From Energise - The Talent Liberation Company

You are here: Home / Archives for vulnerability

vulnerability

What’s Your ‘Plan B’?

By //  by 

If you got made redundant tomorrow, what would you do? I’m not trying to be a miserable kill-joy, it’s something worth thinking about so you are not caught ‘on the hop’.  Keeping your CV up to date is one thing. Key wording your profile and being active on Linkedin groups to raise your profile another. 

Many people stick their head in the sand and pretend change isn’t happening and then get slapped around the face by it. Painful. By thinking what your options and having an escape route now, it can make you feel good. Isn’t it better to be prepared and have a cunning plan up your sleeve? To quote a quote; forewarned is forearmed?

Taking the first step now could mean you are ahead, even if change speeds up. Taking time to evaluate your work could also mean you enjoy your current job more too.

Here are 2 free resources to help you:

For 5 free tips, view this video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0b8CFaOq6GY

For a free career change report with 2 exercises, click on this link:

http://www.careerstrategies.co.uk/

 

Are You Sleeping On The Job?

By //  by 

Apparently 3 out of 4 workers get less than the recommended eight hours of sleep a night, with worries about job security being a factor (Source Travelodge research). If I was an inventor, I would invent an off button or dimmer switch for the brain. 

Civil servants get just under 6 hours a night, which is less than bankers and factory workers came in third. As someone who spent a couple of days as part of my university placement working on a production line injecting gelatine into pork pies, I can say that I used to snooze on the job hypnotised, as the work was quite repetitive.  I’d imagine that farmers were too busy to fill in the questionnaire as they were harvesting and creatives didn’t sleep at all as they were too busy working on a pitch. 

In Buenos Aires, there is a dedicated sleep centre offering clients a choice of soothing colours, aromas and music and they claim that a siesta helps beat work related stress. As someone who naturally wakes at 5 and has been having an afternoon snooze since I was about 15, I agree with them!  Open plan office, no thanks!

Tip – before you go to sleep, think of an open incisive question to help your unconscious mind solve a challenge you have been grappling with.

For some tips on emotional resilience, click on this link:

http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs042/1102862873131/archive/1103319741569.html

Do you have any ‘sleeping on the job’ stories to share. Go on….!

Have you seen our Linkedin profile? Click on the link below to view it:  http://uk.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent

FEAR IS NORMAL!!

By //  by 

If I could wave a magic wand, I would change one thing. It would be for people to say what they really feel, true, raw and honest. I am a Northerner stuck in a Southerner’s body and perhaps my work on developing ‘verbal padding’ has gone too far?! 

FEAR IS NORMAL!

If only people expressing fears meant they wouldn’t be judged but supported. Companies and people wouldn’t use the open expression of fears to manipulate, but self-awareness would increase and a healthy exchange and support ensue. Overwhelm and procrastination would be less as a result. The world would be a very different and better place. Politics wastes so much time and money, when if this same energy was directed at fruitful productivity and pulling together to get the world out of the mess we’ve got it in, we’d get there quicker. Fear increases people playing politics at work. 

I think the truth is that the world at the moment is quite scary. Uncertain jobs, pensions, an aging population and Alzheimer’s and a shed load of national and maybe individual debt to pay off over probably decades. It’s not exactly cheerful is it?

Women in my family live until 98 so that’s a lot of care home fees to work hard for, as I doubt the government will have money to fund for any but the most poor, by the time I am as wrinkled as a prune.  I remember after the credit crunch, walking through London thinking, why is everyone looking so happy, carrying on as normal? Don’t they realise it means years of poverty, misery and strikes? 

At least challenge creates emotional resilience and a refocus on what’s really important! I am going to sit in the sun today and revel in every moment, surrounded by flowers and butterflies. What are you going to do that you would normally put off for another day?  Do make a post sharing this – thanks!

Why People Are Like Vegetables

By //  by 

I am heading to my allotment to water it with no prospect of rain in sight,  and am pondering the thought that people are like vegetables. They need watering. Different people need to be watered in different ways as they have different values, needs and motivations. If only we came with an instruction manual, like a car or washing machine, it would be a lot easier. 

