5 things to do to be successful in your career
[bctt tweet=”Career success doesn’t come easy, Chikodi Abani shares 5 things to change for a successful career” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] We all want to be successful in our chosen fields –be it as a writer, actor, entrepreneur, fitness trainer, media consultant, or radio presenter. We all strive to be among the top 5. It’s not enough to dream success, you can’t aim for success while you dilly-dally. You can’t say you’ll lose a few pounds while you keep stuffing yourself up every day. Something’s got to change –be it your thinking or environment. You can’t keep doing the same thing and hope to get a different result. It doesn’t work that way. If you want a different result, do something different. Success is not something you attain by just dreaming. In the words of Shonda Rimes “Dreams are lovely. But they are just dreams. Fleeting, ephemeral, pretty. But dreams do not come true just because you dream them. It’s hard work that makes things happen. It’s hard work that creates change.” In other words, hard work is essential to success. Attitude/mind-set You are what you think! Ever paid attention to the thoughts running through your mind? Are you filled with so much negativity that you can’t stop to harbor one positive thought? There are no shortcuts to success -it’s tiring and sometimes lonely. Occasionally you will feel like you’re headed somewhere, other times you’ll feel like you’re on the wrong bus. In the journey of success, attitude matters. Maintaining a positive attitude when your emotions are all jumbled up helps. You won’t always feel upbeat and energetic; you will feel like quitting sometimes. Ever wondered why lifestyle coaches and motivational speakers stress on positivity. It’s because one small positive affirmation goes a long way. Get your ass off/leave your comfort zone A friend told me that he will like to know me. I found it funny because he knows me. He laughed and added, “I know you. And I want to believe it when you set out to do something because you are too relaxed.” That hit me really hard. Several times I dreamed up an idea out of excitement only to let it go down the drain. Other times, I set out do something only to let procrastination get in my way. How often do we make up our minds to do something only to get stuck in our comfort zone? We say we’ll do this or that but we stop before we even begin. Why? Because we’re so scared that we’ll rather sit and wait for the ‘right’ time or when the coast is clear before we step out. I love analyzing and thinking through a plan. It’s good. But oftentimes we indulge in so much thinking and analyzing that hesitation begins to creep in. You have got to stop over thinking, over analyzing, second guessing and self-doubting yourself. Just get on the train. [bctt tweet=”We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Be resilient According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, resilience is the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens. You can’t be successful if you’re not resilient. Things will not always go your way; you’ll fail, fall and feel miserable. You have to have an insatiable desire to pursue your dreams despite the obstacles surrounding it. No matter how many times you fail, or how often you make a ‘fool’ of yourself, get back on track. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall, what matters is how many times you get up and get going. Keep learning We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit. Most people tend to settle once they get that job or start up that business. They shut the doors to grooming or improving themselves. University days are over, business is flourishing. There’s no need to sharpen your skills, right? Wrong. If you want to stand out, you must be willing to work on yourself at all times. How do you think people like Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie, Omotola or Oprah got to where they are? It’s because they worked on their craft. Ask renowned medical doctors or award winning writers and actors, they will tell you how much time they invest in learning. We are surrounded with so many resources to become better people and thanks to technology; you don’t even have to be in a classroom. With your smartphone, you can have access to unlimited knowledge on a wide range of topics. We live in a dynamic world so there’s the need to stay up-to-date. Do away with distractions “Lack of direction, not lack of time is the problem. We all have twenty-four hours days” – Zig Ziglar Successful people manage their time wisely. Time management is linked to success. It is difficult to attain success if you spend your time on the wrong people or things. Merriam-Webster Dictionary defines distraction as “something that makes it difficult to think or pay attention”. To be successful in your career, you should be willing to set aside your distractions – TV, gadgets, people, social media…; whatever is diverting your attention from your desired goal.
