On My Soapbox: What's Going On with Employment?

Time to read: This is a long one. Maybe 2 minutes? I'm on my soapbox after a conversation with some clients.

I nerd out on employment data. I'm not so interested in numbers like unemployment rates, but rather I love to hear what's going on for people in the workplace - what they're thinking, what they care about, and how trends change over time.

Right now, I'm seeing help wanted signs everywhere. Friends report they are having trouble hiring for all kinds of jobs, including things like paralegals, servers, and carpet cleaners. Clients are pissed because their CEOs announced everyone will return to the office in September, no ifs, ands, or buts. The tide is turning, and power is shifting to employees. (If you want to nerd out, too, read this article in the New York Times.)

What is happening and what does this mean for you?

• Demographic and employment trends have been shifting for years. Even before the pandemic, record low unemployment meant that employers had to make workplaces more attractive and competitive.
• Post-pandemic, we're seeing a surge in demand as people make up for lost time (eat out! buy clothes!) and supply chains are a wreck. (Have you noticed that there is no food in the case at Starbucks?)
• Many people used the pandemic for professional development. Online classes. Training. Career changes. They now have options beyond restaurant work.
• Some people saw how vulnerable and expendable they were when the s@*&% hit the fan. They found themselves laid off with no options. Others had to continue to work in unsafe environments for fear of losing their livelihoods. They are pushing back.
• I've heard a lot of people wondering if they still want to be on the path they are on after 15 months of staring their mortality in the face.
• The pandemic exposed the weaknesses in our systems around childcare, other kinds of caregiving, wages, and forced many people (mostly women) to choose between work and kids.

The bottom line: People realized the value of their labor. They realized they are not expendable and deserve an equal energy exchange (money, respect, benefits) for their time and effort.

What does this mean for you?

As an employee, this is a great time to negotiate! What do you want? More flexibility? Work from home? A part time schedule? A pay raise? Training? A career change? A new city?

As an employer or manager, you have a unique opportunity to demonstrate how much you value your employees, what they mean to your organization and show that value by getting creative about what work will look like now. If you think it's just about money and bonuses, think again. Consider training. Growth opportunities. Flexibility.

These issues are complicated and experts do and will disagree. I'm an optimist. These changes are exciting, both for employees who will be valued and fairly compensated for their labor and employers who are ready to create the workplace of the future.

The Corporate Rebel Playbook for Returning to Life (and Work) is chock full of guidance on returning smoothly and effectively. Download your free ebook here.

Please email me and let me know what you think and what you're seeing. I always love to hear from you.

Be well.

It's About Building Your Capacity: Anna's Story

Time to read Anna's story: 1 minute, 36 seconds

It's a great day to be a Corporate Rebel!

Meet Anna.

Anna's CIO tapped her for a big project. Leadership trusts her. The project is strategic level work, will have huge impact and stands to make a big difference to her company. It's a plum opportunity and will set her career well into the future. Anna's excited.

And scared. As she put it, "It's lots of opportunity and lots of pressure." When Anna and I talked, she said, stress wakes her up at night, causes her to second-guess her every move, diminishes her focus, and makes her short-tempered. "Daunting" and "freaking out" describe how she feels.

Anna was relieved when I explained what was going on. She has the skills and experience. This is the perfect next step for her. And in order to keep up with the next step in her career, it's time for her to build her capacity. She joined Clarity U as investment in her capacity - her ability to trust herself, show up as a powerful leader, make efficient decisions, and streamline her personal efficiency and effectiveness so she feels confident in her new role. Her main goal? Knock this opportunity out of the park.

Here's what happens in a forward moving career:

You are given opportunities (or you seek opportunities) then you have to grow your capacity in order to succeed. Once your capacity grows, new opportunities arise. It's a toggle back and forth onward and forever. The problem is, capacity-building gets left off the table which results in over-working, stress, second-guessing, fear of failure, and control - behaviors which will either ensure your failure or leave you burned out and exhausted from striving to prove yourself.

Clarity U invites you to get off the hamster wheel of proving yourself and instead, build the internal beliefs and qualities that enable you to make powerful choices toward the career and life you want. Increased capacity = more opportunity.

Do you feel like you need one more certification to get to that next level? Do you sense a gap between where you are and where you want to be? I invite you to consider Clarity U. Let's talk ASAP. The door closes on October 21 at 12:00 CT (the time of our first session).

I have cleared time on October 19 and 20. Please choose a 30-minute spot on my personal calendar here. If none of these times work for you, please email me, and we'll find a time. If your intrigued, I want you get the information you need in order to take your next powerful step - whether that's Clarity U. Or not.

