Professional Profiles - Why Writing About Yourself is So Hard

If you have a website or blog, or consult with clients then you need a
personal profile. A personal profile tells people about who you are,
your expertise and experience and helps to create a human face to your
business. Depending on your industry it can also help clients choose
between particular consultants for a project or job, or create buzz
and interest to hear you speak or buy your product.

It is also one of the hardest things to write - particularly if you
are writing about yourself! Many profiles end up as a dry
regurgitation of a career resume, with all of the personality removed
from the process. Others end up sounding like you are a packet of soap
powder with a set of steak knives thrown in with breathless "but wait
there's more" style of writing. Still other personal profiles end up
looking like a stand up comedy routine, except the audience isn't
looking for a clown, they want to see the real you.

The best profiles are written from the heart, with enough details to
allow people to connect with you as an individual. When written from
the heart, good profiles will help you attract the customers and
people who truly resonate with you and your message. Your personality
will not overshadow the message you want to convey but will highlight
the core intent of you and your work.

Why is writing professional profiles so hard? Personal and
professional profiles are where you are declaring to the universe
"This is me". It is where you are showing your best and most human
face to your clients so they can resonate with who you are and where
you have come from. It is a testament to your personal journey in life
and business and many people are afraid their success will be judged
and they will be found wanting.

Personal and professional profiles are an intensely private process
and writing an effective profile can be as challenging as any personal
growth exercise. It triggers every fear of waiting to be chosen for a
team when you were a child and wanting desperately not to be the last
one chosen.

Writing a profile triggers the same psychological reactions that we
see in life with people hiding, obscuring or even denying parts of
their personality or life. Some people hide their true personality
with a mask of humour, or try and dazzle with a mask of glamour and
excitement, still others fade into the wallpaper. When you write a
profile yourself it is easy to deny, delete or distort your facts and
not be aware of the mental block you are working around.

Some people want to put in every part of their life into their
profiles afraid that if they miss any detail that people won't "get"
who they are. Have you ever been to a party or on public transport and
strike up a conversation with someone who promptly tells you every
intimate detail of their life. You are left slightly uneasy and often
can't wait to get away from them. If your profile is too detailed you
are doing the same thing as the intimate sharer of details.

Some people want to be short on content and high on hype of the type
"Ms X is a dedicated career professional who goes the extra mile, dots
every i and crosses every t. Whose stellar attention to detail has
placed her as one of the most exceptional employees within this
company". These sort of profiles are all fluff and no substance and
are often a defence mechanism to stop people seeing the real person
beneath the hype. They are best termed a "Paris Hilton" profile and
people will treat you accordingly.

Others people want to skate over the personal stuff. To only focus on
dry facts of their life as they only want people to judge them on
their accomplishments. These people are often uncomfortable with their
emotions and keep people at arm's length. The problem is people want
to know more about the person they are working with and buying from,
so just the facts will be as satisfying as a glass of water when they
are hungry and they will go elsewhere.

Good personal profiles require deep self reflection, searching
questions and careful crafting of your words. When writing a
professional profile, often a couple of drafts are needed to allow you
to discover who you are now and stretch your personal horizons of who
you are becoming and who you like to work with.

You may find it more effective to work with someone who can guide you
through the process, who can help you shine a light on your true
personality and present it in a positive and heart focused way.

Whichever way you tackle writing your personal and professional
profile, be aware that it is not a simple process. That you will be
bumping against your personality, that it may feel uncomfortable and
tricky and that it may bring up "stuff" you would rather not deal
with.

However, a great profile is a powerful beacon of light, attracting the
right customers to you and to your message. Take the time to go
through the process and you will gain great results.

How to Resolve Workplace Personality Conflict Resolution Strategies

Interpersonal relationships between co-workers are one of the most
important factors in any work environment--and personality conflicts
are a leading cause of problems in the workplace. If two co-workers
continually butt heads on work-related issues, it affects everyone
around them and impacts the workplace in a negative way. If you're the
manager in your workplace, it's even more important that you get a
handle on the situation right away - to learn how you can improve your
managerial skills and reduce workplace tension, I recommend the
excellent guide The Secrets of Basic Mangement Skills.

Here are some tips on how to resolve personality conflicts in the workplace.

