DM Coaching and Development

Let Go of Your Safety Net

Sometimes women stay in unfulfilling jobs, relationships and situations for much longer than they should. One reason they stay is the false sense of safety such situations create. As the old expression goes "better the devil you know". The upside is that if you leave one devil, there may not actually be another one waiting! The safety net shows up in a high-paying but boring job, steady but unsatisfying relationships, comfortable but negative thought patterns and materialistic goals that are ultimately unfulfilling. These offer the illusion of security but allow no vision of what life could be like on the other side of the net. The truth is, you cannot get to where you want to go if you stay in the same place. True, there are no assurances about what is on the other side of that net, but what I can promise is that if it is truly a big enough jump, it will be different from what you had before (which is often incentive enough) and that the mere fact you made the change will positively impact the way you feel about yourself and help cushion your landing on the other side.   

Join the new European Professional Women's Network in London

Michelle Brailsford, an executive coach and friend is relaunching the EuropeanPWN in London 2009 and there are great opportunities to join and get involved at the ground level, either as a volunteer, new member or even on the board. EuropeanPWN operates in 17 countries with a  mission to promote the professional progress of women through all their career phases.  European PWN-London will be focusing in 2009 on providing multi-cultural and cross-sectoral networking events  and training workshops to showcase diverse models of success. For example, there will be events ranging from Accounting Comes Alive® which teaches women to be financially literate and skilled at using the language of business to Ariadne's Thread: Networking the feminine way and Implementing a Career Lattice:  Building lattices, not career ladders. If you are interested in joining EuropeanPWN, please visit the website above as they are looking for volunteers and board members. 

Look Before You Leap When Moving to Part-Time Work

Yes, it unfair...and I don't make the rules, I only help you play by them. But the truth is employers often see those who work part-time as less committed and less available for possible promotion. This is an issue I see a great deal when coaching women who are returning to work after maternity leave. By all means, make sure your boss knows you are eager to be promoted if that is your goal - but you need to be realistic. If you are working part-time there is usually a trade off, normally around pay, benefits and realistically speaking, around opportunities for career progression. I do think part-time work is appropriate for many, based on what the individual wants out of life at that particular period. However, I would always caution a woman to consider it carefully. For example, think about if you really need to go part-time. Would your employer consider compressing your workweek into four 10-hour days or maybe consider a schedule whereby you work partly at home and partly in the office? Think about what is possible before assuming your only option for a better work-life balance is part-time work.

How to Handle a Stolen Idea?

Isn't it maddening to mention an idea at a meeting, have it dismissed, then welcomed wholeheartedly when another member of the team (usually a man!) brings it up - often at the very same meeting! I do not believe in getting confrontational the first time, as it may be an oversight, but think that you should mention it to the person as an aside after the meeting - explaining that you would be happy to help advise, since it had been your idea originally.

However, if that gets you nowhere or if you feel the "idea - steal" was intentional, may I offer what I once heard as a great alternative? As someone is stealing your credit, simply announce to the offender with a smile "I'm so glad to hear you come back to my original idea from earlier and expand on that". Have you ever had to tackle someone on stealing your credit? How did you do it? 

Asking for a Pay Rise in a Bad Economy

I don't doubt you have worked hard and that you deserve it, but now is a difficult time to ask for a pay rise. The poor economy can make even the most productive of workers unsure how to ask for a rise. There are three main things to focus on if you are coming up to an annual appraisal. 1. Find out what competitors pay - you have to do your homework first on sites like www.monster.co.uk  so you have the ammunition you need before negotiating. 2. Think about the money you make your organisation - document all your accomplishments based on how much revenue the projects you worked on earned saved the company, quantify everything you can! 3. Don't give an ultimatum - this economy makes it easy for an employer to show you the door, so if you don't get what you want, ask what exactly you need to do to be earning more, then get a date to revisit those goals with your boss - before you leave the negotiating table. 

Give Women More than Pink Phones When Designing Technology!

At the tail end of last year, I treated myself to a new laptop - an upgrade since I had used my last computer for nearly 6 years - and my hard drive memory was a bit of a joke amongst friends. In any case, all I wanted was a light and small computer that would have full functionality, but be easy to travel with. What a task that was to find! I can buy a crystal-studded phone or a computer with a hot pink case, but it was so difficult to find anything light but with the capacity a professional woman needs.  So finding this article "Consumer Electronics Must Go Past Pink to Appeal to Women" in PC World really resonated with me and it should with manufacturers too - 80% of all purchasing decisions are either made or heavily influenced by a woman. In the end, I went with a Toshiba Portege, not because I was loyal to the brand, but they did a full spec laptop in less than a kilo. Talk about what a girl wants....

Evening Workshop - "Safeguarding Your Job in a Recession" - Feb 17th

The current credit crisis and impending recession is enough to make even the most confident professional woman uncertain what the future holds in 2009. Instead of panicking, attend my upcoming coaching workshop held in conjunction with Women in Technology which will help you regain a sense of control over your career. During this evening workshop I will help you regain a sense of confidence as you focus on what you do have control over, even during an weak economy. We will look at how you communicate and with whom you engage to ensure that your career is safeguarded and even developed during this turbulent period. You will learn steps to raise your profile and take control of the image you project to your boss, colleagues and those you haven’t even met yet, which will make you a treasured asset rather than the top of a potential redundancy list. Your investment is £57 plus VAT. To book your place visit http://www.womenintechnology.co.uk/safeguarding-your-career-in-a-recession

Recession Hitting Hard....Twice as Many Women Lose Jobs as Men

I couldn't believe the front page of last weekend's Sunday Times, where it detailed the latest unemployment figures. If you needed any evidence for how the recession was affecting women, this is on massive sign! In the final quarter of the deepening recession of 2008, the number of women in full time employment fell by 53,000 compared with a fall of 36,000 for men. As more men are in full time employment, this equates with a figure of twice as many women losing their jobs. Harriet Harman, the women’s minister, said: “There is a major fear about women being targeted by their employers during the downturn. This is unlawful.” Unlawful, yes but true all the same. It makes it all the more vital to keep your profile and image high so that you can do your best to insure that you will not be a casualty of a economic downturn. As you can imagine, the fact women are losing their jobs is less about job performance than the perceptions about women’s utility in the workplace and the perceived costs of maternity benefits and flexible working arrangements without thinking through the full ramifications which could set women’s equality back a generation!