Career Women Coaching

Slipping on the Short White Coat

What happens when "Sex and the City" meets "Grey's Anatomy?"

In "BURNING THE SHORT WHITE COAT: A story of Becoming a Woman Doctor," Dr. Eve Shvidler narrates the humor and heartbreak in love and medicine through young medical student Elle Gallagher, just as Candace Bushnell does with Carrie Bradshaw and Shonda Rhimes does with Meredith Grey.

This medical chick-lit novel exposes the personal battles that single women must overcome in balancing a demanding profession and the desire to find a trusting and loving relationship.

"While our society is supportive of women and their desire to become professionals, we are still bound by our societal goals to find love, relationships and eventually a family in order to call ourselves whole," Dr. Shvidler said.  "How we get there and balance it all is always a challenge we face."

Dr. Shvidler's inspiration for writing "BURNING THE SHORT WHITE COAT" came from her own real-life experiences while in medical school.  Today, she is a practicing physician in the Pacific Northwest, married with three children.

Source: Eve Shvidler M.D.: Burning the Short White Coat: A Story of Becoming a Woman Doctor

   When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women--Workbook Edition--Paperback   

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The Taking Care Trap

“In truth, people can generally make time for what they choose to do; it is not really the time, but the will that is lacking.” Sir John Lubbock 

Women have been conditioned to believe there is a never-ending list of things they “have to do.”  Since childhood, we have been taught to believe that hard work, determination, and looking after others will get us what we want in life—whether or not we happen to have nurturing natures. 

As coaches, we routinely hear that many of our female clients allow others to set expectations for them.  

Often an employee just has to say, “I can't do this,” or “I haven’t the time,” and the female manager begrudgingly takes on yet another job. We do it because we’re used to picking up, whether for our family or our direct reports.  Because we are expected to act motherly or womanly, we fall into the “taking care” trap, often to our disadvantage.

Source:    When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women--Workbook Edition--Paperback   

Improving the Quality of Your Life   By  Author M.B. Tosi   on April 1, 2013

Every now and then a person runs across a great book that really helps improve the quality of life. This is such a book! Written by top coaches of executive women, Barb McEwen and John Agno, the goal of When Doing It All Won’t Do is to develop solutions and strategies to help women’s lives be easier, richer, happier, and saner.

It’s based on the premise that doing it all won’t do. If you are a woman who is weary and stressed and taking on too much and struggling to juggle it all, this book is dedicated to helping you find the enjoyment and satisfaction you expected with your success.

Well-organized with real solutions and a helpful workbook section, this book focuses on developing your signature talents to do what you do best, developing a formula for success, and prioritizing your values and goals. A great read! 

 

 

Overcoming Procrastination

A new book, "THE MORE YOU DO, THE BETTER YOU FEEL" by David Parker, offers powerful strategies for overcoming procrastination; through utilizing both cognitive and behavioral techniques for people who are struggling with procrastination and disorganization in their lives.

When habitual procrastination is allowed to grow unchecked, it can overtake its victims.  As a result of an ever-mounting number of undone tasks, the procrastinator may feel guilty for his or her self-inflicted predicaments, and overwhelmed by the person's emotions, which can combine to the point where s/he feels helpless and hopeless.

Imagine a person who only takes care of his or her responsibilities when forced to. 

Try to picture this person in your mind.  How would s/he describe themselves to someone else?  Do you think s/he would call themselves a "take-charge" individual?  Do you think s/he would be in good spirits, or might s/he feel low?  What would s/he look like?  Would s/he look cheerful and in control, or might s/he cast their head down--as though perpetually gazing at their shoes?

Avoidance and anxiety ruled the roost, and while s/he's "to-do" list might have contained only a few complicated tasks, the majority of it was comprised of less important tasks.  As time passed, the "to-do" list became the "things I hadn't done" list.

Simple tasks turned into tremendous burdens, complicated tasks seemed impossible to deal with, and one only dealt with tasks when faced with the threat of severe penalties, or because other people or institutions required actions. 

