Soft Skills - Ask a Wharton MBA
Develop Soft Skills – Work Smart & Live More
Another week has gone by in this new reality – First the Bay Area and then the entire state of California is told to “Shelter in Place.” I breathe a small sign of relief – finally we are deciding to act before the numbers get bad. While there is no cure for this novel (aka new) Coronavirus, we can now perhaps buy enough time ...
I really wanted to write about something else this week – anything but the coronavirus. But alas, I cannot escape how this pandemic is fundamentally changing all of our lives and rapidly. This is one “lemon” many of us didn’t foresee, even after the Wuhan situation in China in late January. We all thought we were far away enough to be safe. We all have heard the saying “when life give you lemons, make lemonade.” Can we this time? I am going to try with this post. ...
This is such a common issue as well as a highly stressful one. I am so glad one of the members asked me to talk about it in our January group coaching call. Here is her question
“We are asked to be financially savvy and not outsource any activity during Q1. We still have smart goals to achieve and I am understaffed. I am already running a lean organization. To continue to deliver results with all activities done in-house I need to overload the team. What should I do? Should I do the right thing and continue to explain the need for outsourcing activities or do the right thing for my career?” ...
A member asked me this question recently and agreed that I can share. Let’s call this member – Alex. I really appreciated how much detail Alex shared in his questions. I was able to better guide him toward how to best resolve this difficult situation as a result. Here is Alex’s situation and our email exchanges. Thank you Alex for agreeing to share this. ...
I was agonizing about what to do for weeks. I have dealt with incompetent co-workers before. Most of the time, I can make up for their incompetence fairly easily or at least work around it and not be affected. Not this time. This time, this colleague is a key partner to my work. If she or her team is not doing their job to the highest quality, neither I nor my team nor my program can be successful. ...
85% of workers worldwide admit to hating their jobs when surveyed anonymously, according to a Gallup poll released in late 2017. Yet, many of us tend to stay in our jobs and careers, thinking it’s too late to make a change. I am here to tell you – it’s never too late! Dare to be happy and bold. You can change your career at any age.
Here to inspire us on this topic is our newest Executive Author – Stephanie Hellman. Stephanie is an inspiring, authentic leader with 20+ years of experience working for Fortune 50 companies, including Wells Fargo, Citibank, and American Express. In late 2017, she made a courageous decision to leave her corporate career to find fulfillment and a more meaningful way to contribute to this world. Her stories are an inspiration to me and I think will be to us all.
I am pleased to share my first interview with Stephanie on
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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?
We are therefore trained to be unhappy as we will never be good enough compared with someone who seems to have more (insert all the ways we can measure). America, being one of the richest country in the world, is only ranked #13 in happiness. New York city is the #1 most unhappy city in the US. Can you believe it?
I can. Why? the more we achieve, the more we see where we lack and therefore feel like we are still not there. Newsflash, with this line of thinking, we will never get THERE, wherever there is. There is always going to be someone who make more, who look thinner, who is younger and seems more accomplished.
Happiness is about stopping all comparisons that don’t serve us. It’s instead about
This can be true no matter what your situation is. For example
I can go on and on, but I think you get the point. We often have narrow perspectives of our situations. We often forget truly how blessed and lucky we are. The fact you are reading this, means you have internet. As of Dec 31, 2017, 3.6 Billion people in the world still don’t have access to Internet.
It’s natural not wanting to be in any of the above situations I described, but it’s also important to remember there are worse things in life than some of the bumps we may go through right now. Happiness and what action we take next depends completely on our perspective. Whatever is happening to you right now is happening regardless. It is up to you to decide how you want to interpret it. Why not choose to motivate yourself with a positive perspective on your situation. Ask yourself
You cannot change anything that has already happened. What you do have control over is your action and your attitude toward it.
At the end of day, success is not measured by the size of your bank account but by the positive impact you make to this world. When you remember to be grateful, you will also remember to give back to the world. That is ultimately what will help you be happy.
Your comment: What situation are you right now? Can you change your perspective on it and empower yourself in the process? I look forward to your comments
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