phase is about adjusting to something new so there's no use feeling bad about not being productive. We designed a strategy just for her that she could put into action right away.

Discovering that Jan learns by doing we found a way for her to create some tools, a process, a system, and some steps to accelerate her learning curve. Once she had a foundation -- a strategy and some tools -- she knew how to best gather the information she needed. Soon she regained her confidence and began taking the initiative, asking the smart questions that were needed so she could feel comfortable taking action. Her increased productivity made her feel useful again. 

Now Jan's on the fast track, impressing her employer, feeling motivated and enjoying the learning that she's engaged in. We discovered the key that unlocked her path for moving from the discomfort of transition into the exciting learning phase which is now leading her gracefully into the success phase of her work and life.  

Have you ever started a new job, phase of life, or transition? How did you master it? I'd love to hear your thoughts so please leave a comment.

Friday, April 1, 2011

What's Your Fast-Track Edge?

It is that unique key, that authentic quality, characteristic, talent, or set of skills that unlocks your potential so you can gain the success you want in work and in life. We all have an edge but it's not always easy to access or to know how best to use it to our advantage.

This post launches the Get the Edge! blog. For the next 30 days I'll be participating in the Ultimate Blog Challenge and you'll get the tips and tricks my clients have learned for being more in charge of your work day, finding a career that resonates with who you really are, achieving the balance you want and transforming your professional goals into your desired dreams.

To make sure you don't miss any of the practical tips, insights or inspiration, be sure to subscribe to my RSS feed (on the right) and if you have a particular interest you'd like addressed leave me a comment or contact me.  I'd love to address your request in a future post.