Because loss of interest in normal everyday activities is a common symptom of depression in some individuals, procrastination can actually cause depression.

Because procrastination can be more of a "hidden problem" in contrast to many of the more typical problems that a therapist usually encounters, the therapist may not see the connection between the patient's depression and the procrastination which may be causing their depression.  And so, there is the potential that no substantial progress in the patient's fight against depression may be made.

When you don't feel connected to your tasks, it's easy to become distracted and to float away from them.  In order to put an end to your habit of floating, you'll need to consider taking up a new behavior, one that's the opposite of floating, which will help you stay grounded in reality.

To help overcome floating and habitual procrastination, this simple technique can easily keep you focused on "just one task" at a time.  That technique is just one of the methods to learn and practice in the book, "THE MORE YOU DO, THE BETTER YOU FEEL."

Source:  David Parker: The More You Do The Better You Feel: How to Overcome Procrastination and Live a Happier Life

For specific "things to do" on time management, self-knowledge and other important subjects, consider purchasing one or more of the paperback or ebooks below including the "Workbook Edition" of "When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women:" (Paperback Edition for $13.09)

  Women, Know Thyself: The most important knowledge is self-knowledge.  (ebook for $.99 or paperback edition for $7.99) 

 Women and Time (ebook for $.99 or paperback for $7.99) 

Building Gender Diversity in the Workplace

By Emily Viner, Vice President - Agency Growth & Development at Guardian Life Insurance Company of America^®

At Guardian our work is helping people achieve greater financial security.

Within The Guardian Network™, financial professionals around the country work with individuals, families and businesses to help protect their todays and plan for the futures they dream of. 

My job is to make sure we have the right people and teams.  And now more than ever, research shows us the importance of having diverse teams.  A Catalyst report shows that teams with gender diversity double their chances of exceeding performance expectations when compared to all male or all female teams;* it’s the diversity of thought that drives innovation.

Building diverse teams and offices and remaining relevant to all consumers.

We began by focusing on gender diversity, the highest level of difference among people. For years the financial services industry has grappled with how to increase the number of women in sales. Working as a financial advisor can be a meaningful, rewarding career and the statistics about women’s wealth in the United States are staggering, both related to what we’ll inherit as we outlive our parents and spouses and what we create on our own.

In an article in Forbes by Sasha Galbraith, she reported that women control just over half of the wealth in the United States but are expected to grow to two-thirds by 2020. Couple that with the need in the market for more financial professionals overall and it would seem that this career would be an obvious choice for women.

Unfortunately that’s not the case.  Having grown up in this industry, I’m passionate about figuring this out once and for all and making sure more women have access to a financial advisor.

Today, we’re in the midst of a multifaceted initiative aimed at increasing the number of women financial professionals. Some of the work has included a focus on developing female leadership within the sales force, creating community, provide role models and work to ensure we have an inclusive culture that recognizes and allows everyone to thrive.

Developing women sales leaders has been particularly rewarding.

We learned that many women had not considered a move to management because they had never been asked, so we started asking!

Since we began this work in 2012, we’ve seen a 71% increase in the number of Managing Directors who are females and Guardian Leadership Institute graduates are now 26% women. These women are role models and mentors to the new financial professionals we bring into The Guardian Network™.  And in both 2013 and 2014 our top new agents were women.

Generally women do not widely consider a career as a financial advisor as a meaningful, viable career choice and we need to change that.  Our Be Meaningful™ Facebook community has over 22,000 members.

Cracking the code on gender diversity is teaching us the value of inclusive, diverse teams and paves the way for generational and ethnic diversity within The Guardian Network™.

Emily Viner is a financial services distribution and marketing executive with a purpose and a passion for securing the future of advisor distribution and leaving a legacy of strong gender balanced leadership. There are three distinct areas she currently focuses on: Field Management & Leadership Development, Building & Execution of Gender Balance Strategies and Association Marketing.

*The Bottom Line: Corporate Performance and Women’s Representation on Boards, 2004-2009. (Nancy M Carter, PhD., and Harvey M, Wagner, PhD., Catalyst 2011).

