February, the month of storms in the UK, Dudley, Eunice, and Franklyn – I can’t be the only one looking forward to spring. So, here’s my review for February as a career coach, writer, and human being.
Truth and Storytelling
I was inspired to share this story after today’s session with @JennyGarrett and the rest of the @Diverse Coaches Network on storytelling and truth and how they show up in our coaching. What stories are we telling ourselves about our careers, our lives? When might we need to change our stories? Which of our stories supports growth and development, which are getting in the way?
Gloria, the reluctant Guardian Angel, was something I wrote over two years ago, and you will probably recognise the character as she goes about her business. There is quite a lot of my truth hidden in it ????; click here to read.
I hope you enjoy
Five habits to succeed in your career
- Take ownership
- Build a network
- Take stock
- Audit your skills
- Seek feedback.
These are the five I identify on my guest blog on @jennygarrettglobal; take a look and let me know what you think. How many of these are you already practising?
Are you getting the feedback you need?
I was intrigued by this article and the assertion that women are 20% less likely to receive actionable feedback that can contribute to their performance and growth at work.
Giving and receiving feedback is notoriously tricky, but it is also essential if any of us is to move forward.
‘It’s great – is lovely to hear, but after the initial warm glow, what next? What action can you take because of the feedback you have received? What specifics can you go away and work on?
This article provides some practical approaches you can use to get the feedback you need, and as usual, do let me know how you get on.
The best-laid plans.
This week I enjoyed a cheeky day out in London with a close friend to catch a show and some dinner -something we have done dozens of times before without mishap. But this time, things were different – a combination of delayed trains and lack of telephone signal meant we kept missing each other at our first meeting point. I still can’t quite work out how. One of us decided to wait; the other chose to push on to the station closer to the theatre. The whole incident reminds me of how dependent we are on constant contact; what on earth did we do before the arrival of mobiles?
But despite all the running around, we made it to the matinee with minutes to spare. The ‘Come from Away’ show at the Phoenix Theatre was outstanding and worth the trip.
And in future, my friend and I will make our way independently to a venue – keep it simple.
So, when have you had to adapt your plans at the last minute to accommodate a rapidly changing situation? And what did you learn about yourself?
Did you see what I did there ?????
How creative are you?
If asked, I would say this forms a big part of who I am, and my creativity pops up in different ways. While coaching, I love observing how people think and approach things and develop their creative solutions. It is not always the obvious things that work out best; coming at things from a different angle and trying new things can produce surprising results.
So, over the years, I’ve taken courses in stand-up comedy, life-writing, screenwriting, painting, singing – none of which bears any direct relevance to the work I do as a career coach.
But I do believe that if you want to develop your thinking, stretch yourself, find new perspectives – you need to find ways of shaking things up a bit. Experiment and see what you learn about yourself. All the stuff, I think, goes to living creatively and with a bit of joy.
And if you want to read and learn more about creativity and how to develop it – take a look here:
And yes, I have and do continue to engage with courses and training related to coaching, but we are all so much more than our roles.
Until next time
Janice
