Engage in this stimulating conversation with George Washington University Student, Brianna Bougouneau as she shares her cross-cultural study abroad
Blessed are curious for they shall have adventures.
Lovelle Drachman
Engage in this stimulating conversation with George Washington University Student, Brianna Bougouneau as she shares her cross-cultural study abroad experiences in China, Taiwan, Greece and Europe. In her words, sometimes you have to be bold, patient, and manage your expectations in order to be successful.
Listen in as she explores her challenges and resilience. This video is another in the interview series where I explore Success as emerging leaders define it.
Studied abroad? What did you experience? Do share, we would love to hear.
three-day weekends are the standard for NYU’s study-abroad programs, almost everyone chose to take $20 Ryanair flights to places like Croatia and Munich for Oktoberfest. To me, this seemed like an exhausting form of escapism
We have always heard about college study abroad programs. Many have experienced and squealed about their tales of travel, new experiences and memories of lasting thrills. But not so for one college student. As the Insider’s article flashed across the screen, I was compelled to find it and dig deeper. I was curious to know why? Here’s an excerpt.
Since three-day weekends are the standard for NYU’s study-abroad programs, almost everyone chose to take $20 Ryanair flights to places like Croatia and Munich for Oktoberfest. To me, this seemed like an exhausting form of escapism. I was convinced my peers were doing it only to freshen up their social-media profiles and make their friends back home jealous.
I, on the other hand, wanted to travel to learn more about myself and explore ways to shape my life after graduation. Since most of my classmates were looking to go to sex shows in Amsterdam and getting wasted in Ibiza, I traveled alone. I went to Nice, France; Lugano, Switzerland; London; Malta; and Dubai, United Arab Emirates. But most weekends I stayed at home in Florence.
Caused me to think how tales of dreams and travel experiences differ among people. As we experience life, it looks different from person to person. One can only imagine an essay from her roommates and what that would look like. Hmmm…
What are your thoughts? Do share. We would love to hear.
No matter who you are, no matter what you did, no matter where you’ve come from, you can always change, become a better version of yourself.
~Madonna
Longing to pursue a Dream? Experiencing a Strong desire to pursue that career change? Are you a New leader lacking confidence? So many of us experience one or more of these 5 Signs yet stay stuck for years.
You feel Stuck
Wanting to pursue a lifelong dream
Long to become your best self
Career Advancement and Personal Growth
Desiring to feel confident
As a Certified Professional Coach, let’s get you or someone you know unstuck today. Ask me how and make 2023 your best year yet.
What you do makes a difference, and you have to decide what kind of difference you want to make.
Jane Goodall
Nancy got the promotion! Yessss! Now what should she do? It was exciting when she Ditched her Job for a new and better opportunity. When Nancy learnt that she got the new role that came with higher salary and perks, she could hardly retain her joy. But as she began thinking deeply about her new role, she found herself nervous because she was new to management. She asked herself, what if I fail? What if they don’t like me? What if they realize I am a fraud? Tons of questions but the truth is to get out of this rump, there are things Nancy can do.
These three simple tips will help Nancy overcome her fear. At the minimum, she should be able to manage the jitters. In addition, there are books that deals with the art of managing for the new leader. Angela Robinson shared 12 Books for New Managers. Below I recommend 7. Take a look at the list below and choose one, two or a few that will help you grow in your new role.
7 Books Every New Manager Should Read
Be the Boss Everyone Wants to Work For: A Guide for New Leaders by William A. Gentry Ph.D.
The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter by Michael Watkins
Welcome to Management: How to Grow From Top Performer to Excellent Leader by Ryan Hawk
The Making of a Manager: What to Do When Everyone Looks to You by Julie Zhuo
The First-Time Manager by Jim McCormick, Loren B. Belker, Gary S. Topchik
Everyone Deserves a Great Manager: The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team by Scott Jeffrey Miller and Todd Davis
Everyone Deserves a Great Manager: The 6 Critical Practices for Leading a Team by Scott Jeffrey Miller and Todd Davis
From the list, which do you like the most? Would you read and/or recommend to others? Do share. We would love to hear!
CNN headline news shared the news of Karly – a 27 year old who ordered a cake with her resume printed on it and sent it to the company of her dreams. Guess where? Nike!
This feat was done from her location in North Carolina to their headquarters in Oregon. Talk about innovation! All with the help of an equally ferocious delivery driver. Karly then shared the picture of the cake on LinkedIn …that’s the place for top jobs, right? Sure enough it sparked lots of interest. Some ‘meanies’ chimed in too. They thought it was a bad idea and voiced how they would never hire her.
The Creativity of the Creative
Personally I’m a lover of anything different. Of thinking outside the box. Same result but with a twist. It brings in the new; makes one stand out against the competition (whether or not there is competition) and shows initiative, The open-minded for sure will snatch up the innovative.
Step out today. Try something new, something different. Heck, you may even surprise yourself! And oh by the way, don’t limit this to jobs only. Travel, relationships, entrepreneurship ventures and more are all included.
What’s the most creative step have you taken? Do share. We would love to hear.
Is Your Organization Selling what employees want to buy? The question Gallup posed most certainly creates a pause for both the employer who is searching for top talent and the job hunter who comes with his or her own fair share of what they will or will not accept.