Falling into the gap: life in-between varsity and employment
[bctt tweet=”A gap year is not a waste of time, no matter what our relatives love to say” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] Graduating from university is one of the most satisfying moments in life, you’ve accomplished your goals and now you are ready for the rest of your life. It can also bring a lot of anxiety especially if you don’t have a job lined up. Don’t worry though, great things take time but its how you spend that time that also matters. What you do during period between finishing university and starting a job can actually shape the rest of your career so here’s some tips on how to make the most of it. Take a gap year Varsity can leave you burnt out, tired and overall unable to deal. A gap year is not a waste of time, no matter what our relatives love to say. Taking time off can help you figure out what you want from life and your career. If you can afford to travel, do so. If you have to pay your way, consider teaching overseas or if you’re just looking for work experience an internship at the UN could be a viable option. If you are settling back home you could also volunteer, this opportunity will not only look great on your CV but is an opportunity to help in your local community. Use the time to plan Graduating from university doesn’t necessarily mean you know exactly what you want to do. It is highly likely you spent more time focusing on the next assignment due or exam to write and never really sat down to think about your future. This is the time you have to sit back and plan, perhaps start a journal. Set out your career goals (using this SLA guide), business plan, decide who you are and where you are going. Doing this can keep you extremely motivated and will help you plan your next step. Set new goals, you don’t always have to fit into the traditional path and this may be the time to broaden your career search, you could consider going back to school. Protect your mental health It is extremely demoralizing to watch your peers get jobs straight out of varsity. It is also very easy to lose motivation when the job hunt is not automatically successful; so keeping a positive attitude is important for your well being. Exercising can be a fun way to keep emotionally grounded and fit. You could try out new forms of exercise like Pilates or Yoga which have been said to be mood boosters. Creating structures is important especially for people who find a balance by knowing what to do. You could wake up at a certain time each day, set aside hours to job hunt, set time for writing etc. Creating structure can help you from falling into a slump, when we feel like we are doing nothing we lose our way a bit and so by creating stability we keep motivated. Make your hobbies your career One of the coolest things about having downtime is being able to do what you love most. If that’s reading novels, create a book list and get to reading. If writing is your thing, start a blog. It is a great creative outlet that could potentially lead to new opportunities. Through exploring your passions, you could turn your hobbies in to a possible career opportunity. The opportunities are endless. Online courses Keeping occupied during this period is important to make sure you keep motivated. By taking online courses you enhance your skills and keep your brain active. The courses you could take could be influenced by your career choice because they could potentially make you a better candidate when you apply for jobs. It could also be a smart opportunity to read up on different disciplines, use this time to explore your options. [bctt tweet=”Use this time to work through your business ideas or set your career goals” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] It is okay to not be okay Sometimes life has its own plans for us and timing just is not in your favour. Even though this gap feels like the worst thing that could happen to you it might not be. The time will allow you to work through your business ideas or setting your career goals. Your emotional well- being definitely is vital so taking time off to check yourself may just be what you need. Sometimes time has to stand still for us to move forward.
How Joselyn Dumas inspires you to achieve your career goals
[bctt tweet=”@Joselyn_Dumas inspires herself and people like me every day. Be like Joselyn!” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] When I was tasked to write an article on how Joselyn Dumas inspires us to achieve our career goals, I was stumped. Simply because of all the Ghanaian celebrities (most of whose lives I do not give much thought to or follow on a regular basis, for that matter), Joselyn Dumas was part of my B-listed celebrities. Honestly. But research and knowledge always changes perspective and perception, and after reading and reading all the savoury and unsavoury articles alike, I am delighted to announce that if you were like me, you can be a changed girl now. Unlike what others may think, Joselyn Dumas can actually inspire you to achieve it all. Here is how: 1. Guts She had the guts to quit her job as a paralegal in London to pursue her dream of being a TV personality in Ghana. So how do you contextualize this? It’s simple. Are you stuck in that dead end job, unhappy with your life and atrophied dreams? Leave and don’t look back…with caution please. Follow your passion. Go to your Ghana to be what you want to be. Be like Joselyn Dumas. 2. Body positivity As a woman, Joselyn is endowed —she is all sorts of curvy and beautiful. Unfortunately, some people in the public refuse to stop staring at those hips and start focusing on what she does instead. She has been at the centre of media attention because men won’t stop gawking and ladies will not stop hating because their men are gawking! In spite of this, Joselyn keeps a calm, unruffled demeanour and unashamedly wears clothes that flatters her —not caring what anyone thinks. So for you reader, wear what you want to and do not be ashamed of that body. On a deeper level, this goes to say that you should be true to yourself. It is the first wise step which when taken, will resonate positively in your career goals. [bctt tweet=”Leave and don’t look back…with caution please. Follow your passion. ” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] 3. Wellness Although the cynical Ghanaian public have accused Joselyn of passing off a gastric by-pass as a weight loss plan to justify her figure today, I choose to remain oblivious and believing. Of course, Joselyn knew then that the Ghanaian public can be unforgiving when it comes to overweight TV personalities, so she made the move to join the Weight Watchers’ Club. She had a career goal in mind, and made physical preparations to be suitable for that role. You also have that career goal in mind? Are you reading, learning or losing weight to make the move easier? Consider doing what it takes to get where you want to be. [bctt tweet=”There is a place for a social work. Not every day, yourself. Sometimes, others.” