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Monday, May 24, 2010
you know how it is: we have "day jobs," too
Yes, we know that, and that is why I am disappointed that the decision was made to leave versus stick it out. It was assumed that we were all on the same page as we signed our lives away and when things got tough many of the students ran but we never thought it would go as far as faculty. We all have day jobs, we have families, hobbies, and affiliations that seem to take the back seat, because we knew what we were working towards.
I wish a person would..... I work 50 sometimes 60 hours in a week at work, come home and dedicate another 30hrs a week, just to stay afloat (and I am barely doing that). This just hurts my feelings.
It's very discouraging when you hear/read that. That sends the message to me that the long nights, lack of sleep, hair loss, face break-outs, ear infections.... all of which are stress induced....isn't worth it, or even appreciated.
What kind of example is that?
Maybe there's something else going on because that's the shottiest excuse I have heard in the last year and a half.
I wish a person would..... I work 50 sometimes 60 hours in a week at work, come home and dedicate another 30hrs a week, just to stay afloat (and I am barely doing that). This just hurts my feelings.
It's very discouraging when you hear/read that. That sends the message to me that the long nights, lack of sleep, hair loss, face break-outs, ear infections.... all of which are stress induced....isn't worth it, or even appreciated.
What kind of example is that?
Maybe there's something else going on because that's the shottiest excuse I have heard in the last year and a half.
Saturday, May 22, 2010
you are becoming a leader; these experiences are a growing pain
What do I see as my next steps for personal and professional growth?
I see myself molding myself into a better subject matter expert, working on my patience, and learning not to stress every little detail. I see myself learning to say no more and learning that it's ok for someone else to take the lead and letting folks know that you don't have the bandwidth. I have to start setting time for myself. I have realized the importance on making time for me. Realizing that, brought me to the conclusion that I don’t have the time to do EVERYTHING. I was taking on so much cause I could merely not sleep or skip a meal. In a discussion with my mentor, he told me life “isn’t that serious” and that I couldn’t live my life like everything was due at 9 am.
I want to see myself exercising effective leadership. How do I balance being constructive versus being destructive and annoying? There were a lot of times during this project where I felt as though that my teammates found me annoying only because I wanted to make sure that we are all on the same page and that folks are comfortable and feel included. But when do I push forward or step aside? There are certain suggestions that I have made to my team but received push back on, I tried to make my case but I felt like I was getting nowhere. In the end we discovered that there was some truth to what I was saying. I need to know how to balance this, or just how to cope because it has happened in the past and is bound to happen again, this is a part of life. But there is also the problem of getting my point across and for folks to clearly understand what I am saying and why I feel that it is important.
With that said I also see the next step as continuing to work on my assertiveness. It isn’t something that I think that I have to work on at work but it is something that I have to work on when it comes to school. I feel like I need to be creative and think outside of the box to get the information that I need. This project proved to be very difficult in that regard; working with international countries.
What strategies will I employ to address my next steps for growth? How will I engage the faculty, my colleagues, my client, and/or other in my effort to grow?
I have solicited the help of others and am constantly looking for feedback. These are also topics that I am working with my mentors on. At LM, I have begun to volunteer myself for stretch assignments; assignments that may seem out of the ordinary for an HR Professional. I am continually putting myself in more situations that require me to present, lead projects, and work with high-level management. I want to be comfortable with presenting and addressing questions and concerns. I believe that I am working towards bringing the best out of my team members and providing them opportunities to stretch and challenge themselves. As my boss said “you are becoming a leader; these experiences are a growing pain”
In regards to the faculty and my colleagues, I plan on using them as a sounding board and a source for constructive feedback. I look towards my clients for direction so that I can create a strategy on how to best provide the best product/service.