9 Reasons Employees Accept Job Offers
Here are a few things that top talent seek in their next career move:
Great Pay and Benefits (duh)
Environments that are respectful, diverse and inclusive
Great Cultural fit to bolster a sense of belonging
Work in a location that is safe, easily accessible, and aesthetically pleasing
The desire for flexibility –remote or hybrid work
Work/ Life balance. Fast disappearing are those days of long working hours that when they get home they are no use to family or themselves
Financial Stability. People want to work where they don’t have to worry about the business viability as well as their own ability to cover expenses and save for their future
To work with great people (stress-free) and build key relationship with others in the industry
The ability to learn and grow that fosters self-actualization
If you are providing these things as an organization, you are well on your way to attracting and retaining top talent. Seeing gaps? Lets connect to get you you started on the road to improvement.
Likewise, as you reflect on the 9 reasons, what stands out to you? Is there anything you would like to add? Do share. We would love to hear.
The first step towards getting somewhere is to decide that you are not going to stay where you are.
J.P. Morgan
The Regret Minimization Framework is a simple mental model to minimize the number of regrets in the long run. Jeff Bezos after a conversation with his boss asked himself what he would regret more when he was 80 years old: Trying to build something he had strong conviction in and failing, or failing to give it a try? He realized that not trying would haunt him every day (Utkarsh Amitabh HBR).
Walking away from a great job is not an easy decision. I know that because I did it. I walked away from a great career in the pharmaceutical industry. Naturally, this decision came with it’s fair share of ups and downs but when you decide to make a decision based on purpose, all you need to do is weigh the consequences. Like Bezos did, he considered himself at age 80 and thought about it in the context of regret. If you know Amazon, then the rest is history.
As a Certified Professional Coach who specializes in career transitions and people management, I have help many leaders become clear on the next step in their career journey. It may not mean that you want to venture out into entrepreneurship. It might very well be that you want to shift into a new career in the same company or another. I reflect on a client who left his career in the financial industry to venture into a new career in social work. Hmmm, pretty drastic change, right? But the change proved satisfying.
So what’s your plan? What’s your purpose? What’s your passion? Can’t figure it out? Let’s connect.
Have a success story? Do share, we would love to hear.
We have all been there. Times when we feel we are at a crossroad and don’t know whether to stay with the company, or whether to go. It’s not an easy road. Certainly a time for deep reflection and analysis. But it can be done using helpful strategies.
7 Signs That Tells You When To Look for New Opportunities
Extracted from theMuse, here are my top 7 WHENs that you can use to know when it’s time to move on.
When you are unhappy most of the day. What’s the point of being unhappy doing what you do?
When the only way you can move up is when your boss retires. Oh well, need I say more?
When you get passed over for a promotion more than once
When your company is cutting back or your industry is shrinking. Astonished?Commonsense really…extinction is at hand. Be alert. Keep your eyes…
Changing careers can be hard and extremely stressful. It has been rated just below the death of a friend. Indeed it is a dreaded time of contemplation and decision making.
As such it is always a pleasure to share my knowledge and experience with new Graduates, mid-career changers as well as those battling retirement fears as I will do at the Lauderdale Manor’s Community event.
Here’s to connecting and making a difference in the lives of others.
Culture. Dance. Dancehall music. The Study? How does that connect? Curious, I reached out to young 23-year-old filmmaker, Joelle Powe. She shared the intriguing story of her own curiosity that led to her Anthropological Journey through Culture and Dance. A journey of success which exposed her globally to becoming a documentarian. Even before then, she was recognized in Washington DC for her work done in the Caribbean and globally.
Listen to the interesting and delightful conversation. No doubt it will motivate and inspire you.
Camilia laughed and laughed out loud as she sat watching reels on her social media channel. She then slumped down, placed her head in her hands as the tears began to flow. The pandemic had done a number on her and she was now at her wits end because she needed to get back to work. Oh what could she do? The daily depression had set in as her bills piled high.
Many are in similar situations as Camilia and that’s where the Today’s Show article titled 10 Tips on getting back into the workforce with ‘returnships’ becomes applicable. Of the 10 strategies, I’ll list my top 5 favorite which is key to your getting back into the peace of mind that a meaningful job brings.
5 Strategies To Help You Get Back To Work
Define what What Success Means to you. This is very important. Like I have always said “if you don’t know where you are going, any road will take you there” and who knows where you will end up. The book Ditch it Switch it shares several sample definitions of successful leaders that you can either adopt or tweak to suit your situation.
Dedicate Time in one, two or three hour blocks. As a coach to aspiring authors that is exactly what I preach. A book is written over time and not all at once. In the same way it is important to plan your path and map out what you would like to get done to prepare for that job. Is it research on top companies in your area? Is it that you would like a career change and you are unsure of the type of job that you would like to get into? Do you need to upskill? These are some of the things that you need to consider in order to get to your desired end goal
Network. Network. Network. Can’t say that enough. Alert people in your network to the fact that you are on the hunt. Combine that with online networking groups and you will be surprised at what turns up for you.
Fill your cup first. Here Tami Foreman -the author. speaks to self-care. Job search does take it’s toll especially when you don’t receive the ‘yes‘ that you want. You may find these self-care tips helpful
Take Risks and be Persistent. I have always maintained to go after what you desire. Let them turn you down. Do not self-reject.
Whatever you do, be consistent and serious about it. You will find with consistency comes reward if you don’t give up.
What are your top tip(s) that you would like to share with someone getting back into the workforce after being out of work for some time? Do share, we would love to hear!
Success Strategies 