Think Learn Succeed

The downside of being helpful

Being a team player. Supporting other people. Helping your colleagues. Many women see these behaviours as their strengths. Recently however, I heard a thought-provoking comment about strengths.

A colleague confidently proclaimed ‘Well, when you over-use a strength it becomes a limiting force.’ I wonder if you agree with this statement? It certainly had an impact on me. Read more

24/01/2017 By Eleanor Shakiba Credibility tips assertive women • assertiveness • business coach • coaching for business women • coaching for women • confident communication • courses for business women • courses for women • Eleanor Shakiba • gender and business • gender and influence • gender and power • gender bias • gender norms • image management • personal brand • personal branding • personal coach • personal success • positive psychology coaching • positive psychology courses • positive psychology training • success coach • training for women • visibility • women and communication • women and success • women in business 0 Comments

Build a Standout Personal Brand

If you’re serious about success, you need to actively work on your personal brand. This is the persona you present to the world. It defines how other people perceive you.

There are five key steps for managing your personal brand. Here are some tips you can use to make-over your personal brand easily and successfully.

Be crystal clear about what you stand for

Because your brand is an expression of who you are, you need to be sure you know who you are. Consider questions such as “What makes you different to everyone else?” and “What do you want to communicate to the world?”

After you’ve answered these questions summarise your responses in three sentences. Distil these into a single sentence of seven words or less. Then move on to the next step.

17/01/2017 By Eleanor Shakiba Credibility tips assertive women • assertiveness • business coach • coaching for business women • coaching for women • confident communication • courses for business women • courses for women • Eleanor Shakiba • gender and business • gender and influence • gender and power • gender bias • gender norms • image management • personal brand • personal branding • personal coach • personal success • positive psychology coaching • positive psychology courses • positive psychology training • success coach • training for women • visibility • women and communication • women and success • women in business 0 Comments

2017: Your Year to Smash Through Glass Ceilings

Welcome to 2017. This year, I’ll be focussing my newsletter on tips for helping savvy, professional women – like you or your female colleagues – thrive in today’s demanding world.

This new women and success theme reflects a crystalisation of my professional focus. From now on, my goal is to help high potential women burst through glass ceilings. That’s why I’ve changed my tagline to ‘the glass ceiling smasher’.

You might be wondering what inspired this change of focus? Well, I’ve been a presenter and coach for 22 years now. In that time, 90 percent of the people I’ve helped have been high potential women. Women who’ve hit frustrating road blocks on their paths to success. From under-resourced women in Bali, to stressed out Australian females in leadership roles, the women I meet consistently report experiencing three main barriers to success.

Being seen and taken seriously
Feeling confident and maintaining momentum
Having an impact and being heard

28/10/2016 By Eleanor Shakiba COMMUNICATION boundaries • boundary setting • gossip • how to deal with gossip • how to handle gossip • passive-aggression • people who gossip • setting boundaries • setting limits 0 Comments

Taking Control of Negative Gossip

Abbey was fed up with Tom’s gossip about their co-worker, Jim. She felt uncomfortable listening to it, but didn’t know how to stop it.

To Abbey, Jim had always seemed kind and helpful. She disliked hearing from Tom how Jim flirted with women in the department, held a side job, had been married multiple times or that he drove a particular kind of car to impress others. But she never said anything, because she didn’t want to be rude.

Gossip Busting

1. Watch out for danger

The longer you participate in a gossip session, the harder it is to walk away. So watch out for early signs that a conversation is deteriorating into negative gossip. For example, phrases like “did you hear about…” or “don’t tell anyone else but…” might precede gossip. Or people might look over their shoulders and lower their voices. When these things happen, be ready to act.

Workplace Gossip

Joining in a gossip session at work can be tempting. But what are the consequences to you and your team?

Gossiping involves sharing unsubstantiated information. Gossiping at work is a normal behaviour – it is a way of sharing news and bonding with colleagues. Most gossip is innocent and helps connect people. But when gossip becomes malicious and nasty, it is a toxic behaviour. You can tell that a conversation has moved beyond harmless chitchat when:

28/10/2016 By Eleanor Shakiba TLS Services mediation skills case studies • mediation skills case study • tips for Human Resource Practitioners 0 Comments

The accidental mediator

Natasha and Luke have never got along well. Now Natasha has complained to her manager, Tina.

Tina suggests setting up a meeting between Natasha and Luke. During this meeting, Tina will be taking on a mediation role. There are five steps we’d advise her to take. You can use the same strategies to resolve minor conflict in your workplace.

28/10/2016 By Eleanor Shakiba COMMUNICATION communication skills • conflict management • conflict resolution courses • conflict resolution trainers • conflict resolution training • how to disagree politely • how to disagree with someone 0 Comments

How to disagree without being disagreeable

Being in conflict involves having a difference of opinion. You can air that difference without causing offence.

There are many situations where you need to express disagreement tactfully. For example, you might need to express concern about an idea promoted by your boss. Your parents might have expectations you can’t meet. Or you might need to keep your partner on-side, whilst telling them your opinion differs from theirs. In these situations, you can use the following process.

28/10/2016 By Eleanor Shakiba COMMUNICATION boundaries • boundary setting • conflict management • conflict resolution • conflict resolution courses • conflict resolution trainers • conflict resolution training • difficult people • negative team dynamics • setting boundaries • setting limits • team conflict • team dynamics • toxic team 0 Comments

Four steps for resolving conflict

Conflict resolution is a process which aims to reduce disagreement. It takes time, but it reaps huge rewards.

The benefits of resolving conflict include better team dynamics, less personal stress and increased creativity. The aim of conflict resolution is to create fair solutions, which everyone can agree to. There are five steps involved in resolving conflict.

28/10/2016 By Eleanor Shakiba COMMUNICATION boundaries • boundary setting • conflict management • conflict resolution • conflict resolution courses • conflict resolution trainers • conflict resolution training • dealing with difficult people • difficult people • family conflict • setting boundaries • setting limits 0 Comments

Handling family conflict at Christmas

Christmas gatherings can be tough. Old relationship dynamics can set in and conflict can emerge.

If you want to experience less stress during your family’s Christmas celebrations, you need to abandon old behaviour patterns. Here are three ways to do this.

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