Category Archives: Books and Articles

Career Development Panel Discussion- Part 2 The Questions

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Hi Everyone! As promised earlier this week, below are some of the questions people at my office were curious about and wanted to have more clarity on during the panel. Overall I thought it was a great group of questions and that a lot of people could benefit from the answers even outside of my office walls. I did narrow the questions down to a group that would be more applicable to a greater population though.  I also do want to note that the answers are just my opinions and thoughts based off of what has worked for me in my career. I am by no means an expert and  there are a lot of different opinions and advice people have out there that is good and valid that may differ from my own. However I tried to narrow my answers down to what people overall thought was the most beneficial.

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Whats the best way to find a mentor at work?

  • Find people you like, respect their work style, and want to learn more from.
  • Then just reach out to them and setup a coffee or lunch date
  • Come prepared with topics to discuss, questions you have, guide it to be what you need/want it to be
  • The Mentee needs to really be the one owning the mentor relationship
  • If you find after a few times meeting you are just not clicking there is nothing wrong with ending a mentor-ship. These relationships are meant to help you, so don’t force something

What courses do you recommend for personal development? What books do you recommend?

  • I really liked the birkman method class where it walks you through understanding not only your own work personality, but also different personalities around you in the workplace
  • The success we achieve can largely depend on how well we understand ourselves and those with whom we interact. Much of our time is spent working with others to accomplish objectives. People skills are one of the most critical we can develop.
  • Recently I have been reading books about or from Leaders in our industry.  It is interesting to see how leaders at the top of their field have approached work and what has lead to their successes. Below are some of the books I would reccomend reading
  1. “Lean In” by Sheryl Sandberg the COO of Facebook is a great book! It gives a whole new perspective of being a woman in business
  2. “The Everything Store: Jeff Bezos and the Age of Amazon” by Brad Stone, it makes you really appreciate when you work for a company with a great culture and also seeing the grit needed to push the limits in terms of innovation
  3. Currently I am Reading  “Thrive” by Arriana Huffington the founder of Huffington Post. This book is all about work life balance, which I am a big believer in. In order for us to really be the best we can be we need to make sure we prioritize ourselves.

Whats the best way to approach the conversation of being considered for promotion?

  • I am a big advocate in owning your own career development.
  • I always have approached my managers with what my goals are and the things I need to do in order to make them happen.
  • Then I work at delivering the goals discussed. At the end of the day you do have to prove yourself
  • Always keep the dialogue open and talk about it frequently with your manager. I believe everyone should know where they stand in their current role at work
  • Be responsive to constructive feedback and show how you are listening it and trying to learn from it

For those of us who are more “introverted” – we hear so much about how important visibility is to advancing your career. What advice do you have for those people who are more on the introverted or quiet side?

  • First I agree, speaking up to get visibility is very important. However if this is not your strong suite I don’t think that means you can’t succeed or move up
  • In terms of  speaking in public though I can say I personally have always been really shy about speaking up in big publish forums. In almost all of my evaluations this has been an area for me to work on.
  • The only thing I have found that works is practice. Start slowly with pushing yourself. First try speaking up in your team meetings where you know everyone and feel comfortable. Once you start to do that and it feels comfortable then start speaking up in larger group meetings until you feel even more comfortable. Keep challenging yourself, the more you do it the easier it gets. I promise!
  • If speaking up is not your strong suite find ways to showcase what you are strong at and get more visibility there. Are you really strong at in person one on one conversations? Then make a point to go talk to leaders in the office. Are you strong at crafting great e-mails? Then work at creating great re-caps and presenting information out to your manager.
  • It is all about playing up where you are strong and working to improve where you need to get better. Everyone has something to work on

I’ve heard some people say that one of the only ways to move up quickly is to keep jumping companies or jobs every couple of years. What are your thoughts on that?

  • I think it all comes down to working hard and liking where you are. I started as a merchandise assistant which is the entry level position in merchandising and have been promoted 4 times over the last 7 years. I believe if you work hard for a company then the company will want to reward you for it, however I also believe if you are not getting what you want out of a job then sometimes moving can help as well. Just remember going to another company does not mean you will move up any faster. When you start somewhere new you have to prove to a new group of people you as a worker. For some people this is easy, for others it may be harder. At the end of the day it all comes down to really liking what you do and feeling like you are contributing to something you believe in.

