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Articles from Gwendolyn Ward | Selfgrowth.com
- Career Lapses: Raw Talent, You, and Reality - by Submitted on Oct 12, 2011 from Gwendolyn WardA young graduate told me she was feeling like a failure in her first job after college. Her job lacked formal training, leadership, and guidance. Although she was trying to work through it by asking various people for help and working overtime, she felt exhausted and unsuccessful. I asked ...
Views: 914 - Career Directions: Anywhere But Here - by Submitted on Jul 19, 2011 from Gwendolyn WardA friend of a friend was telling me about hating her job —how everything and everyone related to it emotionally drained her. She was bored, unchallenged, and a few other adjectives that meant she was leaving, resigning and didn’t want to work there anymore. She said she spent every free and not ...
Views: 803 - Ageism…Between Truth and Consequences - by Submitted on May 10, 2011 from Gwendolyn WardI spoke to a woman in her late 50’s who was humorously telling me about ending her 30-year marriage. Her husband had an affair and, after she confronted him, he asked her was she happily married prior to the discovery? She said, “Pretty much,” and he then confessed to having other affairs over ...
Views: 1223(1 vote) - The Angst of Transition: From Your Parent's Home to Your Own - by Submitted on Mar 23, 2011 from Gwendolyn WardWhen I converse with young college alums, we often discuss the life between their parent’s home and their own. Whether the transition is from their parent’s home or from college to the workplace, our talks about handling the angst in transitioning are engaging. Most of them were told to go to ...
Views: 1066(1 vote) - Outgrowing Your Distractions: Knowing When To Let Them Go! - by Submitted on Feb 22, 2011 from Gwendolyn WardA while ago, I met a childhood friend and after a few minutes of conversation, I realized…she needed to stay in my childhood. She was gossiping about people I didn’t remember and I felt like I was stuck in a high school, “mean girl” moment. When she finally said “let’s stay in touch” I dodged ...
Views: 1088(1 vote) - The New Year Plan: Are you READY? - by Submitted on Jan 13, 2011 from Gwendolyn WardThe New Year means different things to different people. For some, it inspires change for the better, for others it’s just another year, and the rest of us fall somewhere in between. For the inspired, great successes will ensue. For the pseudo-inspired, great intentions will ensue for about ...
Views: 1081 - Career Messaging: Are you missing them? - by Submitted on Dec 13, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardI was volunteering in a job mentoring program and reviewing a participant’s job history which included several short-term jobs. When I asked him why he left each position he replied “It was the people.” After hearing him repeat this four consecutive times, my polite-self left and I said “You’re ...
Views: 959 - Leadership: Is there an app for that? - by Submitted on Nov 04, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardWhen I accepted my first management position, my new boss told me his secret to managing people was to treat them like whiny children. I asked him if managing people was his thing, and he bluntly said, “No, because I hate dealing with people and their petty issues.” Despite his revelation, we ...
Views: 920(3 votes) - The Unemployed You: Battling Through the Waiting Game (Part One) - by Submitted on Sep 22, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardWhile my boss was telling me that I was his go-to person, he was also informing me that my position was being downsized. It struck me as funny because my immediate thought was…the go-to person is GONE? This happened years ago while I was working at a tech company; a product launch, delayed ...
Views: 894 - Networking: Hate to miss it, but I really don’t want to go! - by Submitted on Aug 24, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardNetworking is touted as the best resource for professional success and personal growth. Whether you are looking for a job, professional development, business opportunities or shared-interest socializing, networking is said to be the key. But like any other key, it doesn’t work unless it ...
Views: 956 - Growing Up: Time only flies when you throw your watch! - by Submitted on Aug 23, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardWhen I was 16, I wanted to be 18. At 18, I wanted to be 21. To me each age meant I was grown; what I never considered was the growth I needed between them — because maturing is a process that brings along two friends: responsibility and challenges. Every professional or personal challenge I ...
Views: 1500(1 vote) - Bullies At Work: Exceeding Corporate Limits - by Submitted on Jun 11, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardWhen a friend asked me to write about workplace bullying, I remembered the first time I was bullied by a senior manager. She told me I was doing a great job but needed to learn how to “kiss her a#$” (her words) for a promotion. Her boldness took me off guard and I blurted, “that aint NEVER going ...
Views: 1342 - Career Bliss: Happily Ever Now What? - by Submitted on May 12, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardTrying to find the ideal job is like trying to find the ideal mate. Mr. Right may sound good on paper but off of it, his issues coupled with yours may overflow a newsstand. So what do you do? 1)Decide quickly based on the first few meetings that “he’s just not that into you” or vice versa ...
Views: 944 - The Accidental Manager: In some train wrecks you may be the train! - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardWhen talking about workplace “traumas” from senior management to the front desk, a common theme is ineffective managers and why they exist. Frequent complaints center on promotions stemming from seniority only, office politics or some other ‘What Dah?’ advancement that is more mysterious than ...
Views: 910(3 votes) - Exiting Gracefully: It’s Complicated! - by Submitted on Mar 17, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardYears ago, I was hired to replace a manager who was staying with the company but moving to another department. In my first meeting with the manager, she provided a synopsis of the 35-member team, identifying winners, troublemakers and the borderline losers (her words). I don’t know what part of ...
Views: 901(4 votes) - Painfully Employed: They got it bad and that aint good - by Submitted on Mar 04, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardWhen I was 13, I heard my great aunt say that she purchased an expensive car because she hated her job and needed an incentive to stay. Years later, when I struggled with my own discontent and watched others struggles with theirs, her words resonated with me. I may have been gainfully employed ...
Views: 823(1 vote) - Giving Advice: Come again when you can't stay so long! - by Submitted on Mar 04, 2010 from Gwendolyn WardA friend was buying cigarettes and a stranger said, “The surgeon general said smoking can be hazardous to your health.” My friend responded, “Did they also tell you that #$!@ing with me can be hazardous to your health?” The stranger opted to move to another line. When my friend told me ...
Views: 1720(2 votes)