The cohort is filled with people like Anna who have declared themselves ready to create their future. Ready to join them?

I look forward to connecting. Choose a time here.

(And I know Clarity U is not for everyone. If you're, like, let's get back to the regular newsletters, We will. We're back to regular Corporate Rebel programming on October 22.)

I can't wait to connect.

Christina

Are You Tired of Change? Do These 5 Things.

If you're anything like me when you were in college, you thought that at some point, your life would stabilize and you'd ride out the rest of your adulthood in peace. If only that were true.

It only takes minutes into your adulthood to realize that change is the name of the game. Here is a short list of examples:

• A new manager

• Aging parents

• Two words: corporate restructuring

• Choosing a partner

• Kids going to college

• Moving

• Changing jobs

• Being promoted

That list alone is enough to make you stop breathing, take to your bed, and ask to be awakened when things get back to "normal."

I received this quote a few weeks ago, and it stopped me in my tracks:

“If you don’t like change, you are going to like irrelevance even less.” — General Shinseki

Well…. yes... I had to admit that it's true. If you look back over various times in your life, change was a prominent feature (even in college). And if you didn't embrace change, what were you going to do? Continue to live in a dorm and eat ramen noodles out of a hot pot? Not an attractive option.

So, if change is the only stability, what do you do to stay sane and prevent overwhelm? Here are five things you can do to maintain your peace of mind in the face of constant change:

1. Expect change. In every situation. If you don't resist change and aren't surprised by it, you will be able to handle it more gracefully.

2. Stay present. Just because change is inevitable doesn't mean you have to worry about it. Just stay where you are and focus on right now.

3. When everyone is healthy and things are good at work, be grateful and enjoy yourself!

4. Plan for change. Embrace the changes in your industry and learn the skills to keep up with those changes. Go to conferences. Read articles by opinion leaders. Never let the words, "that's the way we've always done it" fall from your lips. By doing these things, you'll stay relevant.

5. Change your attitude about change. Start to see change as a grand adventure rather than as a scary future. Start to see it as the path to learning rather than a roadblock to your progress. You have to manage change anyway. You may as well make it fun and useful.

If you do these 5 things, you'll stay relevant and current. You'll have opportunities when things change. You'll be ready to weather change more smoothly. And you'll feel a whole lot better when change inevitably happens.

I hope this helps!

With rebel love,

Christina

P.S. The Corporate Rebel Unplugged Video Podcast starts on November 30. I can't wait! My first guest is a corporate VP who I fondly call the Eternal YES! She will show you how being yourself and living according to your priorities will lead to professional success! You are going to love her. As a Corporate Rebel Insider, you will receive these videos as part of your regular newsletter subscription.

P.P.S. Will you do me a favor? Please share The Corporate Rebel Unplugged Video Podcast with your colleagues and friends. They can become part of the inside crowd who hears about the interviews first (like you). Simply forward this email, and they can become an insider here.

A Surprising Take On Opportunity

Last week, I attended a presentation at a big company as part of a coaching gig in their women's leadership program. The women in my coaching group were shocked by something one of the speakers said. I want to share it with you so you can experience the same sense of liberation my group did.

He said,

It's ok to say no to opportunities.

What? 

Really?

Most of us are trying to maximize opportunities, seek out new ones, and generally advance our careers on a pathway of YES! Saying no to an opportunity seems counter-intuitive. 

This comment reminded me of a long-buried personal story:

Years ago, when I worked in HR, one of the directors I supported offered me a management position to lead the team that was strategizing the technology and processes needed to leverage mobile IT for our company. The offer came with a $1000 per month raise. (I still dream about that raise.)

I said no.

I wanted to be in management, but honestly, mobile IT held no juice for me. Yes, I'd make more money and be catapulted up the leadership chain, and I'd spend my days dealing with tech and systems that bored me. I stayed in the HR role I loved and moved into management through a different path.

Just because an opportunity is an opportunity doesn't mean it's YOUR opportunity. (ooohhh…Tweet that!)

Evaluate each opportunity according to your goals and plans for your career, your family, and your life. And if you don't have a clear vision for those goals and plans, that's ok. Trust your instincts. Listen to your gut and make your choice.

You can say no. And trust that the right opportunity will come along.

Oh yeah!

Christina
 

What to do when what you really want is a nap.

Estimated read time: 2 minutes.

Here's one of my favorite images from the interviews. This one will be live in July. Don't we look like we're having fun?!

