Category Archives: Articles

Michelle Obama Has “It”

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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 →

Lindsay’s In Business, Part 8. Unjumbling

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

The confidence and clarity I had in my business idea had plummeted whilst on holiday in Scotland and I got back feeling just awful.

RIGHT. This mess needed sorting out.  I wanted to get back to the basic concept and start afresh. I’m sitting at desk.  The house is empty. OK.

  • The emphasis had always centred on creating a better understanding of ‘context’ so that Managers can better engage with their teams.
  • It was about capturing perspectives to get that understanding – listening to what the sponsor, team leader and team members find as important and why, what they think could be done differently, how positive and motivated they feel about things – and most importantly – WHY.
  • It was about better understanding the style of the team leader, and the values of the team members.
  • It was about real dialogue: teams and their leaders talking together, co-creating a shared understanding of the issues, possibilities, ideas and means – where they are aligned and where they could be more aligned and why
  • Then it was about achieving real outcomes – what the team could do differently to move forward together, be that in learning, communication, collaboration, relationships, changes to processes etc.

I was waking up in the mornings, visualising the way this ‘offering’ would work.  A brand name popped up. Continue reading →

How To Land Your Dream Job

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by matheen

Confucius once said, “Choose a job you love and you’ll never have to work a day in your life.” Sounds easy, right? Unfortunately, the path to landing your dream job can be quite a formidable task. If it was a walk in the park – everyone’s life would be less stressful and more passionate.

Despair not, achieving your dream job just got a lot easier with these key steps: Continue reading →

About Mentors And Sponsors

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by Anja Uitdehaag

The difference between mentoring and sponsorship is the level of active involvement in helping you with your career. Mentors offer advice and guidance that help you to grow in your career, in your field and within your company. Sponsors speak up for you on your behalf in your absence, introduce you to people who might be able to help you (and vice versa!), and put you on the radar screens of people who can help further your career.

Throughout my career multiple mentors and sponsors took part in my continuous development and growth, both males and females. Each of them brought in unique experiences that added to my understanding of how to play the game of business. Continue reading →

Lindsay’s In Business, Part 7. The big stone in Scotland

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

My ex-colleague, James had introduced me to a guy called Jeremy, who runs a Leadership Development consultancy in London. I went over to meet him and outlined the basic concept:

We want to find out what team members think is important and why, so that Team Leaders have a better handle on how people understand about their context. With that, the Team Leader can organise more effective engagement and teamwork. 

He was keen.  “Context, yes.  That could be the missing piece.  Sounds good. Let me know when you’re further down the track.”

Good. We have interest from a potential partner.

And now it’s August. Continue reading →

What It’s Like Living With OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)

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by matheen

According to UOCD (Understanding Obsessive Compulsive Disorder) website’s facts and figures, there are 3.3 million people living with OCD in the U.S., of which you have 0.3 to 1% of the pediatric population and 2% of adult population. In Canada, approximately 1 to 2% of the Canadian population will have an episode of OCD with slightly more women experiencing the disorder compared to men in adulthood. Over 90% people with clinical OCD will have both obsessions and compulsions. Some people would often joke about having OCD casually; they think it’s a cool quirk to have. Unfortunately, it’s neither a joke nor a cute quirk for those who are clinically diagnosed to be one. Au contraire, it is distressing and causes anguish for those who live and deal with OCD on a daily basis.

Continue reading →

Multi-Tasking

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by Anja Uitdehaag

Doing several things simultaneously makes you feel like you’re getting lots of things done. However, multitasking is a myth; it doesn’t exist. When you attempt to do several things your brains actually switch their focus from one task to another instead of effectively doing two things simultaneously. So, what you’re really doing is task-switching – switching your attention from task to task extremely quickly.

Researchers and neuroscientists around the world, including those at Harvard, Stanford, and the University of London, agree that multitasking is a problem. It makes you less efficient, less effective and over time, it stresses and even damages the brain. Continue reading →

Walking In A Single Woman’s Shoes

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by matheen

Living in today’s digital age confirms that we are in the passage of a remarkable sea change — the evolution of women’s status — staying single and putting off marriage by choice.  In the 60’s, the average age for women to marry ranged between 18 and 29.  Fast forward to today, that number has declined by leaps and bounds! Kristin Dombeck’s New York Times report last Sept. 9, 2015, states, “The number of women between 30 and 34 who are not marrying has increased by 31% between 2007 and 2012.” These numbers show exceptional attitudinal shifts on women – reflecting that women aren’t single because there are fewer men around; women are single because they simply choose to be.

What does it mean to be a single woman? Let’s see what it’s like by walking in a single woman’s shoes as we navigate through life in various key areas — social, political, family, and financial areas — circa 2016. Continue reading →

You Are Really One-Of-A-Kind

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by Anja Uitdehaag

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life and don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. Most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become.” – Steve Jobs

There are over seven billion people on this earth. No two people are truly alike. No two people can ever have the same experience of life, the same perspective, the same mind. Even identical twins are different. Continue reading →

Lindsay’s In Business, Part 6. Shaping, Goodwill And The Network

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

I’d have to start earning again in about 4 months and was desperate to get something moving. I’d put my CV out with some interim agencies – just in case (all my own work fell apart – I had to simply ignore that possibility) but I just couldn’t envisage getting enthusiastic about ANOTHER project with the same old challenges, the same old inefficiencies, and the same old difficult leaders. This had to work.  Plus now I’m even blogging about it (is that wise?) so it HAS to be a success story! Continue reading →