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Read MoreThe Secret to Being Assertive at Work
Inspired by an infographic created by think-confidence.com.
Want to be more assertive at work?
What holds most of us back is self-doubt - it's time to move forward, and leave self-doubt behind.
In these nudenotes I am sharing my notes on 'The Secret to Being Assertive at Work'. There are 3 super simple and actionable steps you can take to being more assertive:
1 - Know how you naturally come across to your peers.
2 - Adapt your communication style to suit others.
3 - Use your body language to reinforce your message.
For more details on these steps, check out my nudenotes.
Remember... Don't overanalyse, learn from your mistakes and stay positive.
Actually that's just good life advice. haha.
Let me know your tips and tricks for being assertive in the comments.
Want to turn your favourite infographics into nudenotes?
Check out my blog, which outlines my easy 4-step process to get the best results.
Work Out Load
Inspired by Unknown
12 Things You Should Never Say At Work
Inspired by Headway Capital's infographic of the same name.
Have you ever said something at work that you immediately regret?
We all have right!?
Especially in a the creative industry. A place where tensions run high on a regular basis, with passionate people investing a lot of time and effort in ideas which will or will not move forward.
Words can be very subjective. Things can easily be taken out of context by your peers and managers.
Sometimes you can spend hours thinking about some off-hand comment, and how people may have interpreted it.
Only to find out later, they didn't think about what you said anyway.
"The workplace can be a minefield of office politics, stress and complicated relationships. One way you can make your time in the office easier is by knowing what not to say"
These notes contain 12 common phrases you may hear, with what you should say instead of those phrases.
What you say and the way you say it matter, it can easily shift the way people perceive you and your ideas.
Don't underestimate the link between perception and professional credibility.
6 Rules to Simplify Work
Inspired by a TED talk by Yves Morieux, which I discovered through Tanmay Vora’s blog.
How to simplify your work.
As businesses grow, every aspect becomes more complex — and complexity is the enemy of efficiency.
Yves's TED talk focuses on ways to simplify work in order to amplify your output and create a better business along the way.
‘Simplify to amplify’ has become one of my favourite design mantras over the past couple of years — it’s been a useful goal to reach for during the development process.
I hope these six rules help you to discover the power of simplicity in your own design/work life.
Change vs. Transformation
Inspired by an article on Tanmay Vora blog.
These are some of my oldest nudenotes, and I am unsure what inspired them, probably an article from Tanmay Vora, he gets all the good stuff.
Would you rather - the best possible now or something new?
Change versus transformation: both take a lot of work, and can give you positive results.
However, one focuses on the past and the other on the future.
Both are important in their own way, they create a unique mindset to create clear goals for your business.
Understanding the difference and when to use those to mindsets empowers you to create clear direction, so you can work effectively towards your goals.
"Transformation prescribes vision. Change subscribes to it" - Harlina Sodhi
I suppose the real question to ask yourself is: are you reactive or proactive?
Do you wait for things to happen or do you make it happen... I know which I prefer!
8 Portals of Influence
Inspired by an article Tanmay Vora blog.
How can you lead without being in an authority position?
The workplace is changing from the traditional structure of a single leader barking orders 'do what I tell you, just cause I say so'.
This hierarchical system can hide a multitude of sins, including power abuse, mediocrity and oppressive working environments.
Leading without authority is the way forward.
It builds stronger relationships within teams, empowers everyone to be more accountable, and creates a happier working environments.
It's a long, winding road to the develop these leadership skills, but in the long run it'll be worth it.
Skills for Success
Inspired by an article Tanmay Vora blog.
What skills do you need for a successful career?
These are a list of seven skills for success you should learn to help you in the robotic automated takeover of the future!
There was this great quote used in the blog by Socrates :
"The secret of change is to focus all your energy, not in fighting the old, but on building the new"
The only way to beat the machines is to focus inward, develop cross disciplinary mindset, learn new skills and be agile in your creative approach.
7 Elements of Agile Culture DNA
Inspired by an article from agilebusiness.com
What is an agile culture? Do you need one?
As the late great Muhammad Ali said, "float like a butterfly, sting like a bee".
In creative business, it’s super important to float, or be agile: light on your feet, so you can quickly adapt and overcome whatever comes your way.
So I would say yes - you and your business need an agile culture.
