career

Best Of: Asking For Help – My Crazy Office Overtime, Season 7

August 4, 2020

Kathi and Katherine talk about asking for help on this week’s My Crazy Office Overtime show.

Are you able to ask for help at work when you need it?

Listen to this week’s podcast here.

New Social Contracts for the Workplace

June 22, 2020

A social contract is an unofficial agreement shared by everyone in a society in which they give up some freedom for security. The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau popularized the idea of the social contract in the 1700s, but it’s just as applicable today. A good example is when we go to the airport and go through security. We may not like it, but we understand that it’s a freedom we give up for the benefit of safety in our society.

Social contracts in the workplace have primarily been between employees and employers where employees receive a living wage in exchange for their labor. This exchange would help employees achieve a stable life while employers would be able to produce their goods and services. As the workplace and what constitutes work have changed so has that philosophy of a social contract. Now, because of technology and the restrictions in place with COVID-19, that former social contract is being further challenged.

When reasoning through this new challenge here are five areas that need rethinking:

1 – Working virtually most of time. So many companies resisted having staff work from home for years, but guess what? We learned through the pandemic that it works! Staff have worked harder and have not missed a beat. This experiment of working from home because of the quarantine has proven that working virtually works and people like it.

2 – Flexible work hours. Another lesson the quarantine has taught us – if we do need to commute or take an elevator or fit into the same office space close to our coworkers, then we can not all do it at the same time. In addition, having also having our children homeschooled taught us that we must be flexible as people do have full lives.

3 – Equity and diversity. This is a topic that has been talked about for way too long. Its time has come, and each organization should take some time now to agree that they will hire and promote a diverse team instead of hiring and promoting the same people who look like themselves. It is going to take real effort and a level of self-awareness to do things differently. You may want to seek help.

4– Social distancing, the handshake, and buffet lunches. Adjusting to these social rules is going to be a hard one for me. I’m a hugger. I hug most of my clients. I’m sorry to say I will not be hugging anyone until we have a vaccine. Handshakes? No way! So what is your plan? Will you bow? Greet others by touch elbow to elbow? Wave? And forget about sharing platters of food for a while.

5 – Wearing a face mask. Many spaces including retail stores, supermarkets, hospitals, doctors offices, office buildings, elevators, etc. require you wear a facemask, and yet some people feel it does not apply to them. The department of health in most states is giving recommended guidelines for the workplace so how will your company handle this?

Understanding that Social Contracts are mutually understood arrangements for the greater good, we know that what constitutes greater good today is significantly different from what it was four months ago. How are you going to participate? How is your organization going to participate? Let us know how it’s going at your place of work.

Kathi Elster – Executive Coach and co-owner of K Squared Enterprises.

The Silver Lining – Things I Appreciate About This Quarantine

April 24, 2020

As an executive coach, I try to show my clients that with every awful business occurrence there is usually a silver lining. You may not see that lining at first, but with time you can see there was a lesson of value.

Not everyone is experiencing or seeing the silver lining at this time. Some of you are losing cherished members of your family and dear friends. Some of you may have lost your job and much needed income.

Some of you may feel angry because your gym is closed. Most of us desperately need a haircut. With that said, this quarantine and pause from life, as usual, can be a catalyst for each of us to take stock regarding what might actually be the silver lining.

Below is a list of silver lining comments that my clients have made over the last few weeks:

1 – I don’t miss many of my co-workers.

2 – I’m cooking all my meals and I like it.

3 – I’m sleeping better and don’t feel the pressure to get up earlier than needed.

4 – I like the relaxed attire I get to wear while working.

5 – I have so many fewer emails that my job is more doable.

6 – I’m learning that I like being by myself – I like me.

7 – I’m an introvert so I’m OK dealing with fewer people daily.

8 – I don’t have to commute.

9 – I’m hearing from friends and family that I haven’t spoken to for a while.

10 – I’m reading more, cleaning more, and finding it relaxing.

11 – I’m more appreciative of the essential workers in my city.

12 – Spending more time with my cat/dog and family is really nice.

13 – I can hear the birds singing because there are less cars on the road.

14 – It feels like the planet is healing itself.

15 – I have the opportunity to rethink my values.

16 – I’m realizing how important my supermarket workers are.

17 – I can take care of myself on my schedule throughout the day.

18 – I appreciate my job.

19 – I get to take classes for the job I really want.

20 – I’m learning how to connect with people on line.

21 – I like having access to people and places virtually that are not local.

Hard times teach us valuable lessons that help us grow and plan for the future. What are your silver linings? If you don’t see them at this time I promise they are there. You will see them when the time is right.