Keep your calm and remain professional. If you do not get along with a
co-worker, it is inevitable that a dispute will come up. If you are
confronted by a co-worker whom you do not get along with, try to
remain calm. Don't point fingers or place blame, just let him say his
piece. By remaining rational, you may be able to turn the tables on
the situation. Ask questions to get to the root of the problem and vow
to work together to make things right.

Learn to work as a team. Many companies offer team-building workshops
for their employees to avoid workplace conflict -- effective teamwork
is an important part of any business! If your worst enemy is working
on a team project with you, use it as an opportunity to come together
to get the job done. By sharing a positive experience with this
person, you may be able to put some of those bad feelings behind you.
Be open to the fact that there are many personality types out there
and you will never get along with everybody, but you can learn to work
together for the good of the company (and for the good of your
career).

Go through the proper chain of command. Conflict resolution strategies
do not involve immediately running to the boss. If your co-worker
screws up, don't go running to your boss with the news; but rather
discuss the situation with your co-worker first. It's also best not to
bring up a faux pas during a group meeting--talk to the responsible
party confidentially in lieu of going to upper management behind his
back. By working through the proper chain of command you will avoid
rubbing your co-workers the wrong way.

Watch your tone in e-mails and written communications. Written
communications can often be taken the wrong way so it is wise to hone
your conflict resolution skills in the event you may need them. Make
certain that the tone in your e-mails and memos comes across
clearly--avoid sarcasm, which often doesn't come through well in
e-mails. Also, avoid writing in all capital letters or with excessive
exclamation points--this is what is known as screaming in an e-mail.
Try to avoid petty e-mail exchanges with co-workers that you do not
get along with--instead, try to talk face to face so you can both get
a word in and hopefully resolve your issues.

Contact your human resource department when necessary. Resolving
conflict may at some point call for involving a third party. In
extreme situations, a mediator may be needed to help diffuse heated
work relations. Experienced human resource advisors are trained to
help resolve personality conflicts, so let them do their job.
Sometimes all it takes is an impartial third party to get to the root
of the problem.

Finally, don't let bad work relationships impact your career. Strive
to work well with all personality types. This doesn't mean you have to
go out to lunch with a co-worker whom you dislike, but you do have to
work with that person, so make the best of it so you can all get your
jobs done in a professional manner. The best solution for conflict
resolution is to avoid it to begin with.

By Victoria Miller

Five Steps to Effectively Manage Team Conflict

Teams often avoid conflict, fearing that it will disrupt the interpersonal relationships of team members and lead to poorer results. However, some conflict is necessary, even beneficial to team outcomes. "Passionate, unfiltered debate around issues of importance to the team" is essential to maximize team effectiveness (Lencioni, 2005, p. 37). In fact, one of the major advantages of cross-functional teams is the diversity of experts that come together to address a problem. In such a setting "we expect and want these differences to surface, because, in the end, we expect a better outcome to result" (Parker, 2003, p. 171). However, too much conflict can derail teams.

To gain the benefits of functional diversity that cross functional teams afford, and minimize debilitating conflict, I recommend the following five step process:

   1. Teams should complete a Myers Briggs (MBTI) or other personality profiling instrument for each team member. Many of these tools provide both individual and team profiles. A meeting can then be dedicated to explore each team member's and the team profiles. This allows team members to learn more about what motivates each individual, what their needs are, what they are uncomfortable with, etc... This builds more trust and understanding between team members and may provide insight into how each team member approaches conflict.
   2. Teams should also take a conflict style survey such as the Thomas-Kilmann survey which determines how each team member approaches conflict. "The Thomas-Kilmann Model describes five different approaches to conflict according to how people think about the importance of a task versus the importance of their relationship with people they work with" (p. 131). Individuals may be described as; Authoritative/Competitive; Problem Solving; Compromising; Avoiding; or Smoothing. An understanding of each other's conflict style helps team members recognize behaviors that may impair or impede effective teamwork.
   3. Based on the understanding acquired from personality and conflict profiles, team norms should be set to determine in advance how they will manage conflict. For example, if the team recognizes that more authoritative/competitive individuals may dominate discussions they will recognize the need to build norms that increase involvement by those who may have an avoiding style.
   4. Once norms are set, teams should brainstorm any possible obstacles which may interfere with open and productive discussions. They should agree on which obstacles threaten to derail the team and plan how to overcome these obstacles in advance. Teams that recognize potential obstacles will be less likely to become distracted by them when they occur.
   5. If certain conflicts have derailed discussions in the past, or if the team faces a new conflict, the team needs to address these issues. Too often, teams are reluctant to address these issues because they may fear the damage such a discussion has on the interpersonal relations of the team. Damage to interpersonal relationships can be avoided if team members a four step process for managing conflict assertively. This process entails:

Name the conflict, problem, emotion or situation that is causing the problem. In doing so, team members should not attack each other personally.. Rather they should "WACem" (Pachter and Magee 2000, p. 66). "WACem" stands for:

W = What. Tell the individual or team what the issue is without attacking personally.

