9 questions to ask yourself before a major decision

9 questions to ask yourself before a major decision9 questions to ask yourself before a major decisionThis list is a guide for when you need to test your aspirations that require a major adjustment to your life and career.Its a reality check for change. Grab a pen and get started.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreAm I happy?Its a simple yes or no question. If the answer is no then follow with this How will I change my perspective and/or situation to create happiness? Life is short. Dont have an accidental career or life.What does my gut say?Your head is too intellectual. Your heart is too emotional. Trust your instinct.Does this change align with my values and those of the people it will affect?Write down your values? Write down the values of important people in your life. You might have to sell this change. Know the benefits to all parties. And know who it will hurt. Is it worth it?Am I making this change to run away from something?Change for the sake of change is a mistake. Youll find yourself in a similar situation feeling the same way in a few months wanting to start over again. The fears you run from are running your life. Now is the time to turn around, face them, name them and invite them in with curiosity. This disarms their power. Are these fears based in truth or are they assumptions? Sustainable change requires alignment with values, humility to admit mistakes and a plan.How do I make sure this is not a 5-foot change but a 30,000-foot high innovation?Climb to the top story of your life. Look at the situation from a visionary perspective. The mezzanine view is short-sighted. The world is a big place. Write down the specifics of your ideal situation on paper. Then you have a road map. Everything else is passive.What do I want to do more of? Or less of?You know the negative feedback youve gotten in the past? Now is the time to cast pride aside and ad dress what needs to occur or needs to stop occurring. Who will be your accountability lebenspartner for this change?Whats the financial plan and is it sustainable?It may look good now. How do you envision this change financially in 3 years? 5 years? 10 years? Write it down. What needs to occur for sustainability. Whats the plan?Whats the worst that could happen?And what percentage chance does that have of occurring?What are the behaviors and routines I need to maintain my positivity through the transition?What are your mindful daily practices that keep your mind clear, transform doubt, ground you, deliver positivity and keep your body healthy. How will you track them?Here is a link to a free Flow-on-the-Go Guide to track your mindful daily routines.Mary Lee Gannon, ACC, CAE is an executive coach and corporate CEO who helps busy leaders get off the treadmill to nowhere to be more effective, earn more, be calmer and enjoy connected relationships with the people who matter while it sti ll matters. Watch her FREE Master Class training on Three Things to Transform Your Life and Career Right Now at www.MaryLeeGannon.com.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first seven words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people

8 life lessons Ive learned from bosses over the years

8 life lessons Ive learned from bosses over the years8 life lessons Ive learned from bosses over the yearsBetween gettinglaid off twicein 2017, as well as promotions and freelance roles at otzu sich companies, Ive had a lot of bosses over the years. Although they were all very different, they had one thing in common They all taught me something that Ive kept with me from job to job. Heres what I learned from them, and how its helped me grow in my career.1. Dont limit yurselfWhen you abflug out in your career, its easy to be super excited and motivated to succeed. But some people might want you to slow down and focus on the job thats right in front of you. While its important to keep your head down and work hard, its also important to dream big and think ahead. Dont let a boss put you in a box. Keep that motivation and stay inspired to succeed. Do the job you have really well, and then aspire to do more. Otherwise, youll end up limiting yourself to what youre currently doing and may s tray from reaching all ofyour career goals.2. Age doesnt matterI once had a manager who welches younger than me. I didnt know it for a long time, and it didnt matter whatsoever. My boss knew everything about the company and welches really good at her job. She was a great listener, always willing to help and knew how to keep our team calm when things got stressful. Whether your manager is 20 years your senior or a few years younger than you, theyre still your boss and theyre in that role for a reason. Respect them and then learn as much as you can from them.3. Network always.When youre working, its important to get to know your coworkers, as well as meet other peers outside of your company. I had a boss once who always promoted coffee dates, informational interviews,networking events and more, both in and out of the office. She told me to find a mentor and make connections as much as possible. Because of her, I learned how important it was to network. Ive continued to schedule coffee dates and meet new people, and its helped me learn more and more about my career path.4. You can never be too preparedIve always been ato-do list maker, but I had a boss once who taught me how important it was to be prepared for every part of my job. From meetings to reports and everything in between, I learned what it meant to be overprepared and how it could really help you stand out among the crowd. From then on, I made sure to go above and beyond with everything I did at work, and I think its helped me grow and succeed in my career.5. Follow your heartI once had a boss who was a product manager. Now, Ive always been on the content side of things, so working for someone who had a more technical eye was a great experience. It was a great job and team, and I learned a lot, but it wasnt the right fit for me. Ultimately, I was recruited to join another company that was in the personal finance content space. My heart wasnt in my current job at the time, but it was in this new company . I gave my two weeks notice, and my boss really didnt want me to leave. However, he understood that I needed to follow my heart. He was supportive and made my last two weeks there the best they could have been. He helped me realize how important it really is todo what you love every day.6. Dont be afraid to manage upWhen you work underneath someone, they usually will manage you, and help you learn and grow. However, its also important to manage up. I had a boss once who was put into a managerial role after not having much experience. We worked very closely together, tag-teaming much of the job at hand, and sometimes I needed to remind her about things. She was so open to everything, from feedback about how best to communicate with me to my reminders about deadlines when her plate was full. Dont be afraid to give your boss feedback. A good manager will take it and apply it, and appreciate your help in making them a better boss.7. Its important to try things youve never done beforeOn e of my more recent jobs was in content marketing. It was a brand new job for me since I had always worked in digital media before that, writing articles for the web and working with social media. My manager had a lot of great experience and I was looking forward to learning a lot of her. However, so much of what I was doing was stuff I had never done before. I was nervous and out of my comfort zone. She reminded me constantly that it was okay and that it was important to continue trying my best. I ultimately realized that the type of work I was doing was just not meant for me, but I appreciated her support while I worked there to learn and grow.8. You cant the best employee unless you first take care of yourselfThe best life lesson I learned from a boss was how important it is to trulyfocus on self-care. Work is important, but you cant be your best self at work if youre not taking time to rest, relax and rejuvenate. Whether its a day off to go to the doctor when you have a cold, or a few days spent at home when theres a loss in your family, my boss stressed the importance of self-care over work. A boss who wholly supports you both in and out of the office is a rare find. If you ever get a chance to work under a manager like that, hold onto them and learn as much as you can. Theyll teach you more than just a few skills to put on your resume. Youll learn how to be a better person, and a great future boss yourself.This article was originally published on Swirled.

