Crina and Kirsten Get to Work

Is it Time for a Career Change?

The average person changes careers up to 7 times during their lives and experts are predicting this number will steadily increase. Automation, shifting economies and an ever-increasing number of career choices are some of the primary reasons that people, especially millennials, are jumping ship.
 
Do you find yourself drained from work? Are you bored? Do you feel like you’re missing something? Are you just in it for the money? You may want to consider whether a career change would give you more joy, ease and satisfaction in your work. 
Crina made a decision to make a big career change to establish her own consulting firm for leadership and organizational development. Kirsten has gone through the process of considering a career change several times during her career and ended up deciding to make changes where she was rather than moving to a different career.  
Crina serves as the episode’s lab rat - opening the curtain on her process, the highs, the lows and what you can expect.  She talks candidly about the challenges. How to prepare, what to expect from the change, and what is there to look forward to?
Join Crina and Kirsten for a conversation that can lead to transformative change and more satisfaction where you are.
 

Isolation-Loneliness in the Workplace

At a time when we're connected to each other 24/7, many workers report feeling isolated, lonely and lacking genuine connection. In fact this reality so common that researchers have begun calling it a, "Loneliness Epidemic." The antidote: Human-to-human connection.
 
Social interaction at work is incredibly important, yet many people feel the effects of workplace isolation. In this episode of Crina and Kirsten Get to Work, our hosts discuss the loneliness epidemic that is impacting hundreds of thousands of workers. Isolation in the workplace can be subtle or severe, but in either case, the effects are significant. Isolation triggers the same parts of the brain that are triggered by physical pain, which means it makes folks feel real bad – and that is not what we want in the place we spend much of our waking hours.
Isolation can occur because of how your work space is oriented, because you are the “only” (whether you are the only sales person on a team of engineers, the only person with children or maybe the only person who is not a gamer), because the workplace culture supports it – or maybe just because the people you work with are jerks. You may be the boss or you may work remotely. All of this contributes to being isolated from others. We know the importance of friendship in the workplace and how it contributes to your workplace satisfaction and productivity. Isolation is just the opposite of those yummy, fuzzy, fun friend feelings.
So what can you DO about it . . .
Recognize your own feelings
Recognize that you need connections outside of the office to fill those relationship needs Make dates for coffee or lunch with coworkers
Join and volunteer for projects and activities that are outside of your normal work
Work in a different space if your office allows for it – you are more likely to run into people Take breaks in the break room
Get to know a senior person
And keep your sense of humor – sometimes the feelings of isolation can be self-perpetuating.
Crina and Kirsten tell personal stories about their own experiences with isolation and how they have addressed it in their own work lives.
Links to more information:
https://slackhq.com/causes-isolation-work

Self Care=Crushing the Patriarchy

Caring for yourself is not self-indulgent, it's essential to your well-being. Regardless of what you're told by the patriarchy, self-care is a way of life, not a product you can buy.
This episode of Crina and Kirsten Get to Work is about self-care, which is a timely topic as we enter into the holidays. It is a busy time of year - and most of us have busy lives without the additional stresses posed by the holidays. Our gals discuss self care as personal actualization - and taking back your body and your time and your pleasure and your feelings from those demands created by our “role” as women.
“Caring for myself is not self- indulgence. It is self preservation, and this is an act of political warfare.” by poet and writer Audre Lord
Crina and Kirsten talk about self-care from the Audre Lorde perspective. Not as a massage or a bottle of fancy bath bubbles, but as actions that put our needs before those of others to create practices that are restorative. Crina and Kirsten discuss their own restorative practices and how to create those so that you can bring your best self to all things, including your work.
Articles of Interest:
http://www.slate.com/articles/arts/culturebox/2017/04/the_history_of_self_care.html
https://www.thathummingbirdlife.com/blog/the-problem-with-self-care

Failures

Failure is inevitable. The only way to avoid it is by doing nothing and saying nothing. Join Crina and Kirsten as they explore their own relationship to failure and explore ways to manage the emotions around this big subject.
In this episode of Crina and Kirsten Get to Work, our gals discuss failure in the workplace. Nobody likes failure but it is a reality in every workplace and for every worker. Failure prevents a lot of us challenging ourselves and taking the next step. How do you feel about failure and how does it feel when you fail? What do you worry about? And why does it feel so bad? Crina and Kirsten discuss these questions in an introduction to failure.
The studies show that women are punished more severely for mistakes than men – in other words making a mistake is more consequential if you are a woman.
Failures in the workplace can be broken into three categories – 1 - preventable failures in complex system - otherwise known as human error; 2 unavoidable failures in complex systems; 3 – error at the frontier where things are unknown. Each type of error has different consequences and results in different learning and that is the most important part of failure in the workplace, the ability to learn and grow – if you can hold on through the embarrassment, shame and whatever else comes your way.
Crina and Kirsten discuss the dos and don’ts of failure. Taking ownership and telling the truth are great places to start after a failure. It is important to get help from others too.
And it's important not to forget how to take care of ourselves after a failure – don’t wallow in your despair, but make some time to be kind and gentle with yourself – it will help you solve problems – and just make you feel better.