A = Ask. Ask the individual or team what you would like the individual or team to change or do differently

C = Check-in. Ask the other individual or team what they think about the request.

As the team discusses the request, they should explore what the possible consequences of the problem may have on the team, the project, the clients, the results, etc...

Reach agreement on how to overcome the problem. Explore the positive outcomes that may occur by overcoming the issue or obstacle.

References:

Lencioni, P. (2005). Overcoming the five dysfunctions of a team: A field guide. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Pachter, B. and Magee, S. (2000). The power of positive confrontation: The skills you need to know to handle conflicts at work, at home, and in life. New York: Marlowe and Company.

Parker, G. M. (2002). Cross-functional teams: Working with allies, enemies, and other strangers. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

Stowell, S.J. and Starcevich, M.M. (1998). The coach: Creating partnerships for a competitive edge. Salt Lake City, Utah: (CMOE Press).

Magnify: "To make great or greater; to enlarge; to augment; to exalt." - Webster

James' vision is to magnify individuals' natural abilities; maximizing their full potential and increasing their value as leaders and professionals in the organizations where they work and serve. He is the founder of Magnify Leadership and Development, a training consulting company with global experience in management/leadership and sales force effectiveness training; and the author of Magnify Change Leadership: A Practical Guide to Leading Teams in Times of Change and training consultant.

7 Steps For Right and Effective Recruitment

After spending around 6 years in Staffing and Recruiting for IT, Software and BPO companies; I learned that attrition rate in all the companies are increasing day by day. The managements of many companies are not being able to retain their permanent employees and it results in decrease of the overall performance of the organization.

After thinking on this issue, I came to one conclusion: The attrition or turnover of the employees start from the very first step and that is Recruitment. If the recruitment is not right, there are more chances for an employee to leave the organization in a very short time.

One should take a lot much care while recruiting a permanent employee and should not only emphasize on technical skills. Even if one has to compromise little with the technical skills of a candidate to make sure he stays with the company for a long time, he should do that.

There are n number of factors which can give the hint whether the person will stay long with the company or he will run away soon!! Based on my experience, below I am listing few points which should be taken care while recruiting a permanent employee. These are my views and opinions based on my experience and readers are welcome to comment or criticize..:)

7 Steps for Right Recruitment

1. Understanding the Requirement

Make sure you have understood the requirement very well. You should not only look at the technical requirements but also try to understand the entire environment and situation of the vacancy. Why the vacancy is there? Is it a new vacancy or a replacement? If it is a replacement, what are reasons the previous employee on that position left the job or shifted or promoted?

2. Analyzing the position and team situation

After understanding the requirement, make sure you analyze the team environment and situation where the vacancy is open. Figure out the size of the team one has to work with. For example, if the team size of the position is 10 people, and if the incumbent has never worked in such team size, he wont be able to get adjusted easily. There are people who only gets adjusted with small teams and there are also professionals who can only work in big teams. This is the case with leading and management positions as well. If you try to hire a person who has led a team of 100 people and if he has to lead a team of only 5 people, there are always chances that he will be not satisfied and not get adjusted in the environment.

One also needs to check what kind of person the incumbent has to work with. Who is his supervisor; what kind of attitude he has and so on. In most of the cases, the study has found that an employee leaves because of his supervisor. Ultimately, the supervisor is the person who deals with him directly!!

3. Sourcing the right person

After analyzing the above two steps, now is the time to look for a right person. Match the technical skills, match the above two criteria and then call him for the interview. Salary is always an important criteria so never forget to match what he expects, what he has drawn, what is he drawing and what you can offer.

4. Gathering basic information

Many recruiters find it silly to gather the basic information about the candidate. However, this is where they make a big mistake. Basic information like birth place, current location, family background, marital status, hobbies etc. make a big difference. These are the details which can help a recruiter to figure out the candidate's current situation, his attitude, his hidden talents and skills and many more.