 

Are You Overworked and Out of Time?

Increasing technological advances tend to be the consequence of living where everybody is trying to do more in less time.  Conversations are routinely interrupted by cell phones and text messaging, people are pressing one another to be constantly available and world-wide access means many people are holding very early morning or very late evening meetings.

Our research tells us that it is a mistake to believe that time management is simply about working more effectively, prioritizing or planning ahead.  It is all of that and much more.  Of significance is doing what is important, using your strengths, disciplining yourself to stay focused, and having the ability to say 'no.'

To be more effective, most organizations and individuals believe they need to focus on improving their time management skills when what they really need to concentrate on are personal choices.  As executive coaches, who help people to live a better life by taking control of their own behavior, we know this will take some dedication---but the benefits will be worth every bit of your effort. 

The meaningful and practical recommendations, in the self-coaching books below, will allow you to get to where you want to be both in your personal and professional life.  What operates in the background of our time management behavior is discussed in these books to help you learn what you don't know about how you make choices and compromises.

It is our hope that by selectively applying these time management insights, you'll be able to gain a better work/life balance.

  Women, Know Thyself: The most important knowledge is self-knowledge.  (ebook for $.99 or paperback edition for $7.99) 

 Women and Time (ebook for $.99 or paperback for $7.99)

For specific "things to do" on time management, self-knowledge and other subjects, consider purchasing the paperback "Workbook Edition" of "When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women:"

(Paperback Edition for $13.09)

 

 

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Single Female Boomers

Today's single female Boomers are showing no signs of slowing down in their personal or professional lives. In fact, 50 percent of female Boomers are still working and 79 percent are satisfied in their current job position according to new data from Del Webb, a national brand of PulteGroup, Inc. (NYSE: PHM), one of the nation's largest homebuilders and the leading builder of communities for active adults. 

 

The second in a series of newly released data from the 2015 Del Webb Baby Boomer Survey (conducted online for PulteGroup by Harris Poll among 1,020 single female U.S. adults ages 50-68) finds 51 percent of single, working Boomer women plan to stay at their current job for at least five more years, and 34 percent plan to retire between the ages of 65-69. These findings are consistent with trends seen in Del Webb communities, which show the average age of a homebuyer to be 62 and that many residents continue to work after moving into the community.

 

"We've seen that single female Boomers are happier, healthier and more confident than ever, and our survey results show that those who are still working aren't rushing to retire," said Lindy Oliva, the company's division president. "At our Del Webb communities, we know a growing number of these empowered women continue to work well past the age of 65, simply because they love their jobs. These single Boomers are carving their own paths professionally and personally."

 

Mariann Estes,^[i] a single female living in Sun City Mesquite by Del Webb in Nevada, is one Baby Boomer who shows no signs of stopping. "To me work has always been about doing something I enjoy, being useful and getting paid as well!" said Estes, who is also an active volunteer with organizations that support children in need. "I still work part-time from home editing a monthly newsletter for a California labor organization and I enjoy the challenge. The key for me is to keep doing things that keep me happy, and right now work is still a part of that mix."

 

Retirement Is Not the End Game

 

While the study finds 49 percent of single female Boomers have already reached their personal career goals, many are making time later in life to pursue their career passions. Among those single female Boomers working full-time, one in five (20 percent) plan to use their retirement years to begin an "encore career," a job which can provide greater meaning and purpose, as well as a continued income. 

  Books for Boomers: Reviews & Coaching Tips (FREE ebook edition)

  Boomer Retirement Life Tips (ebook edition) 

More information at Baby Boomer Life Tips blog at: http://sobabyboomer.com/

 

 

 

Guide to a Balanced Life

 

Childhood leaves us with some deep-rooted thoughts and behaviors.  Society fuels our need for conformity and defines acceptable boundaries.

Corporate culture reinforces the best and the worst of both of these things.

While corporations offer programs and opportunities to work smarter, focus on what is important, take risks, and  contribute to a job you enjoy, corporate culture frequently positively reinforces harder workers who react to urgency, are scared to take risks, and continue in jobs they don't enjoy because they need to make a living and don't want to piss anyone off.

