Stuff I want to share with the world… in English
This increasing distance to customers when advancing in a career is an odd proposition if you accept the premise that the customer ultimately is the one paying for each and every salary in a company. Working directly with the customer should be one of the most important jobs - after all it is the raison d'être of the entire construction.
The thing is, emotionally, that might not work quite as well as theory wants you to believe. While I can leave my phone in it's designated charging space out of my reach, that doesn't work so well with my brain - or my heart. Where do you place emotional turmoil?
I started using Gretchen Rubin’s framework on the four tendencies a couple of months back, first with my team members. It has been transformative for my 1:1s, taking a lot of stress out of the interactions. Knowing what motivates them (and me) has brought clarity: clarity that I’ve channelled into more effective communication - and patience. This is how I apply it in my day-to-day (and why I tend to ask everyone around me to take the quiz).
Being myself isn't as easy as it sounds. So I have devised these seven rules to help me stay on track and ever more true to myself. This is how to Be Valentina!
I am not a big fan of new year resolutions. Most of them are forgotten by mid-February, and I know too many people who "commit" to the same fluffy and undefined "goal" every year. If I decide to achieve something, I prefer not to wait for an arbitrary date. I usually start working on a step-by-step plan right away. But I still like the spirit of the new year, so this year I've tried something different, inspired by Gretchen Rubin.
Not wanting to believe is different from not believing. Not wanting to believe requires active work to avoid believing "accidentally". Why would anyone, why would I, actively invest in not believing in my own worth? What purpose does it serve to believe that I am not good enough (yet)?
Since moving into a leads role at Automattic, my responsibilities have changed quite a bit. Where previously I focussed on direct customer interactions (and some quality assurance), my primary concern is now my team and the division. This beckons the question: how do I organize my day? And what should I be doing? This very question was part of my most recent coaching conversation
HIIT can boost your physical fitness, difficult conversations can boost your professional fitness - or maybe even your general mental wellbeing, since difficult conversations might not be restricted to your work environment.
Difficult conversations are part of your professional (and private) life. But difficult does not need to mean nerve-wracking or anxiety inducing. Learn how to use them as learning opportunities.
Ever wondered HOW you are supposed to learn all those live-changing crucial skills recommended by all those gurus? Let me share some pragmatic experiments that should get you started.
Ask any business guru and productivity coach, and they will confirm you the importance of a meeting agenda to make sure attendees can prepare. Ask any person who regularly attends meetings and they might confess that they look at the agenda the moment they dial in for the meeting or walk through the door. And yet, … Continue reading The power of a set agenda
Minimalist Musings in Mataró 