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] 4. Giving back Being a believer in social action, Joselyn volunteered alongside Lucy Quist, MD of Airtel Ghana to participate in a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) initiative. Aside that, she has the Joselyn Canfor-Dumas Foundation which focuses on social issues such as providing for children, widows etc. What should this mean to you? It simply means that there is a place for a social work. Not every day, yourself. Sometimes, others. “A noble leader answers not to the trumpet calls of self-promotion, but to the hushed whispers of necessity.” ―Mollie Marti 4. Sharing your passion Forget that Joselyn is brand ambassador of Range Rover Evoque and Jobberman Ghana. Forget that she was the host of “The One Show”. What does Joselyn have to call her own? There is a crop of entrepreneurs sweeping across the African continent and Joselyn is one of them. She is following her passion to make sure those who share in it also have jobs to do. Joselyn is the founder of Virgo Sun Production Company Limited. What about you? Will you feed the entrepreneur in you? Will you allow others to share in your passion? [bctt tweet=”Are you acting professionally in any role you are playing like @Joselyn_Dumas?” username=”SheLeadsAfrica”] 5. Perfecting your profession Finally, you remember the movies “Perfect Picture” or better still, how about “Love or Something Like That”? You don’t? That’s fine. But you cannot tell me that you do not remember the sensational “Adams Apple” which featured Joselyn as leading cast member, Jennifer Adams. Due to this and other appearances, Joselyn has been branded as part of the professional actresses who are glamorous and best dressed. I did not make this up. Nkonkonsa.com did. So my question is this: Are you acting professionally in any role you are playing? Are you executing that role to perfection? I wish I had a slick conclusion. But this cuts it for me- Above lies the story of Joselyn Dumas. She inspires herself and people like me every day. Be like Joselyn. She can inspire you too!
3 things you need to know before turning your creativity into a source of income
It was Jeff Goins who said, ”A creative is an artist. Not just a painter or musician or writer. She is someone who sees the world a little differently than others. A creative is an individual. He is unique, someone who doesn’t quite fit into any box. Some think of creatives as iconoclasts; others see them as rebels. Both are quite apt. A creative is a thought leader. He influences people not necessarily through personality but through his innate gifts and talents.” With this quote in mind, here are my three tips to getting started as a young African creative. 1. You are creative You were born with immeasurable gifts and talents, you influence through your gifts of leadership, communication and a unique way of seeing things. This is the first step; you must believe that you are. It’s not all about throwing paint on canvas or pumping out eBooks. That’s only part of it. Do you do excel sheets like no one else can? Are your PowerPoint presentations clear and concise, leaving everyone stunned? Can you conjure up delicious meals with meagre ingredients? That, my friend is creative. Untangle that knot in your head which says that you must ‘forget about your hobbies and concentrate only on getting a good job as an accountant/lawyer/doctor’. Do you know people are out here getting paid to wear different outfits every day? (Some do this while holding down a full-time job, but still… getting paid for that ‘I love to dress up’ hobby!) YOU.ARE.CREATIVE. Accept it, embrace it. 2. Your creativity often feels effortless but sometimes, it feels like it takes massive effort Do you intrinsically and effortlessly know how to arrange flowers? Can you look at a plant and know exactly if it has had too much water or too little? Let’s also say that you know how to arrange your office in a nice way, people always wander in and hang around, simply because you can decorate on a whim. You know how to use eye-shadow colours everyone has written off as too bright for girls of colour but you… you know how to use it in the right amounts. Or you’re a writer. Writing romance novels comes to you easily… but sometimes the words just don’t seem to come. You design nice clothes but some days it feels like you’ve designed it all, seen it all and you sit there looking at your sketchbook, uninspired. You are a TV producer but you haven’t had a good idea develop in months. Everything is boring boring boring! Understand that sometimes you are in the groove, and sometimes you’re in a funk. This is normal. You are always creative, but your creativity is affected by so many situations. For example, your attitude, how tired you are, how comfortable or uncomfortable you are in your surroundings. 3. You MUST learn to embrace criticism We are the generation of, ‘Oh, you made this? Well, it didn’t speak to me, therefore, it’s not good enough.’ We are quick to write someone off if we don’t like their work. We are also the generation that cannot take any form of criticism because ‘hating’ or ‘hateration.’ ‘She didn’t like my work; she is totally hating.’ Who made you the authority on all things? When you receive criticism it is important to listen to it, and decide whether it is constructive or destructive. ‘I think what you made was great, and I think you could improve it like this’, is constructive criticism. ‘This is the worst thing I’ve ever seen!’, is destructive criticism. I know you’ve seen it on popular TV shows, and we love to watch because we love to see other humans humiliated. Criticism shows you what is working and not working about your creativity. It makes you better. Embrace it. Learn to pick out the good criticism to help you move along. The way you sit and patiently pick out the bad beans from the good ones is how you must treat criticism. With patience, and determination. Go ahead, get started using your gifts , talents and those quirky things you wrote off as hobbies. Use them to start a business and propel yourself to heights you never thought you could reach.