I’ve had so many different managers over a short period of time due to turnover or re-orgs. It feels like I have to start all over with each manager and that I’m not gaining traction on advancing my career. Any advice on how to handle that sort of situation?

  • In my time at my company I have had 9 different managers, that is almost 1-2 a year. I do think having new managers is tough because you do have to re-build a new relationship and prove yourself with them.
  • However I think it is important to be honest with your new manager when they come on board.
  • Tell them that you are concerned about all of the changes and how it is important for you to stay on track to move up. I have had very honest and frank conversations with new managers on what I what and what I am concerned about.
  • With every new manager I have started the relationship off by letting them know what I want from my career and see how they can support or help me with it.
  • If you are a strong worker your manager will learn quickly.

 

Career Development Panel Discussion- Part 1

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At work I was recently asked to be part of a panel discussion series focused on educating and inspiring employees within our company on Career Development. The focus of this panel was to share feedback and advice on how someone goes about shaping their own career within our company.  When the committee started choosing who to invite to be on the panel my name came up since I have been successful in my tenure here and have moved up quickly. Thus the invite was given to me and I of course had to accept!

First I cant even put into words how flattered, humbled, excited, and terrified I was to receive the invitation. I now manage a larger team at work and with that job comes giving feedback, suggestions, and sharing my opinions. However it is still hard for me to believe that my thoughts and advice are anything that others would want to hear.  This is where I think sometimes we have to step back, reflect, and trust in our own abilities. There is a reason we get to where we are at.

The panel consisted of 5 of us all at Senior to Director levels across various areas within the company. The discussion was scheduled for an hour and luckily enough the woman organizing the event had asked the audience in advance for questions, which gave us some time to think through everything and have good solid answers going into the discussion. The forum was hosted as a Q & A so most of the questions were asked throughout the hour by the audience themselves, but when there was a little quite time the host would ask one of the pre-set questions.

I have never been a fan of speaking in public, especially when it is off the cuff and you do not have everything you want to say typed out, memorized, and prepared for. This was why in part I was so scared to accept the invitation. I have started to learn that the higher up you progress at work the more speaking and contributing your thoughts and ideas is a part of the everyday job. Therefore I have slowly learned to accept it and now I am constantly pushing myself outside of my comfort zone.

Overall the panel discussion went great! The committee who arranged it at work said after it was all said and done they received a ton of positive feedback and that the audience thought it was truly beneficial. I cant even put into words how pro-found the experience was for me not only professionally, but also personally.With that in my next blog post I plan on sharing with everyone some of the questions asked along with what my advice was for them. Again I am by no means an expert, so it is just my humble advice on what has worked for me. So stay tuned!

Health & Fitness Articles of the Week – 6/8/14

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Prolonged fasting ‘re-boots’ immune system– “In mice, prolonged periods of fasting – repeated cycles of 2-4 days with no food – over the course of 6 months, killed older and damaged immune cells and generated new ones.”

Inside Apple & The Mayo Clinic’s New Partnership– I for one am all about finding ways to make healthy living easier for people. For myself a lot of my weight loss success was tied to being able to use the My Fitness App on my phone which allowed me to instantly look up calories and track what I was eating. I honestly don’t think I would have been as effective in my weight loss plan without it. It will be interesting to see how these two companies collaboration stands out from what consumers currently have available to them and how it will help in individuals not only tracking food and exercise, but incorporating all aspects of their health like tracking their glucose level and heart rate

Europe Installs Raw Milk Vending Machines While U.S. Rules Unpasteurized Dairy Illegal– One of my favorite things about going to Europe is eating their dairy products. European yogurt, milk, and butter in my opinion just tastes more decadent and just better than what we have in the States. Part of this is due to the difference in how our countries regulate the production and sale of dairy. I wonder if we will ever look at adjusting our standards based off of what research is finding with raw milk. “Hundreds of testimonials support the value of raw milk in helping childhood behavioral problems, digestive disorders, failure to thrive in infants, arthritis, osteoporosis, and cancer.”