With The Berrette Family Foundation, LM2 helped me think about funding. I started looking in to Venture Capitalist and found a group called Novack. I have contacted them to discuss their strategy and reflect on how this can help me. I plan on utilizing Ambi, who has volunteered to help me with this project, in building the mentoring & internship program and also handling the finances. I have solicited two entrepreneurs as guidance in regards to the social aspect. How do I put myself out there? How to I open up and get the resources I need? I am also utilizing some faculty from the School of Ed, in terms of doing my due diligence and assuring that I am covering my basis in terms of the Education world.
My uncle has started an organization called “Haiti: A Fresh Start” where he is in the works of creating a planned community with homes, a school, bank, store, and bed and breakfast. In only 5 months he has accomplished so much, I will look to him for overall guidance on strategy and approach. He has infiltrated every social media that I can think of and he has a team of folks, even pro-bono legal counsel. My uncle’s mind is constantly churning and I believe that he will provide plenty in regards to strategy.
I see myself molding myself into a better subject matter expert, working on my patience, and learning not to stress every little detail. I see myself learning to say no more and learning that it's ok for someone else to take the lead and letting folks know that you don't have the bandwidth. I have to start setting time for myself. I have realized the importance on making time for me. Realizing that, brought me to the conclusion that I don’t have the time to do EVERYTHING. I was taking on so much cause I could merely not sleep or skip a meal. In a discussion with my mentor, he told me life “isn’t that serious” and that I couldn’t live my life like everything was due at 9 am.
I want to see myself exercising effective leadership. How do I balance being constructive versus being destructive and annoying? There were a lot of times during this project where I felt as though that my teammates found me annoying only because I wanted to make sure that we are all on the same page and that folks are comfortable and feel included. But when do I push forward or step aside? There are certain suggestions that I have made to my team but received push back on, I tried to make my case but I felt like I was getting nowhere. In the end we discovered that there was some truth to what I was saying. I need to know how to balance this, or just how to cope because it has happened in the past and is bound to happen again, this is a part of life. But there is also the problem of getting my point across and for folks to clearly understand what I am saying and why I feel that it is important.
With that said I also see the next step as continuing to work on my assertiveness. It isn’t something that I think that I have to work on at work but it is something that I have to work on when it comes to school. I feel like I need to be creative and think outside of the box to get the information that I need. This project proved to be very difficult in that regard; working with international countries.
What strategies will I employ to address my next steps for growth? How will I engage the faculty, my colleagues, my client, and/or other in my effort to grow?
I have solicited the help of others and am constantly looking for feedback. These are also topics that I am working with my mentors on. At LM, I have begun to volunteer myself for stretch assignments; assignments that may seem out of the ordinary for an HR Professional. I am continually putting myself in more situations that require me to present, lead projects, and work with high-level management. I want to be comfortable with presenting and addressing questions and concerns. I believe that I am working towards bringing the best out of my team members and providing them opportunities to stretch and challenge themselves. As my boss said “you are becoming a leader; these experiences are a growing pain”
In regards to the faculty and my colleagues, I plan on using them as a sounding board and a source for constructive feedback. I look towards my clients for direction so that I can create a strategy on how to best provide the best product/service.
With The Berrette Family Foundation, LM2 helped me think about funding. I started looking in to Venture Capitalist and found a group called Novack. I have contacted them to discuss their strategy and reflect on how this can help me. I plan on utilizing Ambi, who has volunteered to help me with this project, in building the mentoring & internship program and also handling the finances. I have solicited two entrepreneurs as guidance in regards to the social aspect. How do I put myself out there? How to I open up and get the resources I need? I am also utilizing some faculty from the School of Ed, in terms of doing my due diligence and assuring that I am covering my basis in terms of the Education world.
My uncle has started an organization called “Haiti: A Fresh Start” where he is in the works of creating a planned community with homes, a school, bank, store, and bed and breakfast. In only 5 months he has accomplished so much, I will look to him for overall guidance on strategy and approach. He has infiltrated every social media that I can think of and he has a team of folks, even pro-bono legal counsel. My uncle’s mind is constantly churning and I believe that he will provide plenty in regards to strategy.
