Soft Skills - Ask a Wharton MBA
Develop Soft Skills – Work Smart & Live More
I have been asked this question often in the last few years – How do I improve my communication skills when English is my second language. It’s time for me to share some tips that hopefully will help you all. The answer to this question comes in two sections: ...
My friend shared this quote with me over lunch today. I love its simplicity. “Your current situation is someone’s dream!” What a great reminder to be grateful.
I don’t know about you. I think it’s almost a national pass time to focus on looking up and comparing ourselves to someone who has a bigger house, more luxurious car, or more skills etc… This is especially true for us over-achievers who are trained to look for where we are still lacking – what is it that we are still not good at? ...
Whatever your career situation is today, I can help you “Stack the deck” in your favor. Job search and work are never fair. It will favor those who know how to play the game. I am here to help you with insider tips on how to play the game to your advantage in any career situation. If you are in any of the four situations below, I can point you to the insider tips I have gathered in the last 20 years, so you can work smart, get what you want in your career, and live more. ...
Have you made any New Year resolutions yet? “Eat Healthier” and “Get More Exercise” are
2018’s top 2 New Year resolutions. ...
I just found out a close friend has cancer. I was shocked by the news. Although her cancer is highly treatable, it was a complete surprise. She will need to go through 6 months of chemo and hell to recover. I share this with you to help you step back from the daily grind and see the big picture. Life is short and finite.
Our life is a gift. Don’t wait until you have shocking news in your life to reexamine. It’s never too early to reassess or take a different direction altogether. Today, I want to help you answer these questions.
Many of us work long hours, forgo time with family, friends, and skip vacations, so we can get ahead in our career. But do we know why we do it? The superficial answer is to make more money, or get promoted, or be recognized. But I would argue none of that really help us feel fulfilled.
Our career path must have a deeper meaning for it to be worth the effort and the time away from our families. That meaning will also help ground us if we receive sad unexpected news like this from a friend or from a doctor about our own health.
Here are 4 questions to help you examine your current career path and trajectory?
Question 1: Does my job & career make a difference somehow? I have shared the definition of success before. It’s not about material status, and much more about our level of contribution to others. Making a difference comes in all forms. For example, it can be about
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When I was nominated for a leadership training at work, I was honored but skeptical I would learn anything substantial. I am glad however to be proven wrong. In the last five months, I have learned more about my leadership style and leadership brand than I had ever expected. Even better, I am already applying what I learned at work and seeing results. Here are the three unexpected leadership lessons I learned about how to become an extraordinary leader.
Lesson #1: Extraordinary leadership is about strengthening our strengths vs. fixing weaknesses
Growing up Asian, I always thought to become extraordinary I must eliminate all weaknesses – i.e. score 100 on tests, get all As, and be a perfectionist at work. In the last 20 years of work, I learned to stop being a perfectionist. However, I still heavily focus on learning what I am not good at as a leader and put a lot of energy into fixing those.
It was refreshing to learn at this training from Zenger Folkman that becoming an extraordinary leader is about strengthening my strengths vs fixing weaknesses. There is no perfect leader. Steve Jobs is a great example of this – a dynamic, visionary leader and a terrible people manager. The whole concept actually makes a lot of sense, as no one really can be good at every aspect of leadership. Just like a company must focus on its core strength vs trying to be all things to all people, a leader also needs to follow the same concept. It’s better for me to pick a few leadership qualities that I am already strong at and make that stand out above all else. That’s what will differentiate me as a leader.
This leadership lesson is quite freeing for me. I realized I don’t have to change who I am or overwhelmed myself with “fixing everything.” All I have to do is tweak a few things in my leadership style to make it even better. For example, I am already a high achiever and gets results wherever I work. I also collaborate well with teams and partners. What I need to tweak is my communication style in some difficult situations. I know how to do this in some circumstances but not all. Selecting this as something to focus on is both achievable and will make a significant difference in my leadership effectiveness
Lesson #2: It’s okay for an extraordinary leader to announce ourselves and show vulnerability
I learned this from one of the leadership speakers at our training. I really appreciated her direct communication style, confidence, and simple wisdom. She shared that it’s okay to announce yourself to your team and partners. For example,
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Workout Objective: A lesson in self-confidence.
Prerequisite: None.
Recommended Frequency: Just once.
Workout steps: Read the scenario below and vote.
Who do you think is more confident in this scenario? Let’s assume that Cindy and Jack are equally qualified and capable .
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