We've established that I have busted my butt for the last three months producing the amazing Corporate Rebel Series.

What I really wanted this afternoon was a nap. I didn't have it in me to do one more thing.

What I needed to do was conduct another interview and write this newsletter. To say that I didn't feel like it would be an understatement.

This got me thinking about you and all the times you don't feel like (fill in the blank).

Another story: When I was in a leadership program a few years ago we had to do all these terrifying things high in the trees, where we could, like, fall and die.

One of them was this balance beam that felt like it was 6 stories tall. We had to get from one tree to the other by walking the balance beam. As I was scooching across, legs shaking, stomach hurting, doing everything I could not to look at the ground (oh so far down there), our leader yelled out, "This is what commitment looks like!" My first thought was, "Nah. I'm a mess." Then I got it. That moment has stuck with me ever since.

Commitment is not pretty. It's not certainty. Commitment does not require you to feellike it. Commitment requires you to show up even when you don't feel like it.

Commitment requires you to focus on your purpose, your bigger reason for being. For me that means remembering the people in offices who are wondering if they are crazy... who crave the freedom to be themselves while still succeeding at work.

So I put on my mascara, conducted an awesome interview with an expert on executive presence and sat down to write this newsletter. This work matters. Yourwork matters. Let the mattering carry you forward even when you don't feel like it.

Christina

P.S. If you know someone who would like to receive this newsletter, they can sign-up for The Corporate Rebel Video Podcast and Newsletter HERE.

The only trick you need to do something hard

Estimated read time: between 1 and 2 minutes

Ahhh…corporate glory days. (Crazy hat day courtesy of the wonderful Michele Chin-Purcell.)

My clients are starting new jobs and expanding their opportunities and having brave conversations and doing things that are new to them. Some stuff feels hard for them, too. (And they're excited and moving forward and getting what they want).

That's why I'm writing this to you. I said there was one thing that will help you do hard things and as I'm writing, I realize there's a BONUS thing. (2 lessons for the price of one! Yay!)

Here's the one thing:

And it's funny because the lesson is this: do one thing. That's it. I learned this from my husband at 3:00 am after I'd been worrying about producing an Excel spreadsheet for a team of VPs in my new corporate job and OMG, I've never seen Excel before in my life! "All you have to do is go into the office tomorrow and do one thing." He said those words either because they are wise or because he thought they were his best chance of getting any sleep.

All you have to do is one thing. Then the next thing. Then the next until, amazingly, you've done all the things.

Here's the BONUS thing:

Hold onto why you are doing the hard thing. I'm producing a webinar because I care deeply about making sure that your freedom is never negotiable. You told me you:

• feel stuck
• want to get out of your own way
• lack opportunities
• want work/life balance
• are exhausted
• are worried that time is slipping by

I am delighted to keep testing the systems and producing content because I know the process I'm teaching next Wednesday will help you find the peace, balance, and opportunities you crave.

Christina

Inspiration is Everywhere - Even In Your Backyard!

A few weeks ago, my family returned after a week on a farm in Wisconsin. All we wanted to do was unpack, shower, and go to bed. And, outside, our cherry tree was bursting with ripe cherries that were ready to be picked RIGHT NOW. The last thing we wanted to do was deal with those cherries. 

An hour later, we were in that tree, pulling down handfuls of cherries and staying up late pitting and freezing them.
 
This is where this story is about you.
 
There are amazing opportunities bursting right in front of you RIGHT NOW. And being tired and busy with other things is no excuse to miss them. Maybe you know that you’re ready for a promotion, a challenging new assignment, to go part-time, to change jobs, to strike out on your own, or to redirect your focus.

Or maybe you just have a sense that something wants to change and you’re not sure what it is.
 
Do these things:

• Pull your head up from all the day-to-day stuff that weighs you down. Even if it’s only 5 or 10 minutes of silence at your desk.
   
• Open your eyes. See what’s right in front of you.
   
• Allow yourself to dream, even for a minute. Remember how you spent your time when you were eight.

Life is too short to just get by and survive. You’ve got this one wonderful life. Get in your cherry tree and start pulling down the ripe handfuls that are waiting for you to grab them.
 
And this winter, when you’re munching on my signature cherry crisp recipe (get it here!) and enjoying your awesome new project or your newfound free time, you’ll be glad you did.
 
Get out there and dream!
 
Christina
 
P.S. After my first newsletter, many of you asked if you could share it with your friends and colleagues. HELL YES! Please forward this newsletter to your peeps. Your friends can click here to join the fun!