How to tailor a career development plan to your personal development goals
In creating my own career development plan, I’ve realised the importance of aligning my career with personal development goals. Also, everyone should possess this skill. At the end of the day, we’re the masters of our own careers. We owe it to our future success to do this. Your company’s goals should align with yours Before building a personal career development plan, determine if it agrees with that of the company you work for. Be sure it already aligns to your specific role. That way, you can have a great starting point. This will help you align the company’s goals with the goals you’ll put in place for your own personal career development plan. If there isn’t a career development plan specific to your role, don’t worry. It really isn’t a train-smash. The career development plan from your company will not be the be all and end all of your career. But it provides a good start for establishing your short to medium term goals, and how to achieve them. Determine what your goals are The first step in putting your plan to paper is determining what you ultimately want to achieve. This process might seem tedious at first, as it requires a considerable amount of effort and thinking. However, knowing the end goal lets you clearly define the intermediate steps to getting there. Strategise How you craft your end goal is up to you. One may model themselves after someone they look up to. Others may visualize it in their mind’s eye and work towards a ten to twenty-year projection. Some may decide to dwell on what’s most important and what they’re passionate about. You may actually combine the first two examples, creating a model of yourself. I’ve been using the latter to help guide me to envision my end goal. I also believe as the years go by, this image of yourself will change, and so will your goals. Set timelines Once an end goal has been set, finding the intermediate steps could be done. Ask questions about what you need to do in the next year, two years or three years to get to the end goal. I’ve found that this helps in answering the questions of where I want to be in the very short term, and ultimately the long term. The time frames here can be different for different people. Others may be comfortable with monthly time frames, while others could be more comfortable thinking in years. As I’ve said before, this process may seem difficult at first. But once you start putting goals on paper and executing them, it’ll help you have a sense of control over your own career. Set comprehensive goals A good career development plan is one that spans over different areas of your life. It’s important to note that a personal career development plan will include setting goals for your career, finances, physical/body, social and personal goals. These categories may also be divided according to short, medium and long-term goals. To actually make your plan as comprehensive as possible, your goals are also divided over three and six months (short term). One and three years would be considered your medium term goals and five and ten years are your long term goals. For a category like career, you should have a comprehensive plan and you’d need to set the short, medium and long-term goals. Under each time period, you ask yourself what you want to specifically achieve for that particular category in three months, six months and so on. Once you’ve established what you want to achieve, you’ll need to answer why it’s important for you to achieve this and if it speaks to your core. There are various questions you can ask yourself until you fully understand your goals and why and how you can achieve them. Keep track It’s well known in management circles that you can only control what you measure. The next step in taking control over your goals is keeping track of them. The onus is on you to make sure that your goals are constantly updated. In six months to a year, your goals might have changed. Putting this on paper is important because it shows you the transition in your life, from where you initially thought you’d want to be to what you have become or wanting to do. Keeping track helps show growth. Finally, it’s important to be transparent with your plan and to also remember it is as important as setting goals. Treat your goals like chains and be bound by them. Your career development plan is meant to be a guide that can be amended when needed. With that said, however, changing your short, medium or long-term goals shouldn’t stem from laziness. Rather, the changes should be necessary in aiding the achievement of set goals. After all, it is your guide to navigating through all spheres of your life.
