Will I lose my job?  “Stood down”, what does it mean anyway?  Am I in the right job?

These uncertain times can certainly bring up the concern of job security, but also presents an opportunity to truly check in with yourself and to consider “Is this the career path I always wanted?” or “Is my work a true expression of who I am?”

Why is this the best time to find out?

(a)  This could be the wake-up call you have needed to commit to your passion, to look for  greater fulfillment in a role where your strengths are appreciated, or an environment that “just-feels-right”.  It’s important for you know exactly how to do this, with the right guidance, personalised tools, and perhaps the right coach.

(b) The stress of uncertainty compounds over time.  Instead of waiting for conditions to change, why not alleviate your stress by getting clear about your purpose, your capability, and craft a plan to get you where you want to be.  When you move from confusion to clarity, stress naturally disappears.

It’s time to gain clarity of purpose and of your future.

This crisis has hit hard and very quickly.  It has thrown all normality as we know out the window and has left us disrupted and agitated. People wonder what is going to become of all this, of their jobs and of their way of life.  The stress of this sustained crisis is likely to affect many people for months to come.

In these times, it’s important to know that anxiety and grief are natural states, however without intervention, your wellness can go from bad to worse.  According to medical research conducted by Harvard University, chronic stress can keep us in fight or flight mode, and can diminish our performance and capacity to think effectively by up to 50%.  Unless we take charge of our career related stress and wellness, the impact of this crisis could have grave financial and human consequences.

Fortunately, we have a few specialist coaches with a dual focus and expertise in the areas of career change and wellness.  They encourage and guide clients along a two-pronged process which releases stress and anxiety and helps to clear the mind of clutter and negative patterns – clearing the path with a plan to align identity, strengths, and purposeful careers.

Who can help you make a successful career change?

Shahran Masood, a Performance Coach | Career Change Specialist | Resilience Coach on the team, says “with clarity of mind and greater self-awareness you’re well on your way to call on your strengths and express yourself honestly in work, business and life”.  Shahran will support you in the alignment of your (new) identity and with your career development plan. While receiving consistent coaching and being held accountable, good habits will form, your confidence will grow – as you bridge the gap from where you are, to when you want to be.

For full details and pricing go to our Contact Us page to make your request or call Sandy or Shahran on 1300137706 for confidential discussion.

The post Job Security?? But weren’t you thinking about a career change anyway? appeared first on Life Coaching Melbourne.

You will often hear people who are reluctant to put themselves “out there” say, “I’m shy”.  They are almost always struggling with low self-esteem. They can also have minimal self-awareness and not sure about how they come across. They fear that someone will think badly of us or reject us. People often forget that they have their own uniqueness. No two human beings are alike, yet they constantly compare themselves with unrealistic stereotypes of the perfect woman or man. These stereotypical aspirations can do more harm than good and maybe keeping the real YOU locked away or hiding out.

Don’t believe the hype.  Believe in yourself.

After nearly 17 years in the coaching industry we have identified the most effective steps you can take to release the label of “shyness” and be FREE to you be YOU.  Each of these steps guides you towards developing awareness about your true worth and enables or releases a sense of relief as you let go of self-doubt and start to demonstrate a confidence level that truly lifts your spirits.

1. Make a promise to yourself to never think or say “I’m shy” again
It is a MUST!  If this really challenges you then I suggest you start to think of the statement, “I’m shy” simply is a label.  A self-imposed (and painful) label.  I suggest you don’t waste any more time trying to figure out why you have given yourself this label. You have probably gone over and over it in your mind or with a counselor  many times.  You might have found many reasons why you have been shy or how you got to be like that. It is safe to assume that you will always find many reasons (excuses??) especially when you start to plan a social outing.   It doesn’t help in a practical sense, at all.  So, let go of focusing on what doesn’t serve by taking far more positive, proactive, practical and effective steps towards the beautiful state of FREEDOM that social confidence brings.

2. Continually top up your “self-love-tank”in between social outings
The greater the self-love; the greater the quality of life. Self-love is the catalyst for confidence. One of the things that both men and women say is the most attractive attribute in a person the person’s confidence and attitude.  By taking time to do things for yourself that make you feel warm and fuzzy inside is paramount to confidence and self-esteem.If you were to make a list of all the things that would make you feel pampered, warm and fuzzy I am 100% confident you would say you actually find each thing fun, delightfully pleasant, relaxing and always uplifting to do.  So, why not choose 2-3 things each week to HAVE more fun and to feel fabulous?  You have nothing to lose and everything to gain!  Gain is good, right?