This culture needs to be buried deep into your DNA, empowering your business and employees to grow, develop and deliver the best possible results, no matter the odds!
9 Inspirational Lessons from Steve Jobs
Inspired by an on an infographic from Pinterest
What lessons can we learn from Steve Jobs about business, innovation and design?
No matter what opinion you have about Steve Jobs and Apple, you can’t deny that Steve Jobs was a visionary in business and design.
In these notes, I explore what lessons we can take from his work and processes, there’s a few nuggets of gold that I know will be useful.
5 Shifts Companies Must Make to Become the Workplace of Tomorrow
Inspired by an infographic by InfoSys.
What will the workplace of tomorrow be like?
I’ve been listening to a lot of Adam Grant’s podcast WorkLife recently, and I love it.
The ways different workplaces operate fascinates me. It feels like there are shifts coming to our workplaces.
Change is a constant. I’m looking forward to it!
The Iceberg of Culture: Assessing The Need For Change
inspired by the work of gothamculture.com
“Organisations must find ways to change and adapt to the changing needs of their stakeholders in order to maintain high performance.
Organisational culture change at any scale can be challenging. And in order to overcome challenges like these, we often have to start diving into the depths the organisation and figure out what is truly driving the culture.”
Company culture is a tricky thing to build and maintain. It’s really interesting to understand more behind the visible stuff.
We all hate the phrase "that is the way we have always done it", right? So here’s some reasons why, and how, you can avoid it.
7 reasons why you ' Always Leave the Office on Time'
by Unknown.
Do you always leave work on time?
Creative professionals always talk about work/life balance. It seems like this mythical, seemingly unachievable goal.
But is this the best way to look at this?
For me, these two things are not opposite ends of a scale.
They are more like overlapping circles, the best stuff happens in the overlap.
This is where we, as creatives, discover our best selves - learning new skills and ways of thinking, which may or may not be linked to our 9-to-5 job.
Then you can weave it all together to enrich and empower your creativity in new exciting ways.
7 Steps Toward Developing a Remarkable Team
By Unknown found on theaspirationsinstitute.com
Looking to build a dream team? Not sure where to start?
Each step on this list moves you toward an environment of support and shared goals, making your Dream Team feel like they, and the business, are growing.
This makes them more likely to stay in your business, and eventually build a team of their own.
Key takeaway:
Everyone should feel valued.
The key to attracting and retaining a team of valuable and talented people is to ensure that each member of that team feels valued, happy and a part of something bigger than themselves.
How To: Deal With a Heavy Workload
By Catherine’s Career Corner
We’ve all been there, right?
Too many tasks, not enough time to do them, and even more tasks on the way.
Constant heavy workloads can be more than just stressful; they can effect your mental and physical health, both in and outside of work.
Key takeaway:
The key to job satisfaction is workload management.
Many employees and managers can’t (or won’t) understand this — therefore it is important that you provide regular feedback to your team and managers.
Ensure you balance out the positive, the negatives and provide potential ideas for improvements in the future.
However, I hope that these handy tips will help you see how to manage your workload better so you can be a happier creative professional!
Beware of These 5 Motivation Killers
From LifeHacks.org
Having motivation makes every task easier and more enjoyable, especially when you're at work.
These are five sneaky motivation killers — things that you can identify and stop before they kill your drive.
Keep your motivation safe and stay happy at your work.
Key takeaway:
Don’t be afraid.
As I wrote in my nudenotes:
“Probably the single biggest obstacle to success- view obstacles as feedback and not a failure. Allow them to fine-tune your direction towards success.”
I believe a big part of the fear of failure is actually tied to the desire for perfection.
Nothing is perfect the first time around the quicker you are able to realise everything can be improved, the smaller your fear of failure becomes.
10 Ways To Be Sensationally Successful At Your Job
Inspired by Dharmesh Shah article of the same name which you can check out here.
I try to do as many of these as I can, at times it can be a struggle.
As Dharmesh says in his article, “It can seem like an endless Groundhog Day experience”, but I remember that in the end, it will all be worth it…
Just trust the process.
Key takeaway:
Trust the process!
This is my creative mantra!
I believe every task is much easier if you follow a process of thought, especially in design.
No project is too big intimidating if you have a solid process to follow and truly believe in it.