My Crazy Office | K Squared Enterprises

My Crazy Office is a weekly workplace podcast dedicated to helping listeners navigate their careers. Executive coach Kathi Elster and career therapist Katherine Crowley combine their expertise to solve both serious and silly situations at work. Join Kathi and Katherine as they answer real workplace questions with solid advice and a side of humor. Do you have someone or something at work that’s driving your crazy? Send your questions to info@mycrazyoffice.co. (All submissions kept confidential.)

HItting the Pause Button

January 29, 2013

If you’re feeling overwhelmed; if it seems like you never get any traction on the projects that you truly care about, try hitting the pause button.

The next time someone insists that you take on a new task, ask for a moment to think about it. If you’re at your desk feeling pulled in ten directions, close all your files (paper and digital) for a minute. Hit the pause button, allow your brain to re-boot and discover its priorities.

Pause long enough to evaluate what efforts are worth your time and what can simply wait. “I don’t have time to pause,” you argue. Can you afford not to?

Try it.

Do your expectations turn into resentments?

January 15, 2013

Sometimes, you may expect something from someone at work, and their failure to deliver creates feelings of resentment.

It might involve something simple like your co-worker greeting you “hello” or your boss saying, “thank you,”

Or perhaps you rush to produce something for the team and no one acknowledges your effort.

Maybe you’re expecting a promotion or a raise, and when it doesn’t come, a big resentment bubbles up inside of you.

It’s fine to have expectations, but if you don’t communicate them to the people who count, you could just be baking resentments.

The next time you find yourself resenting another person at work, consider whether you had an expectation of that individual that he or she failed to fulfill. If so, you may own half of the resentment.

Is there someone who you resent at work?

January 8, 2013

Is there someone at work who you simply can’t forgive? Maybe she got the promotion that you wanted, or he said something thoughtless that still makes you mad. Now you ignore her or badmouth him whenever the opportunity arises.

The verb “to resent” comes from the french word “resentir” which literally means re-feel. But that’s the problem with resentments — we use them to protect ourselves, to feel stronger. Yet, they actually make us sick inside.
As Malachy McCourt said, “Resentment is like swallowing poison and waiting for the other person to die.”

So what do you do with a resentment? Well, the first step is to acknowledge that you’re holding a grudge. The second step is decide whether it’s really helping you. What are you “winning” by hating or resenting the other person? How is it furthering your career?

If the answer is, “very little,” then you may be close to releasing it. Don’t worry, releasing a resentment doesn’t really hurt. You don’t have to give up your principals or suck up to someone you despise. You just have to be willing to release the past and protect yourself going forward. We can discuss more about that next time.

Holding resentments make you old

January 8, 2013

Have you ever met an older man or woman who is so bitter that everything that comes out of their mouths sounds nasty? Well that could be you (or me) in a few years.

Let’s face it, people do unkind things to each other and life can throw us curve balls, but if we allow those incidents to define our outlook on life then the unkind people win.

So I next time I run into you and we are several years older please don’t sound like an old bitter person.

What’s the Plan?

January 3, 2013

At the start of a new year, it’s common for individuals to set new intentions, make resolutions and map out new goals. But what if you aren’t sure what you want to accomplish this year? How do you make a plan?

Sometimes, the best way to begin planning is by remembering what matters to you. In our case, we are passionate about helping people take responsibility for their work lives and create fulfilling careers. Our plan should incorporate activities that allow us to profitably assist individuals as they navigate their most challenging workplace relationships and pursue their most heartfelt career goals. To that end, we can focus on producing, marketing and distributing goods and services that achieve those desired results.

How about you? What matters most in your world? Do you care about health, information, art, technology? Do you want to influence others, lead a team, or blaze your own trail? Are you passionate about politics, the environment, travel? Once you tap into what matters most, try crafting a plan for 2013 that allows you to pursue it. You’ll enjoy the journey — I promise.