20 foods you should always have in your kitchen– I have to say I agree with everything on this list. I try to keep all almost all of the these items in my home at all times and find you can always make a quick and healthy meal if you have these staples around.

Losing Weight May Require Some Serious Fun- This article talks about how perception can affect behavior. The research looks at how people view exercising and their food intake. Those who viewed their exercise as fun consumed less calories afterwards then those who viewed it as work.  “The same exertion, spun as “fun” instead of “exercise,” prompts less gorging on high-calorie foods.”

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Photo from Huff Post

Health & Fitness Articles of the Week – 6/1/14

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Can Diet Drinks Aid Weight Loss?– I personally find the diet soda controversy very interesting. For me personally I can honestly say diet soda was sometimes a savior during my weight loss and I do not know if I would have been able to accomplish my results as quickly without it.  Diet drinks allowed me to get a sweet fix in the afternoon without turning to sugar and were a huge help in social events when wanting to avoid alcohol.  I did end up giving up diet soda two and a half years ago when I went into weight maintenance and since then my sweet tooth has diminished substantially.

Fitness Crazed– This article asks the question are trendy workouts really better then classic exercise? “The human body is an adaptation machine. If you force it to do something a little harder than it has had to do recently, it will respond — afterward, while you rest — by changing enough to be able to do that new hard task more comfortably next time. This is known as the progressive overload principle. All athletic training involves manipulating that principle through small, steady increases in weight, speed, distance or whatever.”

30 Percent of World Is Now Fat, No Country Immune- “Researchers found more than 2 billion people worldwide are now overweight or obese. The highest rates were in the Middle East and North Africa, where nearly 60 percent of men and 65 percent of women are heavy. The U.S. has about 13 percent of the world’s fat population, a greater percentage than any other country. China and India combined have about 15 percent.”

Mental Illness Can Shorten Lives More Than Chain-Smoking– This is an interesting perspective I have never thought about. Something to keep in mind. “About 20 percent of people in the United States and the U.K. smoke, he adds — around the same percentage of people who suffer from mental illness.”

Mastering the Art of Self-Negotiation– This article is not as much research based as tips and tricks to help you stick to your plan. I thought the advice was good, so thought I would share. “For every positive choice that affects our health and well-being, there’s at least one counter-argument that – in the murky waters of our mental workings can dissuade us from our good intentions.”

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Photo from Huff Post

 

Health & Fitness Articles of the Week – 5/25/14

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Is This The Reason America Keeps Gaining Weight?– This is a short, but interesting article touching on the biggest factors in the rise of obesity in the United States. Overall researchers say the biggest contributor to obesity gain really comes down to the availability of inexpensive food. Over the decades there has been a constant decline in the average food budget for families. In 1930 1/3rd of a families budget was allocated to food where now it is only 1/10th.

Standing desks sit well with more employees– In the last couple years I have started to see a shift at my office with associates moving over to the standing desks, however those employees are still by far the minority. Personally this is something I have contemplated on switching over to and the more I read on it the more I am getting convinced I should.

For CrossFit fans, it’s as much a state of mind as a style of exercise– I myself have surprisingly have never tried CrossFit, but for those friends and co-workers I know who do CrossFit they always talk about the sense of community that comes with the workout. Is CrossFit a workout or lifestyle?

 Unrealistic dream weight? Dream On– This article poses the question to people is it really possible to get to your dream weigh and maintain it for long term success or do our bodies stop at their set ideal weight. Should we continue to fight against where our body is naturally supposed to be weight wise? “Some people might get down to their dream weight for a short period during the “action phase” of focused dieting but then can’t sustain it because the calorie restrictions are too severe once the body starts defending itself against weight loss.”

Laughter may be the best medicine for age-related memory loss– “A new study finds that humor may reduce brain damage caused by the “stress hormone” cortisol, which in turn, improves memory.” With that said below is one of my favorite Youtube video’s of all time. Hope it makes everyone laugh as much as me and we can all improve our memory!

