Hello all, I thought I'd kick off my re entry into the blogging world with some tips on how to manage your work life (and become a star!)
Happy holiday season everyone!
1. Initiative. Blazing trails in the organisational chaos by going above and beyond the accepted job description to offer new, often bold, and value-adding ideas.
2. Networking. Overcoming knowledge blocks in your daily work by plugging into the knowledge net of technical gurus.
3. Self-management. Managing your whole life at work by contributing to the critical path and ensuring high job performance.
4. Perspective. Getting the big picture by learning to see things as your customers, competitors, colleagues, and bosses see them.
5. Followership. Checking your ego at the door to lead in assists while exercising independent, critical thinking on goals, tasks, and methods.
6. Leadership. Doing small “1” leadership in a big “L” world by partnering with colleagues to accomplish important tasks.
7. Teamwork. Becoming a positive contributor to group goals, commitments, work activities, group dynamics, and accomplishments.
8. Organisational savvy. Using street smarts to navigate the organisation’s competing interests, to win others’ help and cooperation, to address conflicts, and to complete tasks.
9. Show-and-tell. Persuading the right audience with the right message in user-friendly format.
Wednesday, 10 December 2008
Thursday, 17 April 2008
Top tips: How to behave when you get your internship
Here are some good tips for the 2008 group on what to do once you have been placed in an internship. I've found it's really important to make sure that you are likeable and are a positive contribution in the workplace: so make sure you are friendly and SMILE, smile, SMILE!
Fiona McDonald may have shared with you that she knew that Celeste (a WOW intern in 2006) would do well on her very first day, when she ensured that she greeted everyone in the building.
The course that you are on now is like a training ground for your future job. Hope you can practice the smile now!
* Make sure everyone knows who you are and why you’re there
* Put in the hours
* Be a help not a hindrance
- Make yourself as indispensable as you can
- Show off what you’re best at – you’ll be hired because you add something no one else can
- Have a sense of humour
- Don’t be annoying
- Listen until your ears bleed – ask questions and remember the answers
- Read people – this is the hardest bit – knowing who to approach and when
- Get on the killer brief, even if it means you beg, borrow, steal and work through the night
- Only present your best work – 10 great ideas is better than 50 OK ideas
- Prepare to make tea and coffee, work late, be poor and do all of that with a smile!
Fiona McDonald may have shared with you that she knew that Celeste (a WOW intern in 2006) would do well on her very first day, when she ensured that she greeted everyone in the building.
The course that you are on now is like a training ground for your future job. Hope you can practice the smile now!
* Make sure everyone knows who you are and why you’re there
* Put in the hours
* Be a help not a hindrance
- Make yourself as indispensable as you can
- Show off what you’re best at – you’ll be hired because you add something no one else can
- Have a sense of humour
- Don’t be annoying
- Listen until your ears bleed – ask questions and remember the answers
- Read people – this is the hardest bit – knowing who to approach and when
- Get on the killer brief, even if it means you beg, borrow, steal and work through the night
- Only present your best work – 10 great ideas is better than 50 OK ideas
- Prepare to make tea and coffee, work late, be poor and do all of that with a smile!
Wednesday, 02 April 2008
Welcome to WOWers 2008!
It was a great pleasure to welcome the new WOWers to the programme on Monday. As I mentioned briefly in the session, it was a nice opportunity to reflect on the process I've been through. I've built a lot of confidence in the last year and learnt a great deal, all of which began with my first day in WOW 2007.
Lesley and Jean, thank you for setting up such a wonderful programme that has helped me in so many ways.
I look forward to reading all the new blogs and also to sharing my thoughts on the blogging process with the new group today.
And a very big WELCOME to you all. I hope you are all looking forward to it!
Lesley and Jean, thank you for setting up such a wonderful programme that has helped me in so many ways.
I look forward to reading all the new blogs and also to sharing my thoughts on the blogging process with the new group today.
And a very big WELCOME to you all. I hope you are all looking forward to it!
Thursday, 14 February 2008
Brunswick: 9 months on
It’s been almost nine months since I started at Brunswick. What began with an offer of a one month contract was extended to two months, and then for a further six – and at the start of this year the three interns (including me) began on a more formal training course – which gives us all a period to learn in a structured manner.
