Buy Yes No Maybe Book
Category

Uncategorized

Blog Page, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

Systems + Processes = FUN (NOT!)

November 21, 2013

That formula was written on a sticky note and affectionately placed on my computer screen by my colleagues in my former role as a Hiring Manager.   It was no secret that I fell short when it came to details and rule-following.  My company used DISC assessments (love that tool) internally and helped clients do the same.  It was obvious that I, as a D/I, found it a real stretch to follow the systems that were put in place and necessary for others to do their jobs properly.  A business needs systems to run smoothly and I know this, but I really struggled with upholding my end of the deal.

I don’t believe I’m entitled.  I don’t believe that I have the right to NOT do things the way they are supposed to be done.  I try to follow the formulas provided to ensure a streamlined work flow but I don’t always succeed.  My files are a mess, the way I organize isn’t like everyone else’s way, and I often make it difficult for others to fulfill their responsibilities without coming back to me with things I’ve missed.  Thankfully, in that company, I worked with dedicated, professional, authentic women and we all supported each other’s strengths while acknowledging and helping to fill in where we were weak.   Every organization should be so evolved!

I’ve tried my entire life to follow the formulas.  I was constantly trying to figure out what was wrong with me and why it was so challenging to stay on a straight line.  Then I finally realized that there’s nothing wrong with me and I accepted that, for me, Systems + Processes = Hell.

Systems + Processes = Hell!

There are employees everywhere who, unlike me, may have been written up, or terminated or left to their own devices to try to keep their heads above water.  If that sounds like you, it doesn’t mean you’re not worthy.  It may mean you’re in the wrong job, maybe you’re not in a position that draws on your strengths and minimizes your weaknesses.  It may mean you have to reevaluate the types of jobs you’ve been searching for because this is a consistent theme in your work history.  Finding Career Wellness can sometimes be as easy as starting with these things:

1.  Deem yourself worthy (even though you have weaknesses).

2.  Acknowledge where you fall short.

3.  Laugh at yourself – find humor in your flaws (and in others’).

4.  Support others who are weak where you are strong.

5.  Do your best; and ask for help where you need it.

6.  Seek out positions and companies that value and utilize your strengths.

The sticky note with the formula is now proudly framed and displayed in my office.  It reminds me that I’m not perfect.  It reminds my clients that they don’t have to be perfect either. 

If you do well working with formulas, why not write your own unique formula for Career Wellness?  Once you have your formula, you are better armed to make career decisions that align with your core strengths and values.  Mine would be:

Creativity + Freedom + Relationships + Helping = JOY!

Commit to creating your own formula for 2014, either in your current role or as you seek a new position, and ask yourself if your choices fall into the formula.  Even I can see that this system, which is really just taking what your gut already knows and putting it on paper in front of you, is a necessary first step for gaining a new perspective on your life at work.

by Barbara Berger
Blog Page, Uncategorized

CWP in Natural Awakenings Magazine – Nov 2013

November 18, 2013

If you haven’t picked up your copy of Natural Awakenings Magazine, Lehigh Valley Issue, for November 2013 check out Career Wellness Partners on pages 8 and 57!  Or click here for a direct link to CWP article!

The publication is a perfect fit for the mission of Career Wellness Partners in Allentown, PA.  The CWP career coaching practice is laser-focused on helping people awaken to their “work worth doing”.

by Barbara Berger
Uncategorized

CWP Participating in Mindfulness Workshops at Twin Ponds

November 12, 2013

I’ve joined forces with my friend and colleague, Shonda Moralis, MSW, LCSW, to promote a series of mindfulness workshops beginning in January, 2014.  Shonda is a Psychotherapist and Mindfulness Educator at Twin Ponds Integrative Health Center in Breinigsville and I will be joining her on Feb 8th, 2014 to discuss mindful strategies for career exploration for busy moms.  Stay tuned for more specific information on each workshop as we get closer.  You can find the highlights below!

Mindfulnes​s Workshops for the New Year

at Twin Ponds Integrative Health Center

Learn simple strategies to increase your sense of calm, energy and overall well-being.  

mindfulness steps

4 Week Mindfulness 101

Open to everyone, from beginners to experienced meditators. Did you know mindfulness meditation can literally change your brain?  Learn proven stress-reduction practices within a small, supportive group setting

Tuesday evenings 6:15-8pm, January 7-28, 2014  

Cost is $199, $175 if registered before Dec. 20. (7 CE for SWers, LPCs, LMFTs  pending.)

