Canadian Small Business Women

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7 Things to Do Differently This Year

sandra

We’re already half way through the second month of the year! I hope you’re year is off to a fantastic start. If you’ve already encountered some setbacks, have no fear – it’s never too late to start over. Every day is a chance for a fresh start, a new beginning. Here are seven things to consider doing differently this year.

  1. Taking things personally

It’s not always about you. Even when it is, it isn’t. Does it make you feel good? If not, stop doing it and try another approach.

  1. Comparing yourself to others, professionally and/or personally

Yes, there are a lot of people who have figured out how to work from their laptop on a beach somewhere warm. If it motivates you, that’s a good thing. If it makes you feel less than or unworthy, quit doing it. Focus on your own growth and development.

  1. Putting the needs of others before your own

We’ve all been reminded that we should treat life like we’re told to handle emergency situations on a plane. Take care of yourself before you take care of others. If you’re not good, then you can’t be of real use to anyone else anyway!

  1. Multitasking

There was a time when I glorified multitasking. “Look at me! I can do 20 things at the same time!” I’ve come to the realization that focusing on one thing at a time actually works better. The quality of work improves, and so does productivity. Multitasking can leave a lot “almost” done, but not quite.

  1. Maintaining the status quo

If change doesn’t normally excite you, it may be time to embrace it. Doing things the way you’ve always done them is just going to get you more of the same, or less. Challenge yourself to change things up this year in at least one area of your life – business or pleasure.

  1. Making excuses

When we want something bad enough, we find a way to make it happen. When it really isn’t that important to us, we find excuses to justify our inaction. Set goals that are meaningful and relevant to you and commit to them. If you’re looking for an excuse not to do something, you’ll find it. Make this a year of action and progress. You don’t want to find yourself in the exact same position, or worse next year, do you?

  1. Playing small

It’s time to pull out those big hairy audacious goals that you’ve been thinking about for a while, but thought could never be possible. You can achieve anything you put your mind to. It’s not just a saying, it’s the truth. Make this the year that you step into your greatness and make those dreams you’ve been talking about for years a reality. Think about how it will impact your life and the life of those around you and just do it!

I’m planning to practice what I preach this year and take my own advice in these seven areas. If you have other ideas or things that you’re committing to doing differently this year, I would love to hear them!

Sandra Dawes is a certified life coach specializing in helping women who feel unfulfilled with their 9-5 follow their dreams and pursue their passions. She holds an Honours BA, an MBA as well as a certificate in Dispute Resolution.She has completed her first book,Embrace Your Destiny: 12 Steps to Living the Life You Deserve!
Connect:
www.embraceyourdestiny.ca
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestiny
www.facebook.com/embraceyourdestinythebook
www.twitter.com/sandradawes

Handling Negative Feedback with Poise and Professionalism

 

Praveeni

Negative feedback – it’s something all professionals deal with. Not everyone is going to love you, your products and services or the way you do business. Negative comments and feedback can either bring out the best or the worst in you as a professional. How you handle it is entirely up to you.

 

Here are a few tips for handling negative feedback with poise and professionalism:

1. Don’t take it personally
This is easier said than done as we all have feelings, some of which get hurt from time to time.  The main thing to remember with negative feedback is that it’s just an opinion, which may not necessarily be the truth. In the business world most feedback is based on your work, products or services so it’s best not to think of negative comments as a reflection of you as a person. People may like you but hate your work and vice versa.

2. Never respond in anger
Whenever you get a negative or “mean” email, voicemail, letter or phone call never respond in anger. If you’re dealing with negativity over the phone simply listen to the comments, let the caller know you understand their concerns and tell them when you will get back to them. The last thing you want to do is to respond to a caller or reply a message or email when you’re angry. Anger can affect your thinking and judgment causing you to respond in an unprofessional manner.

3. Don’t retaliate
If a customer, client or competitor makes comments that you don’t like or agree with, do not fight them. Retaliating and arguing with them will only make the situation worse. Listen to what they have to say and think about whether it is valid or not. If valid address it on a professional level. Do not trade insults or sling mud, if they wish to take that route let them it’s up to you to be the Polite Professional.

4. Distill and understand the issues
When faced with negative feedback it’s important to properly understand where it’s coming from and what it’s regarding. Take some time to process what your clients or customers are displeased with. Once you identify and understand the problem you’ll be better equipped to find a solution.

Praveeni Perera is the CEO and co-founder of Professional Edge Consulting a corporate training company based in Ottawa offering training and coaching services to clients around the world.  She can be reached via Website, Twitter, Facebook or her Blog.