Our last training session was on the role of an executive (the next step up from an intern). Our role is, essentially, to support the rest of the office. The point that made the biggest impression on me was how to do this more proactively. There are several ways we can be there for our teams:
- if there is a meeting we can offer to take notes and then distribute them
- before an upcoming event we can ask what needs to be done and how we can help
- if we see something important, such as an article that may need urgent attention, we need to take responsibility for making sure the right people have seen it
- in all our work, it’s important to consider what would be most useful to whoever has asked for it – and take care to present it in a way that is accessible to them. For example, during the recent power crisis, I was collecting some news coverage for a client. Rather than sending a mass of news articles only, I highlighted in red what would be relevant for them.
- there are a multitude of smaller things we can do – for example, when we send out news coverage, we can write in the subject of the e mail what the article is about, so that the person reading it can immediately see if it’s relevant.
The bottom line is: how can we work more efficiently and what can we do that will save whoever receives our work their time?
We’ve been encouraged to start working more proactively rather than simply getting bogged down by the volume of work. It’s challenging to think about things in this way; rather than waiting to be asked, to offer instead. This way, we will all feel like we’re making more of a contribution to the team and I think start to learn more and more.
Daniel, our trainer, emphasised that the more efficiently all the teams in the office work, the better the service we give to the client.
So I challenge everyone to think about how they can be more proactive in the workplace - rather than wait for work to come to you.
Our last training session was on the role of an executive (the next step up from an intern). Our role is, essentially, to support the rest of the office. The point that made the biggest impression on me was how to do this more proactively. There are several ways we can be there for our teams:
- if there is a meeting we can offer to take notes and then distribute them
- before an upcoming event we can ask what needs to be done and how we can help
- if we see something important, such as an article that may need urgent attention, we need to take responsibility for making sure the right people have seen it
- in all our work, it’s important to consider what would be most useful to whoever has asked for it – and take care to present it in a way that is accessible to them. For example, during the recent power crisis, I was collecting some news coverage for a client. Rather than sending a mass of news articles only, I highlighted in red what would be relevant for them.
- there are a multitude of smaller things we can do – for example, when we send out news coverage, we can write in the subject of the e mail what the article is about, so that the person reading it can immediately see if it’s relevant.
The bottom line is: how can we work more efficiently and what can we do that will save whoever receives our work their time?
We’ve been encouraged to start working more proactively rather than simply getting bogged down by the volume of work. It’s challenging to think about things in this way; rather than waiting to be asked, to offer instead. This way, we will all feel like we’re making more of a contribution to the team and I think start to learn more and more.
Daniel, our trainer, emphasised that the more efficiently all the teams in the office work, the better the service we give to the client.
So I challenge everyone to think about how they can be more proactive in the workplace - rather than wait for work to come to you.
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Holiday fever
To give you all a taste of the holiday fever beginning to spread in the office, I'm sharing some of the silliness to keep you laughing (point 2 is especially for Valentin):
HOLIDAY GUIDE - How To Survive A Shark Attack (Very Handy)
1: Don't swim in the ocean.
Ninety-nine percent of all shark attacks take place in exceptionally large bodies of water also known as oceans.
The way to determine if you are currently in an ocean is to taste the water, which should be salty.
2: Listen out for the music.
In the event that you are foolish enough to swim in an ocean, listen carefully for the music, as demonstrated in the marvelous documentary
film Jaws. All shark attacks are preceded by the 'daah-da, daah-da' chords, which will gradually become more rapid as the shark gets
closer. This is due to the Doppler Effect.
3: Swim with fat people.
Try to surround yourself with more appetizing companions.
If you know them well, you might even try to switch their suntan lotion with A-1 Steak Sauce. This will definitely improve your odds.
4: Don't go into the water without a knife.
This is not to defend yourself but to stab the person (a.k.a the decoy) closest to you in the case of a shark attack. Once you are sure the
'decoy' is bleeding profusely.....swim for your freekin life.
And finally.....
5: Don't panic.