  

Balanced Motherhood:   Dream, Dare Delight.  Simple self-care through Mindfulness 

For moms looking to find more balance, calm and energy in their lives.   Join us for a morning of guided meditation, connection, and exploration into your unique formula for a well-lived life.

Sat, January 18th,  9am-noon.  Cost is $49, 10% discount if you register with a friend.

 

Work-Life Balance for Busy Moms:  Mindfulness Strategies to Explore Career Direction. 

With Barbara Berger, CPC, CCC of Career Wellness Partners, LLC.  Learn how the practice of mindfulness can lead to better balance and a clearer vision as you consider career options.

Sat., February 8th,   9am – noon.  Cost is $49.  10% discount if you register with a friend.

 

To Register Contact: 

Shonda Bear Moralis, MSW, LCSW;   484-772-5395;   mindfultalk@verizon.net Psychotherapy and Mindfulness Education Twin Ponds Integrative Health Center; 628 Twin Ponds Road;  Breinigsville, PA 18031 www.TwinPondsCenter.com

by Barbara Berger
Blog Page, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

Your White-Space Resume

October 28, 2013

What is it about the white space on a resume that calls to me?  Is it the fact the using white space appropriately makes for a more visually appealing document?  Is it because one-inch margins are standard?  Nah.  I love white space on a resume because white space is where all the good stuff happens.  It’s where the nitty-gritty answers are and where change can begin.

The image above is a picture of what the white space looks like in a few of the books from my personal library.  (One of the many reasons that I remain passionately opposed to e-readers is because of my addiction to white space.  And, yes, I know you can highlight and make notes with them but it’s not the same to me.)  You can see that the words on these pages elicited a response that was strong enough for me to capture in the margins.  I obviously didn’t want to forget what those words made me feel.  I use smiley faces, or stars, or “OMG!”. (Pages with a scribbled upright middle finger were strategically withheld from this shot.)  I write notes and ideas and names of events or people of whom I’m reminded.    The white space holds my reaction to what the words on the page say. The same is true for your resume.

Take a minute to pull up your resume. Go ahead.  I’ll wait.

Read the expertly-crafted words and strategic phrases.  Look how professionally the last 10 years of your work history is chronicled.  No doubt there are bulleted lists beginning with action buzzwords like created, implemented, pioneered, executed, presented, etc.  There is no argument that Hiring Managers need to see those accomplishments, but if the manager is serious about hiring the right person for the job, they will want to know what that candidate feels in their gut when they do these things…do they feel strong when they create a system?  Do they feel totally zapped of energy when they have to do a presentation at the board meeting?   As a job seeker, if the words on your resume list jobs, skills and  experiences that are light years away from how you feel when you’re actually doing those tasks, you are probably not very content in your role.

Career Wellness is about learning to read between the lines on your resume.   You have to learn how to read the white spaces because everything interesting and everything important is found there.  The reasons why you’re unhappy, the reasons why you’re tired and bored and the answers for how to align your career with your overall well-being are just waiting to be excavated.

Ever wonder what your resume would look like if you searched the white spaces?  Contact me for one-on-one exploration of your white space.   Or, for more information about a group White-Space ResumeTM Workshop, email me at Barbara@careerwellnesspartners.com.

by Barbara Berger
Blog Page, Mid Life Professionals, Uncategorized, Women in Transition

Lights. Camera. ACTION!

October 16, 2013

But what if there are no lights.   And, what if there is no camera?  What if all you have is that little voice inside that keeps whispering “Action”?  That voice is telling you, over and over again, in different ways, how to become the Director of your own life.  Will you trust that voice to direct your first step?   It’ll do a better job than Spielberg or Scorsese ever could because, after all, this is your life.   That little whisper (which often becomes a shout if you ignore it) is nobody else’s but yours.  If you feel that you’ve been acting in someone else’s movie until now, it’s time for action.

Whether you’ve been sitting in the same cubicle for 15 years, or you’re re-entering the workforce after some time away, or you’re trying to find work that aligns with your core values, making a decision to change can be unnerving.

You think about what that little voice is telling you. And you think.  And think. Until you find that you’ve thought yourself into a state of paralysis; making it almost impossible to take action.  That’s really just fear. Honoring the voice doesn’t mean you have to do a 180° right there on the spot.  It means that introspection will only take you so far.  Action, often the smallest step, is what you need to honor the internal whisper and start your shift to Career Wellness.

I must share a few lines from “You Don’t Need to Know How to Do It.  You Just Need to Start;” an article by Ishita Gupta, Publisher of fear.less Magazine.  It’s a great compilation of the things we think we need before we take any action.  Believing we need these things causes paralysis:

“You don’t have to have the best team, the right website, or be an expert. You have everything you need right now; you just need the courage to act. 

