Self awareness Archives - Page 7 of 10 - Soft Skills

What Makes Us Happy & Motivated at Work – Three Ways to Gauge

by Lei Han

More than a year ago, I changed jobs and managers within the same company. I went from having one of the worst leaders I have ever experienced in my career, to having one of the best. On my first day with this new leader, she asked me a simple question – what make you happy at work? What was different about her is I realized she really cared and wanted to know my answer. I remember being a bit unprepared and told her what came to mind quickly ... read more

Should I be Working While Sick?

by Lei Han

Should I be working while sick? The answer ideally is no. If I am sick, I should go home and rest. Come back when I feel better. The real world however is not that simple, especially when we are talking about everyday illnesses, such as a cold or a flu.

Every time I feel unwell, I debate whether to take time off or how to work while sick. This is because in the modern world of Paid Time Off and tight deadlines for busy professionals, we have to figure out the tradeoffs between suddenly taking time off vs the impact of it on our work. Here are five key considerations for many of us. ... read more

3 Soft Skills Lessons from Watching “Trolls”

by Lei Han

I didn’t think this movie, Trolls , was going to be any good. Both of my kids love the music in it. Finally, we watched it last weekend. I was only half watching it for the first 20 minutes. It seemed like just a silly, happy cartoon, with lots of bright colors and singing. My kids were glued to the TV. ... read more

The Pain and Pleasure Challenge – Proven Way to Help You Take Action

by Lei Han

Are you stuck? Do you want something badly at work (e.g., promotion, work life balance, better boss, challenging assignment) but somehow can’t seem to take any action toward making it happen? You are not alone. Inertia, the inability to do something different from our routine, happens to all of us. How do you do overcome it? Take this pain and pleasure challenge! ... read more

Lei’s Six New Year Aspirations – Trust, Try, Learn, Evolve, Laugh, Give

by Lei Han

I started this tradition last year and really liked how it influenced my decisions and actions the rest of the year. I am doing it again this year to define my new year aspirations

1. Define ways to build new habits instead of setting goals. I found this is helping me evolve into a better human being. ... read more

Happy 2017 – Say Yes

by Lei Han

Happy New Year! Sunday was my annual Hot Chocolate 15K race. My friend Agnes got me into it 3 years ago. It’s a great way to start off the year – a long run (9.4 miles) followed by a nice cup of hot chocolate and an amazing natural high all day.

Well, I didn’t go this year. I woke up at 6:30am and it was POURING. San Francisco had flood warning all weekend. While the race was still on (I couldn’t believe it), I have never ran in pouring rain before and couldn’t imagine being drenched for an hour and half. I was packed but at 7am I decided not to go. ... read more

Career Advancement – How Louis Quadrupled His Income

by Lei Han

Mastering soft skills is critical to your career advancement. Louis Johnston, one of our executive authors, agrees. He shared in this interview how mastering certain soft skills helped him skyrocket his career and quadruple his compensation.

Louis started as an Online Marketing Associate, 10 years ago. He has since been promoted to Manager, Director, Senior Director, and now Head of Growth. This may sound like a straight-forward success story. It is not. He didn’t just happen to become super successful by working hard or hitting all his marketing numbers. On the contrary, he was hitting his numbers, but not getting much credit for it. Louis was stuck at the same level for awhile. ... read more