Three ways to build an awe-inspiring career
Within the past year, I have asked a number of young people in Nigeria about their career and the responses have been overwhelmingly similar; they hope to be successful at whatever they do. But beyond just being successful at what you do, leaving a legacy that stands the test of time in your chosen career is simply amazing. For me, it is the way to go if you would leave visible footprints on the sand of time. So how do you achieve that? Use your career to solve problems Whatever your career is —whether you’re a singer, entrepreneur, writer, civil servant, lawyer, healthcare professional, artist, engineer— it should a source of blessing to others. I mean your career should be the solution to that problem that keeps many people awake in the dead of the night. Simply put, whatever career you have chosen should be to impact the lives of as many people that come your way. That’s why I can’t agree less with Denzel Washington who once said; “At the end of the day, it’s not about what you have or even what you’ve accomplished. It’s about what you’ve done with those accomplishments. It’s about who you’ve lifted up, who you’ve made better. It’s about what you’ve given back.” As a writer, I craft words to make the readers of my articles see beyond their horizons, to make them leave the zone of despair and connect with their dreams. Similarly, as a transformational speaker, I make people think less of what and what does not work in their lives and instead, create the kind of future they prefer to live in. After all, the future is not uncontrollable despite what many people believe. You can deliberately build the future you want. Stay in the know, always If you’re going to build a great career, it doesn’t come easy. I’m not saying it’s impossible, I’m only stressing the fact that it’s requires a lot of hard work. You know nothing good comes easy. The hard work here means you’ll have to be up-to-date as far as your field or industry is concerned. To stay in the know, you must be a voracious reader consuming all the latest stuff. The world is moving at a pace and if you are not fast enough, you might not catch up. You have to keep yourself abreast of the latest developments in your line of career. From hard copy books to E-books, there are lots of useful information on the internet. Attending conferences, fellowships, meet-ups, workshops, seminars will also give you the kind of exposure you need to move your career to the next level. There, you would hear from the leaders in your industry, network with the people that matter, and leverage on new opportunities. They are a great way to build an inspiring career. Take the risk, be unique It doesn’t matter what kind of career you have chosen, you have the right to make the huge difference that no one has ever made. But whether that will happen or not depends on you. It all depends on whether you really want to establish a never-to-be-forgotten career record. Take a look at this ageless quote by Robert F. Kennedy; “There are those that look at things the way they are, and ask why? I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?” If you want to build a great legacy for yourself, you will not only have to go the extra mile, you will also need to be a trailblazer. While others in your line of career are asking “why,” you should go ahead and ask “why not.” Always think out of the box— be innovative. And it doesn’t matter how challenging it seems, make sure you don’t feel comfortable with the status quo. Try out new ideas at all times. Your purpose and passion and vision are unique, so should your career As a young entrepreneur, use your business to solve problems, connect people with their dreams and leave a lasting legacy. As an artist, use your drawings and paintings to tell stories that inspire others to work on their dreams. As a musician, let your music give hope to the hopeless and lift up the downtrodden. It doesn’t matter what you do, you can still make your career a huge source of inspiration to the many people you come across. But there’s a price to pay, you have to stay in the know and take risks. You might not end up as Folorunso Alakija, Ibukun Awosika, or Tara Durotoye, you can end up better. Your name will also go down in history as one of the greatest of all time in your chosen field. It doesn’t matter what career path you have chosen, you can do it, too. It’s in you; you only have to bring it forth! Go ahead and build an awe-inspiring career and the world will be better for it. What are your thoughts? I’m eagerly waiting to hear from you.