You don’t have to wait for investors or your boss to notice your smarts.  You recognize it first.

You don’t have to feel guilty for spending time on what makes you happy.  You do have to worry if you never listen to the voice inside you.”

Read the full article here.  I bet you’ll recognize a few of these paralyzing “must-have” thoughts.

Self-reflection is definitely part of your career development, but it can be the very thing that keeps you feeling like you are an actor in someone else’s movie.  As Herminia Ibarra states in her book Working Identity, “Sometimes all we know at the start is that we want to be somewhere else.”

We rarely know where we are going to end up; but taking one tiny step can change the course of your story and help direct your career in a way that aligns with that little voice.   Can you hear it? (Because it’s screaming now.)  “Annnnd ACTION!”

by Barbara Berger
Uncategorized

January 1, 1970
[vc_row gap=”30″][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text]Clients come to me because they are thinking of changing careers, are unhappy in their position, or want to grow and develop in their current company. I’m often their first stop for this discussion. In a perfect world, managers everywhere would know how to facilitate career development conversations and employees would be confident that having a real career discussion inside the organization wouldn’t have a negative impact. But we’re not there yet.

Who is responsible?

Is it the manager’s job to give employees all the answers for evolving in their career? No. The heavy lifting has to be done by the employee. But here’s the question: How do we inspire employees to “drive their own career car” if we can’t support the message internally? If full-on career conversations are not embraced internally, people come to career coaches where the certainty of anonymity and confidentiality allow a full exploration of options (including staying within their current organization) without jeopardizing their current role.

Hiding from the career development discussion doesn’t help.

After attending a SHRM workshop this summer about employee engagement and career development, I spoke with HR managers who confirmed the challenge of honest career conversations. It’s a fact that some organizations have departments where employees would never talk honestly with the manager for fear it would make life in their current role intolerable. And, sometimes, it’s because managers haven’t been introduced to the coaching skills required to navigate that type of conversation. As I implement programs that inspire employees to slide into the driver’s seat, I also challenge companies to explore a confidential career resource for employees until internal career dialogues are fully embraced. If your organization has adopted an approach that works, I’d love to hear your comments. As you plan for more holistic support of your team in 2017, consider making career coaching available to drive engagement from the employee side. Career Wellness Partners can help – ask me how!   Image courtesy of Pexels.com[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][vc_column width=”1/3″ delay=”0ms” css=”.vc_custom_1480438171227{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;background-color: #ffeece !important;}”][vc_single_image image=”932″ img_size=”50×50″ alignment=”center”][themeone_spacer height=”15px”][gravityform id=”2″ title=”false” description=”false” ajax=”false”]
[/vc_column][/vc_row]
by Barbara Berger
Uncategorized

January 1, 1970

[vc_row gap=”30″][vc_column width=”1/4″][vc_single_image image=”1554″][/vc_column][vc_column width=”3/4″ delay=”0ms” css=”.vc_custom_1549049589308{padding-right: 10px !important;padding-left: 10px !important;}”][vc_column_text]You are more than your limited perception of you, and your capacity is greater than you realize. This is why I became a coach. Although I couldn’t articulate it in that way 5 years ago, I knew that personal growth was where I belonged, and it made sense to use my understanding of the hiring process and my interest in career development as a focus.

Five years later, I am more deeply in love with the coaching process and the impact it can have when done well. I know, because I’ve been in the seat of the coachee. The transformation I have experienced due to my continued training with some of the best coaches out there fuels a perpetual fire to help reveal people to themselves…their beauty, strength, wisdom, and worth.

My wish is that you find a way to fuel whatever fires YOU up so you can begin to #LiveYourGenuine in 2019!  Happy Holidays![/vc_column_text][themeone_spacer height=”15px”][gravityform id=”2″ title=”false” description=”false” ajax=”false”][themeone_spacer height=”15px”][/vc_column][/vc_row]

by Barbara Berger
1 2 3
Recent Posts
Archives
Categories
Meta
Privacy Settings
We use cookies to enhance your experience while using our website. If you are using our Services via a browser you can restrict, block or remove cookies through your web browser settings. We also use content and scripts from third parties that may use tracking technologies. You can selectively provide your consent below to allow such third party embeds. For complete information about the cookies we use, data we collect and how we process them, please check our Privacy Policy
Youtube
Consent to display content from - Youtube
Vimeo
Consent to display content from - Vimeo
Google Maps
Consent to display content from - Google
Spotify
Consent to display content from - Spotify
Sound Cloud
Consent to display content from - Sound
Save
Cart Overview