In the event that a shark actually bites you, try to remain calm. This really won't help you survive, but everyone else on the beach will
appreciate you not shrieking madly, as this is quite unsettling
After a long absence from my blog - which happened for a number of reasons, mostly because I don't want to sit in front of a computer when I get home from work - I'm back!
It's been an interesting few months - with office moves, employees resigning and new employees arriving, load -shedding (the dreaded), Christmas parties and appraisals...
I'm on leave next week and will have some time to reflect on my year at work. Look for me then... until that time, don't get eaten by any sharks!
HOLIDAY GUIDE - How To Survive A Shark Attack (Very Handy)
1: Don't swim in the ocean.
Ninety-nine percent of all shark attacks take place in exceptionally large bodies of water also known as oceans.
The way to determine if you are currently in an ocean is to taste the water, which should be salty.
2: Listen out for the music.
In the event that you are foolish enough to swim in an ocean, listen carefully for the music, as demonstrated in the marvelous documentary
film Jaws. All shark attacks are preceded by the 'daah-da, daah-da' chords, which will gradually become more rapid as the shark gets
closer. This is due to the Doppler Effect.
3: Swim with fat people.
Try to surround yourself with more appetizing companions.
If you know them well, you might even try to switch their suntan lotion with A-1 Steak Sauce. This will definitely improve your odds.
4: Don't go into the water without a knife.
This is not to defend yourself but to stab the person (a.k.a the decoy) closest to you in the case of a shark attack. Once you are sure the
'decoy' is bleeding profusely.....swim for your freekin life.
And finally.....
5: Don't panic.
In the event that a shark actually bites you, try to remain calm. This really won't help you survive, but everyone else on the beach will
appreciate you not shrieking madly, as this is quite unsettling
After a long absence from my blog - which happened for a number of reasons, mostly because I don't want to sit in front of a computer when I get home from work - I'm back!
It's been an interesting few months - with office moves, employees resigning and new employees arriving, load -shedding (the dreaded), Christmas parties and appraisals...
I'm on leave next week and will have some time to reflect on my year at work. Look for me then... until that time, don't get eaten by any sharks!
Wednesday, 24 October 2007
forgetting my lessons in conflict management
I forgot my lessons in conflict management and was reminded:
1. If you have a problem, voice it - or it will just get bigger.... and bigger.
2. If a team member approaches you about a mistake you've made, apologise and rectify as soon as you can.... rather than being rude to the person who raised the issue with you.
3. Put your personal differences aside for the sake of a healthy working relationship and a well functioning team.
A few years ago, I shared a flat with a friend from varsity who proved very difficult to live with. Rather than approach her about things I was unhappy with, I kept quiet, and the issues got bigger and bigger and we ended up having a huge fight.
I realised then that it was much better to talk about things as they arose. My natural inclination is to avoid conflict, though. But I've thought back to WoW and the conflict - productivity graph...
A lesson I'll keep having to be reminded of until I put it into practice!
1. If you have a problem, voice it - or it will just get bigger.... and bigger.
2. If a team member approaches you about a mistake you've made, apologise and rectify as soon as you can.... rather than being rude to the person who raised the issue with you.
3. Put your personal differences aside for the sake of a healthy working relationship and a well functioning team.
A few years ago, I shared a flat with a friend from varsity who proved very difficult to live with. Rather than approach her about things I was unhappy with, I kept quiet, and the issues got bigger and bigger and we ended up having a huge fight.
I realised then that it was much better to talk about things as they arose. My natural inclination is to avoid conflict, though. But I've thought back to WoW and the conflict - productivity graph...
A lesson I'll keep having to be reminded of until I put it into practice!
Tuesday, 02 October 2007
Here at last...
Godfrey Chesang has arrived at Brunswick at last! I know many WoWers know him as he has spent several years at Wits studying his PhD in politics. I look forward to getting to know him and working with him.
It's nice to be working for a firm that is happy to employ people from a range of different backgrounds - English, politics, economics, law... and that they don't feel people like Godfrey or myself, with postgrad humanities degrees, are "overqualified"!
It's nice to be working for a firm that is happy to employ people from a range of different backgrounds - English, politics, economics, law... and that they don't feel people like Godfrey or myself, with postgrad humanities degrees, are "overqualified"!
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