The Queen Bee Syndrome: When women put other women down in the workplace
With the steady increase and calls for equality in the workplace, some questions have been raised. Does the so-called “Queen Bee Syndrome” really exist? Or are we simply so predisposed, we make assumptions on women not working together as harmoniously as men? In the South African context, the Queen Bee Syndrome describes a woman in a position of authority who views or treats her female subordinates more critically than their male counterparts. You know who we’re talking about. That boss who is extra strict with her employees…but only if they are women. The one who bypasses qualified women to give the lucrative positions to men. She is basically the workplace equivalent of the woman who says, “I don’t have girl friends, women are too much stress.” Academics weigh in on the Queen Bee Syndrome According to Dr Babitha Mathur-Helm of the University of Stellenbosch Business School, who lectures in diversity management, leadership and gender studies defines the Queen Bee Syndrome as women executives’ reluctance to promote women. Dr Babitha further goes on to explain that the Queen Bee Syndrome is a way in which women in executive positions actively alienate and prevent the promotion of their female subordinates. Grant Thorton’s 2016 Women in Business Report shows that gender advancement in the South African workplace has slowed down in the past decade. Can we really attribute this recorded decline entirely to the Queen Bee Syndrome? Of course not. There is no direct correlative data which would support such an assertion. Furthermore there are other challenges which women face in the workplace. Despite this, we cannot shy away from the existence of the Queen Bee Syndrome and its impact on the advancement of gender equality in the workplace. Is it a form of discrimination? There has been much debate about whether the Queen Bee Syndrome is a form of gender discrimination. It could merely be the effect of gender discrimination in the workplace. More often than not, in an effort to be more socially acceptable within authoritative positions in the workplace, women tend to exhibit “masculine” traits of leadership. As we live in a world where “feminine” traits are viewed as a weakness, that women executives react this way is not surprising. If the Queen Bee Syndrome does exists and women find themselves having to strip themselves of their femininity in order to not only climb up the corporate ladder, but to stay there, is there a solution in sight? I say yes. In a corporate world which continues to push for equality, women who are vying for leadership positions need to learn how to compete in a healthy fashion. This concept can be a very foreign to us, when we have been taught to be “nice girls” from childhood. The implication for most of us is that competition is bad. Competition makes us mean as it is not perceived as nice. Healthy competition However in order for healthy competition to thrive, we need to create an environment that cultivates it. If there are no workplace policies to this effect, the only viable solution is to start living it out in the workplace. Are you a woman in a senior position who gets to sit at the table? Try inclusive leadership with your women subordinates. Are you helping them navigate the corporate world? Are you mentoring them? Are you championing for policy development and execution that speaks to the development of women in your organization? If you are a subordinate, stop being scared. Continue to push yourself and test your limits. You should work towards developing yourself so that you become a feasible candidate for career advancement. Are you taking the initiative to work with women in senior positions? If there are no women in positions of authority where you work, how about looking outside? Our challenges as women remain the same whether we are in the same workplace or not.
Why you need to set career goals each month
All successful people have career goals. We know a full time job can make it challenging to achieve said goals but this doesn’t make them any less important. As career-focused young women, the goals we set are our career objectives. They are an essential part of progressing up the career ladder. A great way to make sure you are on top of your career goals in a timely fashion is to break them down monthly. This means you’re only focusing on one goal a month. Your monthly goals can range from learning a new skill or updating your LinkedIn account to asking for a promotion or improving your relationship with co-workers. The choice is entirely yours. Not convinced? Here are four reasons you need to set monthly career goals. Flexibility Let’s be real, when you set yearly goals, you do so blindly. There’s no way of knowing how each month in the year will pan out. Monthly goals allow you to properly consider the time period in which you’re setting your goals. That way you’re flexible enough to consider any drama that may come up. It is as the year moves on that the best times to focus on certain activities are revealed to us. Imagine this, you update your resume January every year. What happens when you change employment within the year? Will you wait until the following year to update your resume again? Now if you take our advice and devote a month to brushing up your resume, you have more than enough time to create a master version saved for when you need it. Easy tracking Monthly goals are easy to measure. You know, tracking your progress towards achieving your goals is just as important as setting them. Tracking makes it easier to move on to new goals when you’ve achieved others. If you set goals yearly, you may end up forgetting some of your triumphs when it’s time to evaluate. Seeing what you’ve achieved on a month-by-month basis is also a huge boost to your sense of accomplishment. You’ll be surprised at how much you get done in a month. Better focus Taking things one month at a time allows you to focus, making goals much more achievable than otherwise. You can devote a month to forming better work habits and increasing your productivity. Very specific right? Trust us, by the time you spend thirty days focused on one thing, you would have developed habits that will have a lasting impact. You can set a month aside to learn something new. This is especially useful for those slow seasons at work where you have more free time. Time management Setting monthly goals is a great way to manage your time while also saving yourself from too much stress. If you’re following our advice (and you should), you may set one or two ultimate goals for the year then focus on one aspect of your career each month. This way, each month, you’re one step closer to achieving your ultimate boss goals. You can even go further and set weekly and daily goals. As an aspiring #MotherlandMogul do you set goals every month? Let us know what your goals are in the comments section below.