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Photo from Huff Post

PBWC Conference and Diane Keaton- Say What!

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Last week I had the privilege to attend the Professional Business Women of California or PBWC conference in downtown San Francisco through my Women’s Resource Council at work. Overall the PBWC’s goals are to provide business women with greater overall business skills and acumen, a broader group of women to network with, along with inspiring and developing women into their full potential.

I had personally never heard of the PBWC until I was invited to attend the conference, however after reading Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In” I have started to become a big advocate on focusing more on being a woman in business. For this I am not only focusing on using the resources around me to learn ways to progress my career further, but also how within my current position I can help other up and coming young women fulfill their great potential.

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The conference started with a breakfast bright and early at 7:00am which consisted of baked goods, fruit to grab, and coffee. I grabbed a banana and coffee before making my way into the giant lecture room for the opening seminar with a couple of my fellow co-workers. Over 5,000 women showed up to the conference so the room was a packed house!

The first speaker series of the morning started at 8:30am. Over the 2 hours there were several keynote speakers. The first speaker was Congresswoman of California Jackie Speier, followed by Dr. Elizabeth Lindsay and Charlotte Beers who was named “the most powerful woman in advertising.”  Finishing up the morning was Arianna Huffington the editor-in-chief of the Huffington Post Media Group.  Over the entire day Arianna ended up being my favorite speaker by far, so I will probably spend the most time writing about her.

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I had just recently seen Arianna speak at an event in San Francisco where she was being interviewed by Sheryl Sandberg and talked about her new book “Thrive”. Arianna was absolutely memorizing the first time I saw her speak and the second time was as equally enthralling. What I like most about Arianna is her emphasis on the importance of something I am a big believer in when it comes to work and life and that is balance. She challenges people to think beyond work and power as success, but evaluate success on a different level, one of which is someone’s wellbeing.  I started reading her book after the first time I saw her speak and so far so good!

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After the first series there were breakout sessions with 10 different options to choose from. I went with the “When Women Succeed, America Succeeds” by Marianne Cooper was the lead researcher for Sheryl Sandberg’s book. She talked about gender, family life, work, and social inequality. Marianne really emphasized on how in America middle and low income women typically are the head of households when it comes to managing the families’ finances and how when a family goes through a financial hardship the women take on all of the financial stress themselves. The lecture was not what I was expecting, but I found it to be interesting and applicable.

Next up was a lunch break followed by another speaker series breakout. For this one I chose “Positioning Yourself for Success” by Luanne Tierney the Vice President of Worldwide Partner Marketing, Juniper Networks. Here Luanne emphasized how in modern business with all of the social media outlets there really is not break between professional and personal life. How now in order to succeed you can’t treat them as separate entities, but instead need to focus on what you want your brand to be. Everything she talked about was definitely suitable to me and I found her to be smart while also entertaining.

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The last part of the day was a panel discussion with various women executives from around the bay area, which after just being on a panel discussion at work it gave me a deep respect for the women up there. It was nice to hear from these successful women how they got to where they are now, what we can do to help ourselves, and how to manage everything work and life throws at you.

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The final speaker of the day was the famous actress Diane Keaton, who is just as cooky and eccentric as most of the characters she plays. Diane has just written a new book entitled “Let’s Just Say It Wasn’t Pretty.” I of course ended up having to buy the book, which looks like it is coming in with mixed reviews on amazon, and waited in line to get it signed. After the book signing there was a wine reception, which of course I had to partake in. Overall the day was a great one filled with inspiring and motivational women, something I myself strive to be.

Health & Fitness Articles of the Week – 5/17/14

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How does Facebook affect our sense of belonging? With the mass use of social networking sites I thought this article would be applicable and interesting to most of us. The various studies show different conclusions, but in the latest  study they summarize “Findings suggest that it is communication, rather than simple use, that is key in producing a sense of belonging. When sharing or feedback is restricted, belonging suffers.”