Put it other way, we all need ‘strokes’, but how often do we get them at work? Not enough. Some employees like to have a quiet ‘thank you’ as recognition and others want a cheering crowd and a big prize. For many employees, like the lack of rain, there’s no pay rise in sight and the prospect of a pension drought too, so watering is even more important, especially as less people are doing more work.

Watering your people is crucial for employee engagement and motivation, which directly impacts on business performance, productivity and profit. What watering are you going to do today?

Are you receiving the Energise monthly bulletins via e mail? Don’t miss out on free insights, tips and inspiring case studies. Click on this link to opt in.

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1102862873131&p=oi

  • 4 topics each month: Human capital, Smart living and working, Self promotion, Career strategies 

Have You Got A ‘Chip On The Shoulder?’

By //  by 

It’s a weird expression isn’t it; ‘Chip on the shoulder’. I don’t know where the expression comes from and whether it’s a “a bit missing kind of chip” or a potato chip?!  My interpretation of what it means is that it’s a sensitivity or insecurity that creates an over-reaction as we are looking for evidence to back it up and ‘feed the monster’!

Chips that I have encountered include; feeling on the outside looking in and excluded; not building rapport; or feeling we are not intelligent enough or creative enough. So we over-notice what other people say and do to prove our perception and then overreact as the chip is activated.  Since there are an awful lot of people out there, that’s a lot of ‘chips’ and feeling vulnerable or dealing with uncertainty can magnify the overreaction. In a political or creative culture, there can be a lot of chips rattling around which inhibit full productivity and performance. Self awareness is key, but a lot of people are cynical about personal development, especially left strongly ‘left brainers;.

Chips on the shoulder` are worth looking at because they can stop people from doing what they really want and truly being happy and fulfilled. A good way is to explore the limiting beliefs that have created the chip – it’s a but like clearing out the loft and creating space for good new things to happen. What’s your chip and what does it stop you from doing that you would like to? What are the chips of people close to you?

Cheers

Rachel

Rachel Brushfield
Energise – The Talent Liberation Company

Tel: + 44 (0) 845 22 55 010
Mobile: + 44(0) 7973 911137 
E mail: rachel@liberateyourtalent.com
Web: www.liberateyourtalent.com
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/talentliberator

Linked in profile: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent
Blog: http://liberateyourtalent.wordpress.com

Bulletins: Are you receiving the Energise each monthly bulletins via e mail? Don’t miss out on free insights, tips and inspiring case studies. Click on this link to opt in.

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1102862873131&p=oi

  • Career strategies
  • Human capital
  • Smart living and working
  • Self promotion

How vulnerable is it wise to be at work?

By //  by 

Showing vulnerability creates trust and builds relationships but it also creates risk and it can be abused in the wrong hands, so what is the right measure?

I was ‘very closed’ when I was younger and didn’t trust people easily, so gave little if nothing away about myself. Now I am much more open with people, so it has been a huge personal transformation. I am choosy about who I trust though, they need to earn their stripes!

Those I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours” re vulnerable moments and confiding secrets or fears is a great way of creating a bond with other people. Showing vulnerability shows that we are human and brings out other’s desire to protect and nurture, and helps them realise that they don’t have to be perfect and perform all the time.

It is natural to make mistakes but in business often people cover them up for fear of looking weak and being punished, especially in the current economic climate where headcount is being reviewed. 

What is the balance between showing enough vulnerability but not too much?  What are your thoughts? One of my passions is to get fear out in the open and talked about more.

Cheers

Rachel

Rachel Brushfield
Energise – The Talent Liberation Company

Tel: + 44 (0) 845 22 55 010
Mobile: + 44(0) 7973 911137 
E mail: rachel@liberateyourtalent.com
Web: www.liberateyourtalent.com
Twitter:  http://twitter.com/talentliberator

Linked in profile: http://uk.linkedin.com/in/energiseliberateyourtalent 

Bulletins: Are you receiving the Energise each monthly bulletins via e mail? Don’t miss out on free insights, tips and inspiring case studies. Click on this link to opt in.

http://visitor.constantcontact.com/d.jsp?m=1102862873131&p=oi

  • Career strategies
  • Human capital
  • Smart living and working
  • Self promotion