How to be a badass? 5 Epic lessons from our favourite TV Moguls and their creator Shonda!
Unless you have been living under a rock, or generally lack interest in everything pop culture related, you’ll have seen or heard about one of these shows: Grey’s Anatomy, Scandal, Private Practice or How to Get away with murder. The brain behind all of these television gems is Shonda Rhimes, the most powerful woman in television. She’s the first African American woman to run three consecutive shows on television’s most expensive real estate: Thursday night. More than being an incredible writer, Shonda is also an example of what it means to be a badass leader and how to turn your dreams and aspirations into reality. She wrote a book recently called ‘Year of Yes’ and it is not only incredibly moving and hilarious. It also teaches many lessons about getting to the top in your respective field. Here are 5 lessons from Shonda and her incredibly written female lead characters: Annalise, Olivia and Meredith. Annalise Keating – Think on your feet For those who follow HTGAWM (How to get away with murder), if there’s one thing we can learn from Annalise it is the ability to think on your feet. She is the fast-talking attorney on the show and is quick to come up with arguments to defend her clients. She ultimately created the twisted story that let her students get away with the murder of her husband. Though a bit dirty and twisted, I still think there is a lesson here. In whatever field you are in, immerse yourself in it, so that you can draw from different aspects when you need to. Annalise knows the LAW. Therefore, she knows how to get around it and make it work for her. You want to be an entrepreneur, but do you know the rules of the game? When you find yourself in a difficult situation, it’ll be those moments you had invested in knowing your craft that will get you through. Do the work, and when you do, be better than Annalise, and use it for good. Olivia Pope – He is not the sun, you are Arguably one of the most drawn out love stories in television history took a turn for the crazy when Olivia moved into the white house to be Fitz’s girlfriend. For those of you who don’t understand why this broke all of our hearts, it would be the equivalent of President Clinton moving Monica Lewinsky into the White House as his girlfriend at the height of the scandal. Yes, it was that crazy. Although there is no doubt that Olivia loved Fitz, what became clear as she lived out the role of First Lady was that it was not who she was and she had the courage to do what she knew she had to: end it and move out. The truth is, sometimes love is not enough. Your life goals need to be aligned with your partners, otherwise you will be betraying yourself. He is not the sun, you are! We need to internalise this to be the Motherland Moguls we can be. There will be times when you will have to make sacrifices, but you should never have to sacrifice yourself. Remember that .ladies, and choose wisely. (Preferably not a married president like Olivia. Let’s try to keep it drama-free.) Meredith Grey – It takes a Village The saying ‘no man is an island’ has taken on new meaning as I have spent the past 11 seasons watching Meredith Grey go through all sorts of heart shattering life events in Grey’s Anatomy. Most recently (spoiler alert), she gets attacked by a patient and loses her hearing and her ability to move for weeks. She has 3 small kids! How will she survive? The answer is simple: she has a village of people who will do whatever it takes to look after her. As I wiped my tears watching all of her friends step up to look after her and her family, I was reminded of how she did the same for each and every one of them at a different time. It makes sense. We cannot rise to the top alone, we need to realise that the people around us have a serious effect on our ability to reach our goals. Get your immediate circle right. And the best way to do that is to be the type of friend you wish you had. This will heavily pay off in the future. Life is full of uncertainties and we cannot control what will happen. All we can do is put ourselves in the best position possible to deal with whatever life throws at us, and a huge part of that is the people you can call on no matter the situation. Do you have those people? If not, are you that person to anyone? From creator, Shonda Rhimes – Dreaming is for losers This point for me was very difficult to internalise. I am a dreamer, it is in my blood. The phrase: ‘dream come true’ is featured on my blog over a gazillion times. Shonda as the badass leader that she is really burst my bubble on that one. The people who get things done are not the dreamers, they are the doers. Shonda explains: ‘I wanted to be Nobel Prize-winning author Toni Morrison. That was my dream. I dreamed and dreamed, and while I was dreaming, I living in my sisters basement (FYI dreamers always end up in a relative’s basement). I actually couldn’t be Toni Morrison because she already had that job and wasn’t planning on giving it up! One day I read an article that said it was harder to get into USC film school than Harvard business school. I could carry on dreaming or I could do. At film school, I discovered an entirely new way of telling stories… a way that flipped this switch in my brain. Years later, I had dinner with Toni Morrison. All she wanted to talk about was Grey’s anatomy. That