Sounds weird doesn't it? What do professional or management skills have to do with modelling and ANTM.
If you look really closely, you will find some valuable lessons under all that drama.
Passion
Motivation and drive are essential to achieve excellence. That kind of energy is almost tangible, but remember, if you claim to be driven toward your goal, you should be able to back it up with examples.
Commitment
Commit to it 100% and more. There should be no half-hearted attempts. Saying "I will try" is equal to setting up the possibility of failure and giving yourself permission to stop if the situation gets tough or makes you uncomfortable.
Self focus
Avoid distractions and drama that revolves around others. If you keep your vision clear, you are closer to your goal.
No excuses
Be accountable for your own behaviour. Blaming it on other people, environment or unfair treatment rarely wins you any points.
"When you choose the behaviour, you choose the consequences" . Dr. Phil McGraw
Respect
Respect for others and manage your time.
Be prepared
Study items yourself and then approach others for sounding off ideas and refinement of plans/thoughts. No one is interested or has the time to spoon-feed you.
Take action
While potential is a key factor, don't rely on it to get you out of tough predicaments. Learn to convert your potential to outcome. After all, actions do speak louder than words!
Do your research
Similar to 'being prepared' and 'passion'. You need to be aware of the industry, company, job, role, whatever it may be, to even get your foot in the door. Ever have an interview when your interviewer asks you "So what do you know about us?"
August 31, 2010
August 29, 2010
Reflections
I always pray that my path in life be shown to me. Why did I not realize that paths are made by walking?!
August 25, 2010
Children are the ultimate creatives
I've often thought about, and made this point to the class that I teach, that children are such amazing creatures. You can learn so much from them - their fearlessness, not afraid to take risks, ask questions, cry when they are upset.
Some time back, my (then) 3 year old niece came visiting. She walked into my room and noticed the Harry Potter book on my bed. Imagine my surprise when she asked me "Is that Harry Potter?" A child who couldn't yet read the title; who made the connection from the artist's rendering on the cover to Daniel Radcliffe (whom she had watched on the movie version). How did she know or even guess?
My take-away
Another time that sticks to my mind is when my niece and her sister wanted to ride on our reclining exercise bike. It was a fun adventure for them. The digital display had given up and it took me a while to realise that the batteries were dead. But where to find the battery compartment?
Once again, my niece to the rescue! The 3 year old calmly pointed out the compartment under the display, as if she had known forever what to do.
My take-away from this story
If you have a child story you'd like to share, I'd love to hear the 'a-ha' moments that came with it. Drop me a line or add a comment below.
Some time back, my (then) 3 year old niece came visiting. She walked into my room and noticed the Harry Potter book on my bed. Imagine my surprise when she asked me "Is that Harry Potter?" A child who couldn't yet read the title; who made the connection from the artist's rendering on the cover to Daniel Radcliffe (whom she had watched on the movie version). How did she know or even guess?
My take-away
- Sometimes we need to take fantastic leaps of faith to make things work.
- You don't have to know everything to have a good idea, take a chance, don't over-prepare.
Another time that sticks to my mind is when my niece and her sister wanted to ride on our reclining exercise bike. It was a fun adventure for them. The digital display had given up and it took me a while to realise that the batteries were dead. But where to find the battery compartment?
Once again, my niece to the rescue! The 3 year old calmly pointed out the compartment under the display, as if she had known forever what to do.
My take-away from this story
- We get so wrapped up in the complex, trying to show our intelligence and expertise that we become blind to the to the simple (and obvious) solutions.
- At times, it is a change in perspective that is needed, in my case literally a difference in height!
If you have a child story you'd like to share, I'd love to hear the 'a-ha' moments that came with it. Drop me a line or add a comment below.
June 12, 2010
The Soft Side of HR
In an extract from his book ‘Blink: The Power of Thinking without Thinking’, Malcolm Gladwell touches on the topic of malpractice suits with the mistakes a doctor makes.
There are highly skilled doctors who get sued a lot; and doctors who make lots of mistakes and never get sued. The truth is malpractice lawsuits have little to do with how many mistakes a doctor makes. Patients don’t file lawsuits because they’ve been harmed by shoddy medical care. Patients file lawsuits because they’ve been harmed by shoddy medical care and something else happens to them.
What is that something else? It’s how they were treated, on a personal level, by their doctor.
Consider this the same for people working in HR departments. HR personnel represent the doctors; while skilled sometimes have a tendency to overlook their clients. What happens is that even minor mistakes tend to become glaring errors and cause for dissatisfaction and a bad reputation.
Each human resource professional should have a presentable and approachable image, be able to draw his customers close to him and learn his needs. Without this, we are only people with knowledge but no place to practice it.
Consider this the same for people working in HR departments. HR personnel represent the doctors; while skilled sometimes have a tendency to overlook their clients. What happens is that even minor mistakes tend to become glaring errors and cause for dissatisfaction and a bad reputation.
Each human resource professional should have a presentable and approachable image, be able to draw his customers close to him and learn his needs. Without this, we are only people with knowledge but no place to practice it.
May 20, 2010
May 15, 2010
Creating Rapport
Having a good working relationship is important for everyone, whether it be of a personal nature or for those involved in people management on a daily basis.
How can we build this connection and rapport? A few basic tips can take you a long way.
- Active Listening. Be attentive and reflect back whatever the person in front of you is saying.
- Match the tone of your audience. If they are speaking slowly and softly, a loud fast pitch may annoy them
- Use similar language patterns. Some people talk in metaphors, others focus on future goals and yet others talk about how they feel.
- Be careful about the choice of words, especially when disagreeing with others. Use of the word ‘BUT’ in a sentence creates a negative vibe, making the other person WRONG and you RIGHT. Not a good way to make friends, correct? Instead, use words such as AND, ALSO etc
- When trying to make a point, appeal to all the senses. Paint a vivid picture, use a harmonious tone / pitch, share the same energy levels and so on.
- Look through the lens of your audience. If you are rigid in your beliefs, you will fail to understand what makes the other person tick.
February 21, 2010
Great Communicators Part 1
Communication is the most natural thing in the world, but good communication.....that's a goal to aspire to.
In my search for communication styles, I have stumbled across many great resources and wanted to share them with you.
The first of my tributes goes to Garr Reynolds .
Garr Reynolds is the author of Presentation Design and Presentation Design Zen. His designs are about mindfulness, a minimalistic approach and pack quite a punch. You can view his presentations on YouTube, check out his slides at Slideshare or read his Presentation Zen blog .
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