Monthly Archives: November 2016

The Fine Art of Expressing Yourself

by matheen

Self-expression is essential to our lives as sun, water and air — it’s how we convey ourselves to the world. We express ourselves through communication, our hobbies, our passions, our choices in life, the way we speak, the way we think, the way we live and the way we work. We express ourselves through how we design and furnish our homes, the car we drive, the clothes we wear, the music we listen to, and even the way we style our hair.  Everything is an indication of our feelings, spirits and characters.

However, when it comes to expressing ourselves, expect some roadblocks.  Are you afraid of sharing a piece of yourself to others? Or perhaps you’re shy or an introvert? Do you find that you’re often misunderstood and lack communication skills? Sometimes, life gets in the way and we don’t have the time to express ourselves. Or we simply couldn’t care less. Whatever it is, please don’t let these roadblocks stop you from expressing yourself. There’s a lot of human value in self-expression — it’s a celebration of life itself. It’s an homage to truth, creation, feelings, thoughts and consciousness.  When we share a part of ourselves to others — we are being generous to others. At the same time, self-expression is healthy for us — it promotes well-being, happiness, creativity and freedom! Continue reading

Lindsay’s In Business: Mirror Mirror

Femflection is excited to run its first interview with blogger and businesswoman, Lindsay Uittenbogaard.  Lindsay has been writing the story of her transition from employment to entrepreneur with Mirror Mirror in Femflection for several weeks.  Now, we get to hear more about where she’s got to, how her business concept is taking shape, and how she is handling these developments.

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So, you’ve been blogging in Femflection about setting up your own business.  Tell us, where are you with that right now?

It took several weeks to land the idea I’m working on right now.  It felt like quite an unusual position to be in actually – to know that you want to run a business but not have an idea in mind.

Once I’d investigated various concepts – from an art promotion business, to a one-stop home maintenance service – I have landed on something that is fundamentally about communications for the corporate market, which is my area of expertise. It also covers HR, learning, leadership and business improvement.

So here we are… it’s called Mirror Mirror – it’s a structured team situation assessment tool that helps team leaders with engagement, teamwork and performance.  It’s also a perfect team leader onboarding tool.  We’ve finished the design and are currently testing and refining it. Continue reading

Lindsay’s In Business, Part 9. Awaiting responses

by Lindsay Uittenbogaard (you can find previous parts of Lindsay’s story here: Part 1Part 2Part 3Part 4Part 5Part 6Part 7, Part 8)

So, Miss X and I had decided to circulate the blueprint I had written up to 10 – 15 experts in the field as our “Alpha Testers”. They were each asked to review the document and respond with their thoughts on these aspects:

  • if they thought it made sense,
  • if they had heard of anything like this before,
  • and if they could suggest considerations or improvements.

From Hong Kong to Pakistan, England to Australia, that pack – with an NDA precursor – went out to the most accomplished and well-respected OE, HR, Comms, Learning and Leadership experts I had ever met. Continue reading

What’s Next?

by Carmen Peeren

During my studies in Business Administration, I started an internship in Human Resources at the head office of a large international company. Once graduated, I was offered my first job at this same company whereby I entered the field of Compensation & Benefits. To be honest, during my studies I was never aware of this type of job but as I never had a very specific job choice in mind and therefore chose a more generic type of studies, I was more than happy to take on this opportunity.  Continue reading

Situation 29: ROMANCE

Betsy gets romantically involved with someone at work. Billy advises her to handle the situation in a highly professional manner.

(Click on the pictures to see them in full size)  Continue reading

My career – my responsibility

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“Leaders who succeed take control of their lives. They don’t wait for others to hand them opportunities and they don’t believe they are owed anything. Leaders figure out what kind of glass cutter – or skills – they need to cut through or around their current obstacles.” (Liz Weber)

Personal career responsibility means accepting that you, and only you, are in charge of your own destiny.

Don’t wait for things to happen – make them happen! Don’t wait for a promotion to land in your lap and for management to offer you a new job on a platter. Don’t expect others to make things happen to you.

Choosing to be a victim of your circumstances makes you lose control over situations that come your way. Be specific about what you want. Don’t just think: “I want to get ahead”, but figure out exactly what success will look like. What position do you want and when? Once you have a solid and clear idea of the direction you want your life and career to go, make sure you have a plan to help you excel. Make your personal development plan and make a commitment to yourself to follow it through.

Your career is your responsibility!

Anja Uitdehaag

For more content visit our website http://www.femflection.com

To Hope Et. Al.

by River Ho Rathore

The Voice always makes me tear up. Yes, that reality TV shows that aspires to discover the newest talented voices, and which has already been franchised across various countries. Every week, I turn on the TV just in time for The Voice’s broadcast, eager not only to listen to mind-blowing voices, but more intently to listen to contestants’ stories of hope, passion, persistence and determination. Continue reading

BRUSSELS OPEN SPACE CONFERENCE

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Femflection is proud to be a co-host of the Open Space Conference on “Creating and Communicating the World in 2017” in Brussels on 3 December, an event that will engage participants to look at how they move powerfully into the coming year in the wake of a year of great challenge and turmoil. Sponsored by IABC EMENA (www.iabcemena.com) and Hosted by Changing The Terms (www.changingtheterms.com) the event is participant-led and all participants are invited to present and lead sessions. Participants from Belgium, Denmark, France, Holland and the UK have already registered, and the event will provide strong networking opportunities in addition to the opportunity to speak.

We would be delighted to see you at the event and hear your thoughts on the changing world of communications.

For more information, visit the event site at https://www.eventbrite.ca/e/creating-and-communicating-the-world-in-2017-an-open-space-conference-tickets-28470935334

For more content visit our website http://www.femflection.com

The Path: A New Way to Think About Everything

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Reviewed by Femflection

Harvard’s most popular professor explains how thinkers from Confucius to Zhuangzi can transform our lives

Professor Michael Puett’s course in Chinese philosophy has taken Harvard by storm. In The Path, he collaborates with journalist and author Christine Gross-Loh to make this timeless wisdom accessible to everyone for the very first time.

The ideas developed by Chinese philosophers are among the most influential in history – but the majority remain unknown by Western people. Continue reading

Michelle Obama Has “It”

by Anja Uitdehaag

John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Oprah Winfrey, Michelle Obama, just to name a few, are all recognized as having “it”.

“It” is that something special that is called “charisma”.

“The word charisma is derived from the Greek word meaning ‘gift or divine favor.’  It is often used to describe an elusive personality trait that includes an uncanny ability to lead, charm, persuade, inspire, and influence people. Charismatic people seem to be able to easily draw the attention and admiration of others.  Related terms and phrases include: grace, exuberance, equanimity, mystique, positive energy, joie de vivre, extreme charm, personal magnetism, personal appeal, electricity, and allure.  Usually many of these specific qualities must be present within a single individual for the person to be considered highly charismatic by the public and their peers.” Continue reading