Four ways improv can help you succeed at work

Four ways improv can help you succeed at workFour ways improv can help you succeed at workAs improv comedians, the same philosophyandprinciples that work so well for us on stage also work very well when we apply them to our business.Here are four ways you canapply improv techniques to help you succeed at work.1. Become an active listenerEveryone thinks that to be an improviser that you have to be super quick. We hear that comment after every show You guys are so quick. We always smile and take the compliment, but its notlage really the truth.The truth is that we listen very well. And we dont just listen we actively listen.Follow Ladders on FlipboardFollow Ladders magazines on Flipboard covering Happiness, Productivity, Job Satisfaction, Neuroscience, and moreYou have to be present, you have to be in the moment, and you have to be non-judgmental. You just have to go with anidea. And the way you do that is to listen and then build on that thought.As business leaders and entrepreneurs, weve learned that being a better listener actually makes you a better communicator. Youve heard everyone out so youre able to make decisions without overlooking things. Youre not thinking of the thing you were going to say next youre paying attention to whats happeningnow.In the improv world, we dont know where were going we only know where weve been. So its paramount that we all retain that information because its influencing our decisions, much like in the business world.A lot of people pride themselves on multitasking.But basically all multitasking is is doing a lot of things in an average way.When people are actively listening, theyre retaining anywhere from 90 to 95% of the pertinent information. When theyre multitasking, they may be retaining 40%. If youre at work running around only retaining 40% of the information, youre doing yourself a disservice, and youre certainly doing everyone around you a disservice.2. Practice yes, and . . .The number one rule that we have is to str ike the word no and replace it with the two magic words yes, and . . . Its a philosophy, not a statement.It means that youdont judge anidea. You agree with it by saying yes, and thenyou add your2 cents so that itbecomes a collective idea and both people have by in to its success.People are often no, but . . . Theres a lot of negativity. People will always find the problem or the reason for not doing something.But they arent mistakes in our worldthere are only disruptions from the routine. Improv forces you to solve scenarios on the fly. Were all about finding a work around and moving forward.Becoming a yes, and . . . person is like going to the gym. You have to practice iteveryday and reframe your brain to not go to no first. If it has to be a no, so be it, butmake it a considerate no.3. Embrace all ideasOne of the rules that we live by is that there are no wrong or bad ideas, and nobodys ideas are any better or worse than anyone elses. There are just high- and low-percentage choice s.The creativity comes when you can recognize that every idea has merit. What weve found is that sometimes those low-percentage choices end up being wonderfully creative ideas that we would have never come up with because we would have dismissed them early as wrong. These ideas get the ball rolling.When you do that within your business, you develop a culture where people realize theyre going to be heard andthat theyre not going to be judged or shot down.Imagine how creative you would be if whatever you brought to the table, your team would build upon. Theres no fear involved.The freedom to create is endless.4. Empower yourteamIf you practice these techniques, youre honoring and empowering those around you, and they in turn will honor and empower you.For instance, we noticed that a lot of people wereon their phones before and during ourshow.From our perspective as the performers on the stage, we thought it was rude. But then our technical director, who sits behind the audience and ru ns the lights and sound, told us that he was seeing people give us five-star reviews and tweet about the show.He suggested that instead of being angry, we should incorporate phonesinto the show. Now, we have people upload funny photos on our Facebook page, and we improvise from the photos. As a happy accident to this, our social media numbers are through the roof.When people think about the corporate ladder, they think that the way to get aheadis to step on whomever you need to step on. But thats not how we advance. The way we ascend is by making each other look good. We pull each other up.David Wilk, Frank Ford, and David Ahearn are the co-founders of the improv groupFour Day Weekend and the co-authors of the upcoming book Happy Accidents How Yes, And Thinking Helps You Open Hearts, Change Minds, and Win Together in a No, But World.As told to Kirsten Salyer.You might also enjoyNew neuroscience reveals 4 rituals that will make you happyStrangers know your social class in the first s even words you say, study finds10 lessons from Benjamin Franklins daily schedule that will double your productivityThe worst mistakes you can make in an interview, according to 12 CEOs10 habits of mentally strong people