Does Skinny Equal Healthy?  We always think about being overweight or obese as un-healthy, but this article brings up some good questions on if being too skinny is just as un-healthy. “It turns out that while it’s generally healthier to be slimmer than fatter, skinniness doesn’t guarantee health. There are caveats (tons) and exceptions to the rule (that isn’t really even a rule). Skinny does not necessarily equal healthy. There is such a thing as “too skinny” – for everyone”

Outdoor Exercise is more Beneficial than Indoor for Children: Study Some of my favorite childhood memories came from playing tag and capture the flag outside with the other neighborhood kids. It is interesting to see a correlation to playing outside and increased activity with children. It just makes sense. “Findings showed that children who spent more time outdoors were more likely to be physically active when compared to those who spent more time outdoors.”

Life expectancy up worldwide; Japanese women live longest Looking at the top 10 countries for life expectancy for both women and men  most are located either in Europe or Asia. Makes me wonder what can we incorporate in our daily lives from these cultures to help out with our health?

 Trendy workouts rejuvenate old fitness routines–  In an age where people are short on time and money they are going back to the core basics of working out. This article highlights the re-emerging popularity of fitness tools and exercises like jump ropes, kettlebells, dumbbells, group step fitness classes, and basic running. When you know something works why not stick with it.

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Photo from Huff Post

 

Health & Fitness Articles of the Week – 5/11/14

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Happy Sunday everyone! Below is this weeks article roundup, enjoy!

‘Fed Up’ Asks, Are All Calories Equal? – This article touches on the popular subject right now of childhood obesity. I for one am very passionate about this subject and definitely want to see the documentary. You can tell from the movie trailer though that this documentary has a very strong point of view. Some of the scary facts I took away were in two decades 95% of the American population will be either overweight or obese and by 2050 one third of the population will have diabetes.  Something to think about…..

Could a Few Beers a Week Cut a Woman’s RA Risk– If only alcohol was the cure for everything! However like anything else that seems to good to be true, the article states this is merely a correlation with alcohol consumption and arthritis reduction, but can not be relied on for cause and effect.  “Long-term moderate alcohol drinking appeared to reduce the risk of getting rheumatoid arthritis, Lu said. But drinking a few beers per week seemed to have the best effect, providing a 31 percent reduction in risk.”

Life With a Dog: You Meet People– For all of us who are pet owners it is nice to read the various benefits of being a dog owner. This article is more or less a feel good piece with some health and medical finding’s added in. “Studies of the health ramifications have strongly suggested that pets, particularly dogs, can foster cardiovascular health, resistance to stress, social connectivity and enhanced longevity.”

Too much protein in middle age ‘as bad as smoking’– If you are anything like me then you grew up being told to make sure and eat enough protein. I for one have never been a huge meat eater, so I have to work to balance my protein intake through other foods like beans, lentils, greek yogurt, eggs, and tofu.  This article challenges the idea of how much protein we really need to consume in our diet and shows research on how eating it in excess can actually be bad for you.

Why Does Your Willpower Wane? And 7 Tips to Pump Up Your Willpower Muscle– Willpower is an interesting concept and the study has some great findings. Regardless on the verdict I think the 7 tips are really worthwhile to look at. “Does willpower get used up if you push it too much, or is it all in your mind? According to the American Psychological Association, there is a robust body of evidence to support that willpower may in fact be a limited resource.”

 

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Photo from Huffpost

 

May Book Review- Lean In Women, Work, and the Will to Lead

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It  was about 8 months ago I started to hear the buzz around my office on a new book poised for women and challenging the idea of equality in the workplace.  I for one have never stopped to think about myself specifically as being a woman in corporate america and what that actually means.  I have been blessed to work in an environment where I have had many inspiring women leading and paving the way ahead of me. Along those lines I have also been fortunate enough to have been recognized and rewarded for my hard work with 4 promotions in less than 7 years. However I am still a woman in business and I have strong goals and aspirations, so I decided it might not be a bad idea to read the book with all of the word of mouth by current COO of Facebook Sheryl Sandberg.