Kathi Elster – Executive Coach and co-owner of K Squared Enterprises.

Finding the Essential in Your Work – The Measure of Who We Are is How We Make Ourselves Useful in Chaos

April 13, 2020

During this pandemic, it’s our essential workers who can travel and physically go to work while the rest of us shelter at home. We naturally and deservingly celebrate these dedicated and courageous members of our workforce. We are forever grateful to our medical workers, police and firefighters, EMT’s, transit workers, mailmen, package delivery folks, food delivery people, supermarket personnel, liquor store workers, military etc.

If you are not considered an essential worker today, that does not mean your work is not important and essential at other times. But, many of my clients are wondering how they can be of service at this time. Some are feeling sad that their work is not needed, and some are discovering what can be essential in what they are doing.

How do you become essential? By making your product or service useful to your customers at this time.

For example, you may want to offer your product or service at a very low cost today in order to insure business in the future. If you have a product, it might be time to put that product on sale to make it more desirable. If you are a hairstylist, fitness trainer or home organizer, you may want to reach out to your clients and see if you can help them do some maintenance with a video call.

If you are a travel professional, it could be time to reach out to your customers and talk about future trends, or get them excited about what’s next. It’s best to stay in touch. Remember out of sight before you become out of mind.

Ask yourself:

What will my customers need when we emerge – immediate & long term?
Should we package our work differently – maybe online?
Should we redesign our pricing to incentivize for a while?
How can we celebrate our business as essential and necessary?
How can we make it available immediately for service or delivery?
How can we celebrate our customers with something that is essential?

Think out of the box and be generous. Think Strategically:

Be useful
Be helpful
Be grateful
Be forward thinking
Be resourceful
Be creative and original

We are all in this together, and together we will get through this. All of our customers and clients will once again need us more then they need at this time. Business will resume. The economy will come back, and so will our work.

Kathi Elster – Executive Coach and co-owner of K Squared Enterprises.

The Best Leadership Tactics for Getting Through the Covid 19 Crisis

March 25, 2020

You may be the leader of a large organization, the executive director of a nonprofit, the manager of a team, the owner of a business with a few staff, or the sole proprietor of a small business. It does not matter how many people directly report to you. At this time, we are all called to be leaders. What does that mean?

1 – Be the calm in the storm. One of my clients is the Executive Director of a large retirement community. After describing the extensive plan she’d developed to protect all residents and staff from the virus, she said, “You want me in a crisis, because when everyone gets upset I get calm.” She shared her process: “I make my lists and methodically take care of each item as calmly as possible. I think through what could go wrong, and take steps to eliminate every problem as best as I can.”

2 – Make tough decisions. Confronted with the prospect of several months of delayed revenue, managers, business owners and CEO’s everywhere face tough decisions. One CEO told me she’d asked her CFO for a cash projection for the year. To her surprise, she found out that her organization had more cash on hand than she’d originally thought. Because money will be coming in, she does not have to let people go. Another CEO conducted the same kind of financial analysis for her organization with less favorable results. She is preparing to lay staff off.

3 – Be the positive voice, and at the same time be realistic. It is time to be transparent. I know you’re thinking that the term transparent has been overused. Transparent simply means tell the truth. If you know that your company or department or organization must take difficult steps like letting staff go, communicate that clearly. Describe the problem and what you are doing about it: “We may have to let some people go. We may lose business. But we are looking to secure financing.” Tell them the truth. Tell them you are doing all you can – then deliver on your promise; they are watching.

4 – Care about your people like you have never cared before. I had a client ask, “How are you doing?” I said, “Fine.” She said, “No. Tell me how you are really doing.” That individual showed true concern for my well-being. Take the lead in this area, and express true interest in your staff’s physical, mental and emotional state. I have another client who is holding a virtual happy hour for her employees every day at 6:00 pm – participation not required. If you manage people who are considered essential workers, give them food, drinks, cash – whatever they need. And be sure to take care of their families.

5 – Look for creative ways to give. This is not a time to look for business. It will come if you show and believe we are all in this together. Think Give not Get. Can your company retool and make masks or hospital gowns for medial staff? Can you put your services online? Shaun the co-owner of Seagull Hair salon here in NYC, is putting up tutorials on how to cut your bangs, touch up your roots and trim your beard at home. Think out of the box: How can you keep your clients be engaged without any expectations? When you return to work, your clients will return to you because they received from you.

6 – Make sacrifices. This is a time when you may have to ask staff to take pay cuts. Those pay cuts should not exclude you. You may have staff that are home schooling while their partner is an essential worker. You might want to take on some of their work to lighten their load.

Kathi Elster – Executive Coach and co-owner of K Squared Enterprises.