Envisioning Possibilities
Career
“The greatest thing is, at any moment to be willing to give up who we are in order to become all that we can be.” Max De Pree
Dress for Success
I spoke to a young person recently about their career. They are on their way up the corporate ladder—not a rising star, but climbing. We were doing a Zoom chat about work, and he was asking, “What can I do to get to the next level?” His title was impressive but not the director position he wanted.
He currently was able to work from home which he thought was to his advantage. During the zoom chat I noticed his background – a plain wall with a hanging wine rack. We chatted about it. He said he got a lot of questions about the rack so he decided not to have his face on the zoom call.
The Dress for success part came up when I asked what his boss and bosses boss wore to work. He noticed they were all wearing T- Shirts. I continued probing. Yes, they were dark without any noticeable identification.
My take – he was doing a great job, working for a fabulous company and supporting a growing family.
Here are my suggestions.
Always show your face on a zoom call. Better yet, get into the office as much as you can, you need to be seen. If necessary schedule your breaks at the same time as your boss and your bosses boss. Go to lunch at the same time – plan your encounters. Show up! Say Hello.
If you are going to be 100% Zoom – pick a very corporate background as a virtual office. Or create your own with corporate logos or blur your background. Don’t expose your private life that may be a detriment to you progress. Your boss may be a long-time AAA member, and seeing your wine rack background may not sit well.
Dress the part. – The T-shirt theme is great as long as it has the corporate logo on it. Anything else will send a message you don’t want. If you know your boss is a long time fan of a specific ball club, yes wear his team logo. Otherwise keep it simple.
Your career is more fragile than you know.
A bit about Linda
Who am I?
As a businesswoman
I am an award-winning speaker, author, and business consultant/coach.
Grateful
A little bit of sleep goes a long way
Starting Again 2024
Happy New Year.
Question of the year 2024 – from 2023. What’s working for you?
I’m a list maker, so I’ll begin.
Working for me # 1 – Sleep Habit
I end every day writing a list, surprise, right? I write not just thinking about – it’s easy to go to bed and think oh, that went well or that was good. But writing it down and, in some cases, noting how that happened? When I write how I made that happen, I’m surprised to learn that I planted a seed a few days, weeks, or months ago, and the outcome started growing. The result is incredible, and I am grateful. The acknowledgment of that outcome is in my writing at night.
I write the three things I’m grateful for during the day. The results are fascinating.
1. Most importantly, I get a good night’s sleep. I haven’t stuffed my mind with useless trivia or negative thinking.
2. It helps me reflect on the things or circumstances I created to support that good part of the day and how I can repeat them.
Working for me #2 – Website Building
I am learning how to build my website again. Paul taught me in 2010 to develop my website from scratch. It served me well for many years. The new one is one in WordPress but with Elegant Themes and DIVI. I love it! I love working on it and figuring out the puzzle. Yes, it would be faster and easier if I hired someone to do that for me. But I’m not in a rush, and yet I am in a hurry. The joy of working on it outweighs the time it takes.
1. Learning Divi
2. Researching the best templates and methods of communication
Working for me #3 – Envisioning Possibilities
I have chosen a new set of words to define the purpose-driven vision workshop I’ve been doing for years. Although, many people find the terms interesting and exciting to follow, I was bored with the words.
I believe the concept is strong and still stands, but PDVB? Even the acronym looked stoggy.
Advanta Strategies is over 20 years old and it is my main business, this year I added a spark to it.
1. I purchased a new URL
2. Using Divi – created a website for people to sign up. www.envisioningpossibilities.com
Knives
Seems the culture for using a knife started atleast two and half million years ago and were made from a variety of metals i.e. copper, brass, iron, steel and ceramics. Their uses included hunting, carving and eating. Knives were a tool as much as a...
Napkin
Napkins Whose napkin is it anyway? Is my napkin on the right of the place setting or on the left? According to Emily Post ( http://emilypost.com/advice/informal-place-setting/), this is where the napkins can be found. "Napkin: The napkin is folded or put in a napkin...
Presumption
Etiquette requires the presumption of good until the contrary is proved.” ― Emily Post, Emily Post On Etiquette
With so many people working from home it’s hard to be professional. I like your ideas.
Good advice! I remember being told once, by an image consultant, decades ago, that I was dressed as if I were going to lunch with a friend, not going to work. She told me to start wearing suits, instead. And she cautioned me to always be dressier on casual Fridays than whatever the boss is wearing.
Jeanine – I had a young lady doing an internship for a design company show up in “sleepware”. I asked her how she would dress if she were the director of design. The next day she wore a suit jacket. We are what we think. Choose wisely.