If you look up reviews on “Lean In” you are most likely going to find a mixed bag of thoughts and feelings. Some have found Sheryl’s point of view on how women need to challenge themselves and to step more into leadership roles within the workforce as coming from a place of privilege. That she is out of touch with the common woman and mother.  Her critics pose the question of if it was not for her affluent upbringing and being able to afford to go to Harvard would she be where she is today? The challenges continue into her current position of prosperity and  without her current wealth would not be feasible to balance work and family the way she does?  Although I respect the opinions above they are not what I took out of the book. I landed on the side with most of the other reviewer’s which is women must take control of their own career and feel just as empowered as men or anyone else for what they deserve.

For those of you who have not heard of the book the premise as stated by the publisher is  this “Thirty years after women became 50 percent of the college graduates in the United States, men still hold the vast majority of leadership positions in government and industry. This means that women’s voices are still not heard equally in the decisions that most affect our lives. In Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg examines why women’s progress in achieving leadership roles has stalled, explains the root causes, and offers compelling, commonsense solutions that can empower women to achieve their full potential.”

Reading through there where some thoughts Sheryl touched on that really resonated with me.  The first being how as a women we tend to question ourselves more and because of this make our voices less heard and therefore speak up less often. We tend to question our ability to be able to do something, we need proof we will succeed before we start instead of just jumping in head first and knowing we will. For myself  this really ringed true. I have never been one to speak loudly. In school I would not be the one raising my hand to answer a question. When getting into the working world I have always been the beilever if you work hard people will notice and you will get compensated. With every career advancement I have started to do the job prior to going into it. This always has made me feel more comfortable, confident, and frankly deserving of the promotion. While reading Sheryl’s book it does make you step back and think is this how a man would approach the same situation?

Sheryl also talks about how it is not solely up to women to lean in more at work, but in order to be successful you need a partner at home who is willing to help equally as well. Sheryl states “The single most important career decision that a woman makes is whether she will have a life partner and who that partner is.” The idea behind this is if you don’t have someone at home willing to play an equal role and support your ambition it will make balancing your work and personal goals more difficult. Personally growing up and watching my parents who have always been equals when it came to work and the home, I have to say this is one point I do agree with. I think in order for anyone to succeed regardless of sex they need a great support system. Sheryl really challenges women to try roles outside or their comfort zone, in order to succeed woman must allow themselves to fail, and a women should not question whether she can have it all, but know she can.

Overall I would recommend this read. I feel the book brought up a lot of thought provoking questions and made me step outside of my normal line of thinking and look at being a woman in business from a more macro perspective. I think this book is great for any woman who values career, but also wants to balance it with her personal life. I feel this book is also a great read for men. Not only does Sheryl just offer good career advice, but she also poses the question of what can men do to help make sure woman are getting equal opportunities,how can they do their part to support an equal work environment? The biggest takeaway for me as a newer leader of a larger team at work is “Leadership is about making others better as a result of your presence and making sure that impact lasts in your absence.”

Health & Fitness Articles of the Week – 5/4/14

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Dustin has done a fantastic job of curating articles weekly and I  have been so grateful for his help with my blog.  However it is time for Dustin to focus his Sunday’s on enjoying his one day off of the week and therefore I will be stepping up and trying to fill some pretty big shoes. It might take me a little bit to find my footing, but I hope I can bring some interesting news to all of you weekly as well, Enjoy!

Study: Eat 7 servings of fruit, veggies daily– Just in case we needed more proof that a diet full of fruit and veggies is beneficial to our health. This article is short and sweet, but sells you on the added benefits of eating at least 7 servings a day of the good green stuff

Coffee Tied to Lower Diabetes Risk– For those of us who are coffee drinkers it is interesting to read a study on how coffee consumption can not only lower your risk of diabetes, but can in fact decrease it even more with higher consumption.

Kick start your physical activity this spring with the “Good Enough” workout! – This article focuses on how sometimes after a long period of not being active all you need to do is just get up and go. It emphasizes doing something physical is better then not doing anything and how this little step can help get you back into a routine.

Does food taste better the more expensive it is? “We were fascinated to find that pricing has little impact on how much one eats, but a huge impact on how you interpret the experience. Simply cutting the price of food at a restaurant dramatically affects how customers evaluate and appreciate the food.”

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Photo from Huffpost