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
I don't have time for school...
Yes, this is how I feel. I have come to the conclusion that I do not have time for school. There's just too much to do and so little time. I still don't know how I am awake. Nights of 5 Hour Energy Shots and AMP Energy Drinks, are catching up to me. I seem to repeatedly get "volunteered" for various stretch assignments. I have learned to say no, but I have learned that it doesn't mean much, it just means I get an extra pair of hands to help me.
One positive stride..... I am making some kind of dent into my benchmarking task. I am partially awaiting for the day where I don't have learning modules anymore, they are starting to give me anxiety.
The mixture of work, project and learning module have left me in a space where I can't even concentrate on my non-profit. This isn't a happy place for me.
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Employee Recognition
About a week and a half ago, I worked an INSANE schedule. I worked 60 hrs in 4 days. WHY? because I had a corporate deliverable to debrief my management team on. So a few postings ago, I might have touched on my "communication issues" with a particular co-worker. I am not sure if I handled the situation in the best wat, but we got positive results. There was one point where I decided to take matters in to my own hands because I felt like the ship was sinking, and it was sinking FAST! In the end I felt bad for taking over and I talked to each team member individually about it. One team member gave me a card that said "You're a Rockstar, Bernice, Thanks so much for your help and guidance on the CSS. It would have not beed a success without you! Thanks for being such a great buddy."
The other team member wasn't so enthused. But she was cordial about the situation. She's older and was supposed to be the lead on this effort. So I guess I stepped on her toes. Personally I am not going to deliver something that I know is absolutely wrong to management, when I am 100% sure what they are looking for. And the thing is, management knows that I know what needs to be done, so in a way if I hadn't stepped on toes, we would have been sent back to the drawing board. There's no need for that. That's not efficient. The lead is the person who works based on expperience. She gains her knowledge on trial and error. But when you are new and you have a deliverable that's as inportant as what we had, there is no time to test out the waters. Get it done!
End result (this is in regards to the final deliverable - powerpoint package, information take-away binder):
"I just can’t say enough good things about the results. They were absolutely right on track and I just saw so much growth in everyone involved. It was just fantastic. Thanks so much Bernice for hanging in there with the team, for being such an agile learner and team member! You are just awesome! Lockheed Martin is so fortunate to have you with us."
It came with an e-card that said: "Individual Commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work. Outstanding Execution and results delivery for the Customer Satisfaction Survey project! Thank You!"
So apparently we set a standard with the presentation we gave and management wants to recognize us in front of the department and wanted me to look at different ways to recognize the team.
I feel good today.
The other team member wasn't so enthused. But she was cordial about the situation. She's older and was supposed to be the lead on this effort. So I guess I stepped on her toes. Personally I am not going to deliver something that I know is absolutely wrong to management, when I am 100% sure what they are looking for. And the thing is, management knows that I know what needs to be done, so in a way if I hadn't stepped on toes, we would have been sent back to the drawing board. There's no need for that. That's not efficient. The lead is the person who works based on expperience. She gains her knowledge on trial and error. But when you are new and you have a deliverable that's as inportant as what we had, there is no time to test out the waters. Get it done!
End result (this is in regards to the final deliverable - powerpoint package, information take-away binder):
"I just can’t say enough good things about the results. They were absolutely right on track and I just saw so much growth in everyone involved. It was just fantastic. Thanks so much Bernice for hanging in there with the team, for being such an agile learner and team member! You are just awesome! Lockheed Martin is so fortunate to have you with us."
It came with an e-card that said: "Individual Commitment to a group effort is what makes a team work. Outstanding Execution and results delivery for the Customer Satisfaction Survey project! Thank You!"
So apparently we set a standard with the presentation we gave and management wants to recognize us in front of the department and wanted me to look at different ways to recognize the team.
I feel good today.
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