3. Write a vision statement for yourself  about your best version of YOU
You could write a statement something like this one…….”I am so happy and proud of my own uniqueness. People love to chat with me and I am there with an open ear whenever I can be. I take time out to ‘smell the roses’ each day and I feel so grateful for all the beauty around me and my own beauty that I allow to shine from within. I stand tall, I smile, I choose to focus outwardly by focusing on finding ways to help others to be comfortable, in the moment, having fun. This makes me comfortable and easily able to enjoy myself.  This win/win brings joy and freedom all around. Each day counts and I love learning and growing as I go about each day. It is great to be alive because I have chosen to live a fulfilling life. I plan my social life and make no more excuses.  I am no longer my own best-kept secret!”.Read this or read your very own vision statement every day.  Tweak it as you evolve and improve your life.

4. Practice playfulness and presence
It is evident that people who have been labeling themselves as “shy” for a while have simply forgotten how to be playful. Mucking around with your best friend or your best buddies at school was often a daily occurrence at lunchtime.  You probably shared silly banter and just hung out enjoying the moment.  You didn’t think about it.  It just unfolded each day and you were cool with that most of the time, right?  So, what was actually going on between you and your friends.   I would suggest it was the sum of these things:

• You were in the moment (fully present)
• You were carefree, accepting and non-judgmental
• You were just being yourself (not perfect and you didn’t care)
• You made sure you and everyone had a good time.

5. Don’t take yourself too seriously and K I S S it! Socializing is just that – it’s social.  Social is all about being around other people and not being stuck in your head or hiding out behind the label (or excuse) of “I’m shy”.  If you were to give yourself permission for the next month to just be fully present, carefree, accepting and focused on helping those around you to have fun and be happy I can guarantee that you will feel a whole lot better. You will have measurable improvement in your self-esteem and feel a lot more FREEDOM to be yourself. But!  But, only if you don’t take yourself or socializing too seriously!  The KISS principle is a great way to stop taking yourself too seriously.

K – keep    I – it     S – simple   S – sweet/sexy/savvy/sensational you!

The post Identify with “I’m shy”? 5 steps to FREEDOM from “shyness” appeared first on Life Coaching Melbourne.

3 Steps to Leading a Multi-generational Team

Gen Y have not only now entered the workplace, but they have also entered management roles which means that they need to lead, motivate and engage different generations with each bearing their own strengths.  The challenge is as much about understanding the generational differences and communicating and leading accordingly as it is about maintaining cohesion in the team.

There is a new leadership skill needed in town and that is being able to create a melting pot. This means creating an environment where differences are recognized and interact harmoniously to create a common culture.

Gen Y leaders whose team is composed of different generation can facilitate the process by following these 3 steps:

Step 1: Agree on the Common Grounds

This is the core. This is the “agora”, the fire camp, where everyone regroups, has cohesion, belongs and agrees. Part of this is the culture, the values, the mission and the vision as well as the goals.

Members need to understand clearly what they are working towards and what the business will stand for and what it will not tolerate to achieve it.  When this is in place, it is easier to negotiate, limit conflicts and come to an agreement simply by asking “Is this getting us closer to where we want to go? In a way that we can stand by?”

Step 2: Understand Individualities

Yes most generalizations about Gen X and Gen Y are correct, but they remain generalizations that don’t take into account the different type of personalities or background and history of the individual.

Have a coffee chat with your team members, find out what makes them tick. What their values are, their life goals, their pet hates and their strengths. And, maybe above all, how they like to operate.

 Step 3: Enable the Harmony

Now you need to create a harmony between all the differences you have found out in step 2 so you can get the best results as set in step 1.  To do that you need to guide your team through 3 steps, in the following particular order.

• Respect: Each member must respect others’ way of thinking and operating, whether they are from a different generation or have a different personality.  This is the first and most crucial step. Even if other ways don’t always make sense or aren’t always effective, understanding others should not be a prerequisite to respecting others.

• Best Practice:  This is about finding in each different approach what can benefit all to achieve the agreed common goals. Whether it is using technology like Gen Y or creating processes like Gen X. Generate a structure around it, create procedures to document what works best.  Because you already have step 1 in place, which was creating a common ground around results, it is easy to convince each party to follow what makes the most sense in terms of outcome.

• Apply:  Now implement the structures that have been created and see members using each other’s best practices.  Each strength is being recognized and used for the greater benefit of the business.  In any given situation, the first step is always to come from a place of respect. Nothing is all good or all bad about any of the generations.

Adopting the point of view that all Gen Y have the entitlement syndrome and all Gen X or baby boomers have old-fashioned views is not getting us closer to a positive outcome.  Instead, let’s focus on what strengths each has that can benefit everyone else. In other words, let’s focus on the solution rather than the problem.

Still unsure on how to deal with a particular individual? Click on the Contact Us tab and book a time now to discuss and let’s create a strategy adapted to your situation.

Nathalie Gevinti

Life | Leadership | Executive Coach | Workshop Facilitator 

The post 3 Steps to Leading a Multigenerational Team appeared first on Life Coaching Melbourne.