If you want to alter your current reality, you must start by understanding where you are, then identify where you want to go.

Gayle Hilgendorff spent more than 20 years as an overworked professional who poured her heart and soul into her job, only to be denied a promotion because management felt she worked too hard.  After years of sacrificing her health, marriage and personal relationships for her job, Gayle decided to reevaluate and take her life back.  In doing so, Gayle found a practical approach to life balance that works.  Now, Gayle helps others to find their balance.

Instead of making drastic changes, such as cutting work time or switching jobs, Live More, Work Better guides readers through making small changes on a daily basis.  It's a quick read that people can complete in a few hours, act on tomorrow and enjoy immediate results.

Source: Gayle Hilgendorff: Live More Work Better: A Practical Guide to a Balanced Life

  When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women--Workbook Edition--Paperback 

 

Finding Prince Charming

Often a career woman has to kiss more than one frog before meeting her prince.

Are you ready for a mature love story between a man and a woman who fall in love with each other for the first and last time in their lives?

In her new book, "A Real Love at Last", author Victoria Leigh Gabriella uses real-life inspiration to tell the story of the struggle to find true love after the discouragement of severed marriages and heartaches.  Even later in life, men and women can still find real love.

"It is almost impossible to find a decent and nice man who can play nicely as Prince Charming for the rest of his life," Gabriella said.  "Hopefully, people who are a bit later in life can still find the real love they want even though they may have been unlucky in love in the past."

"I hope it will give women a romance story they can enjoy, laugh at and relate to as women who have gone through many of the same situations," says Gabriella.  "A Real Love at Last" emphasizes that love is not always easy, but finding true love after heartbreak and even divorce is possible.

Source: Victoria Leigh Gabriella: A Real Love at Last: A Romance in Williamsburg and Places Beyond.

 

  Women, Know Thyself: The most important knowledge is self-knowledge.  (ebook - $.99)

 

 Women and Time (ebook - $.99)

 

For specific "things to do" on time management, self-knowledge and other subjects, consider purchasing the paperback "Workbook Edition" of "When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women:"

 

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Change is within your reach. 

You can learn to manage your time and your life in a way that will give you peace, a sense of fulfillment, and the strength to give yourself permission to do what is best for you.

Hope encourages us to see beyond the present.  Hope motivates us to gain the self-knowledge necessary to implement positive change.  This self-awareness gives us the patience to develop our signature talents into personal strengths. 

The more self-knowledge we have, the more motivation for change we will have, and the more change we incorporate into our lives, the more satisfied we will become with our life.

Believe that your situation can change and you are halfway down the road to making significant changes.  Know that change always comes bearing unexpected gifts.  Change starts with the right attitude and the motivation to reclaim your time and your life!

Source: "When Doing It All Won't Do: A self-coaching guide for career women"

  Women, Know Thyself: The most important knowledge is self-knowledge.  (ebook - $.99)

 John G. Agno: Women and Time (ebook - $.99)

For specific "things to do" on time management, self-knowledge and other subjects, consider purchasing the paperback "Workbook Edition" of "When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women:"

    When Doing It All Won't Do: A Self-Coaching Guide for Career Women--Workbook Edition--Paperback   

Improving the Quality of Your Life   By  Author M.B. Tosi   on April 1, 2013

Every now and then a person runs across a great book that really helps improve the quality of life. This is such a book! Written by top coaches of executive women, Barb McEwen and John Agno, the goal of When Doing It All Won’t Do is to develop solutions and strategies to help women’s lives be easier, richer, happier, and saner.

It’s based on the premise that doing it all won’t do. If you are a woman who is weary and stressed and taking on too much and struggling to juggle it all, this book is dedicated to helping you find the enjoyment and satisfaction you expected with your success.

Well-organized with real solutions and a helpful workbook section, this book focuses on developing your signature talents to do what you do best, developing a formula for success, and prioritizing your values and goals. A great read! 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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