For example, if you have sourced a candidate who is female, recently married; there are chances for her to ask for maternity leave and the organization has to suffer. If you have a candidate who is relocating himself from his native location to a distant place, there are chances that if he gets a good opportunity in his native, he will accept it and run away. Similarly, if you find out the hobbies of a candidate you can figure out little about his attitude. If a candidate has been a soccer player in past, he may prove to be a good team member. If he is tennis player, he may like to work independently and so on..

So next time you interview someone, make sure you gather the basic information.

5. Interviewing

I will not discuss about the common things we ask while interviewing a candidate. Most of the recruiters or interviewers know what he has to check. But there are some other factors which need to be considered while interviewing. These are not the questions but hints we can get while interviewing.

    * Body Language
    * Facial expressions
    * Speech
    * Attitude
    * Habits

6. Presenting profiles to management

It is very important for a recruiter to see how he is presenting the profile to the management. Once a recruiter has shortlisted one profile, he should wait for few more to get shortlisted. A recruiter should always give choices to the management and not just one resume. The management should have a chance to compare at least 3-4 profiles for a position. So make sure, you always present at least 3-4 resumes for a position to your management.

7. Recruiter as a sales person

I always consider a recruiter as a sales person. He is actually selling jobs to a right candidate and again selling the right candidate to the management. The sales always include after sales service. Always make sure you update the candidates and management about the latest status and keep both of them updated and posted.

Wisten jullie dat wij maar een 7-tal zaken tegelijk in onze bewuste aandacht kunnen houden? Als je wil ervaren wat ik eigenlijk bedoel, doe dan even de volgende dingen terwijl je gewoon blijft staan of zitten zoals je nu staat of zit:

Voel hoe je zitvlak de stoel waarop je zit raakt (of je voeten de grond moest je rechtstaan).
Voel dan ook eens hoe je t-shirt of trui aanvoelt rond je schouders of armen.
Kijk daarbij naar je scherm en hoe deze letters daarop verschijnen. Kijk in je ooghoeken ook naar de kleuren en vormen die je (misschien wazig) voor je ziet boven en naast je scherm. Luister ook naar de geluiden rondom jou, muziek, stemmen, je eigen ademhaling. Ruik of er je een specifieke geur opvalt. Misschien eten dat op het vuur staat, of bloemen op de tafel. Voel of je het warm of koud hebt, en hoe de lucht in de kamer op je huid aanvoelt.

De meesten onder jullie zullen zich bij de laatste stappen in deze oefening niet meer bewust zijn van hun zitvlak op de stoel of hun trui rond hun schouders. En dat komt simpelweg omdat we op elk moment maximaal tussen de 5 en de 9 dingen tegelijkertijd in onze bewuste aandacht hebben. Gemiddeld 7 dus, en daarom wordt soms van de 7 ± 2 regel gesproken.

Als je daarbij bedenkt dat er voortdurend honderden dingen tegelijk rondom ons zijn die we zouden kunnen waarnemen, besef je dat we op elk moment maar een fractie van de werkelijkheid bewust in ons opnemen. En omdat ieder van ons zijn bewustzijn op een andere manier op de wereld rondom ons richt, hebben we dus elk een eigen, persoonlijk model van de wereld. En dat is iets heel belangrijks om te beseffen. De 7 ± 2 regel verklaart bijvoorbeeld grotendeels waarom we vaak een bepaalde situatie helemaal anders ervaren en interpreteren dan iemand anders. Of waarom ons bepaalde dingen niet opgevallen zijn die iemand anders wel gezien of gehoord had. Het is ook een deel van de verklaring waarom de efficientste teams uit maximaal een 7-tal personen bestaan. Of waarom het in een groep van 5 tot 7 personen nog makkelijk lukt om samen één gesprek te voeren, terwijl in groepen van meer dan 7 mensen heel makkelijk verschillende gesprekken ontstaan. Let hier maar eens op als je nog eens met een hoop vrienden op restaurant zit.Het is heel leuk en ook zinnig om bewust te experimenteren met de 7 ± 2 regel en te ontdekken hoe jij naar de wereld kijkt. Sta eens enkele dagen lang stil bij de dingen waarvan je je bewust bent.Kijk jij vooral om je heen, of let je heel goed op de geluiden rondom jou? Ben je je bewust van hoe je iegen lichaam aanvoelt, of is je aandacht vooral naar buiten toe gericht?

Bron: Jef Cumps

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