How to Combat Miscommunication and Negative Assumptions

In this episode of Crina and Kirsten Get to Work, we tackle the many ways that miscommunication happens and what you can do about it. If you’re a direct communicator like Crina, people may assume that there is some implicit message in what you are saying. They might hear you say one thing, but believe another. Miscommunication can also happen when the listener isn’t actually listening or makes incorrect assumptions about what is “really” being said. Miscommunication is also very common when we fail to listen fully because we’re waiting to talk or waiting to make our point. Finally, we all filter what is being said through our own unique experiences and stories. Many times people hear something that is actually much different than what was intended because they can’t be objective about the information that’s delivered.
Crina and Kirsten offer a few tips to combat miscommunication, starting with the elimination of assumptions. When you hear something that doesn’t sit well with you, do yourself a favor and check in. Ask that person to restate what they just said so that you can be sure you heard it accurately. If you’re using email as your primary mode of communication, practice reading that unsettling email a different way. It’s also great to develop active listening skills that make use of curiosity and kindness. Finally, when you’re the one doing the talking, make sure you’re clear about what you want to say and use clear language when delivering information.
Remember that in order to find joy, meaning and ease at work, you need to get control of how you communicate and the way you interpret what other people are saying and writing.
More info:
https://www.userlike.com/en/blog/causes-of-miscommunication

Lead Like a Girl

Crina and Kirsten are both just back from fabulous adventures and share their amazing experiences with listeners before they launch into this shows meaty topic! Both women are deeply committed to leadership – fostering those talents and skills in themselves and others – especially women.
This show is for EVERYONE. Our hosts believe we all lead from where we are. They discuss the leadership capabilities surveyed in a Harvard Business Review article by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman, ​Women Score Higher than Men in Most Leadership Skills​. What a great backdrop – that women are perceived by their co-workers having the highest rated leadership capabilities – for us to discuss leadership qualities and consider which ones we have and which ones we want to develop in ourselves.
Our hosts encourage each other and the listener to see themselves as a leader and to develop those capabilities.
Articles of Interest:
https://hbr.org/2019/06/research-women-score-higher-than-men-in-most-leadership-skills

Say, 'No' and Do Less

Following on the heels of episode 11, The Crushing Burden, Crina and Kirsten continue their exploration of the things we juggle as professional, working woman In this episode, Crina and Kirsten turn to the practical while exploring how they each manage their time, how their values dictate their priorities, and where they spend their time. Kirsten checks in about her work to minimize her commitments while honoring her values. She talks about how she struggles to juggle responsibilities from her job, community, family and friends. Crina explores how her approach to time management is different from Kirsten’s and likely a product of her willingness to say, “no.” In addition to exploring their own styles, they also offer tips and tricks and strategies to help listeners get a grip on their own schedules. For instance, Kirsten recommends eating your big hairy frog first and Crina encourages listeners to choose themselves first. As always, Crina and Kirsten get real about the need to say, “no.”
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Links https://www.nytimes.com/2019/03/28/smarter-living/productivity-isnt-about-time-management-itsabout-attention-management.html https://www.nyu.edu/students/academic-services/undergraduate-advisement/academic-resource-ce nter/tutoring-and-learning/academic-skills-workshops/time-management.html

Gratitude and Praise will change your work life

In this episode of Crina and Kirsten Get to Work, Crina and Kirsten talk about how critical it is to have gratitude and praise in the workplace. In fact, most workers site praise and meaning as one of the most important elements of job satisfaction. Let’s face it, feeling good and getting acknowledged feels good. When someone notices that you worked hard, did something amazing, pushed through a barrier or overcome a challenge, it makes us feel motivated to do more.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of workers report that they have not received positive feedback about their work performance. Say it ain’t so!! If this is your work culture, there are things you can do to change it for yourself, your coworkers and your organizational culture. Gratitude is not only good for the receiver, but also for the giver. 
If you want to start giving praise and sharing gratitude there are a few keys to be successful. Be sure that you are giving praise in a way that works for the listener. Some people like to hear feedback in public, some people prefer private praise, some of us like to see positive comments in writing and others value a gift or a pat on the back. Positive comments are also more meaningful if they are specific and timely.
It’s also important to know yourself and know how you like to receive feedback. If you’re like Crina, you might even try asking your employer for what you want. 
In addition to seeking external gratification, Crina and Kirsten remind listeners to own their power and accomplishments. Remember that you are awesome! 
Listen in – you’ll be grateful!
 
Links:
https://hbr.org/2012/01/why-appreciation-matters-so-mu
https://www.emergenetics.com/blog/workplace-appreciation-gratitude/
https://positivepsychology.com/benefits-of-gratitude/
https://smarttribesinstitute.com/books/