Links We Love: Reading Material For Your Trip To #CreateCultivateATL
Reading material for your trip to Create & Cultivate ATL.
#CreateCultivateATL is tomorrow, and we can't contain our excitement!
We've been busy all week preparing to bring you our most spectacular conference yet, and if you've been busy like us, you might not have had a chance to look over the news this week. Don't worry, we're just as excited, but it doesn't mean we have to put staying-in-the-know on pause. Check out our favorite links this week below:
Michelle Obama 2020: Her speech at Hillary Clinton's rally yesterday left us speechless.
Chobani is leading the way for new parental leave policies in business.
Samsung just can't catch a break. Sayonara, Galaxy Note 7.
If you're in digital marketing, you're gonna want to see these stats ASAP.
Obsessed with the new Mac smell? There's a candle for that.
7 Ways to Deal with Demanding Higher Ups
Collected demeanor and tactical game plan? Check.
Image credit: Almost Makes Perfect
When it comes to childhood memories, we reminisce fondly on endless summer days, Saturday morning cartoons and a general lack of responsibility. But recollecting other memories, like an acne-ridden face, chunky braces and the bully who tipped over your books in the hallway, feels far less warm and fuzzy.
Although your complexion has since cleared and teeth have straightened, sadly, bullies are just as prevalent today as adults as they were 15 years ago. Just trade the cafeteria for the water cooler and hand-written notes for passive-aggressive emails, and not much has changed.
According to research from the Workplace Bullying Institute, nearly 27 percent of Americans have experienced or are currently experiencing some kind of bullying in the workplace. While there are varying levels of severity depending on the aggressor and his or her actions, when that bully is your boss, the stakes – and your emotional response – are heightened.
Maybe your direct supervisor has inundated you with difficult work out-of-the-blue, and has no concern that you’re leaving the office once the lights turn out. Or maybe, you’re miffed from being continually passed over for new, challenging work and promotions.
Regardless of the wrongdoing, there’s one thing for certain: you absolutely, positively must do something about it.
That doesn’t necessarily mean stomping into your supervisor’s office this second and offering her a piece of your mind. But it doesn’t mean slumping in your desk and simmering, either. You’ll need to approach your higher-up with a calm, collected demeanor and tactical game plan if you want to ensure a harmonious work environment and, most importantly, the growth of your career. Here are the seven most important steps to take before approaching a bully boss.
1. Are you in danger?
While bullying (in any shape or form) is unacceptable, if you feel as though you are in danger or becoming hurt, tell a trusted friend, family member of confidante and leave the situation now.
2. Decide early on what you want to accomplish.
Not all resolutions end in fireworks. If you feel as though nothing good will come of approaching your boss, it’s 100% okay to consider leaving your position. Workplaces are oftentimes riddled with difficult politics and hierarchies, which can make a bullying predicament difficult to overcome. While you search for a new job, try to remove yourself the situation as best as you can and lean on other coworkers/confidantes for support.
"Not all resolutions end in fireworks."
Tweet this.
Of course, if you believe that directly confronting your boss will bear the best results, there’s actually evidence to support your action. According to research from EHS Today, individuals who approached a hostile boss reported higher levels of personal satisfaction at work, removed from feeling like a ‘victim.’ Regardless of your method for coping, ensure you know exactly what you want before diving in headfirst.
3. Start writing everything – meaning everything – down.
In the event you decide to approach your bullying boss, take precaution and start writing every interaction or instance of bullying down. And we mean everything.
Whether it was a demeaning, condescending email or eighth consecutive night you left office after nine o’clock (while he left at five), make sure to log every action, no matter how seemingly insignificant. No matter if it’s used to draft your speech once you approach your boss or to show your boss’s boss, build your case as meticulously as possible.
4. Before outlining your next move, take a moment to step into her shoes.
Whether it was Miranda Presley in The Devil Wears Prada or Dolly Parton’s superior in 9 to 5, totalitarian, ruthless bosses are a popular narrative in our culture. And while your gripes with your boss are certainly warranted, there might be an entirely different story you’re not aware of.
Is your boss shoving piles of work on your desk because she is swimming in work as well, or is he still reeling from his divorce? You’ll still need to express your feelings to your supervisor, but try to remember, he or she is a person too. Refrain from pointing fingers until you know all the facts.
5. Arrange a meeting (but prepare a game plan in advance).
Once you’ve assembled your ammo (AKA factual evidence) and mustered up your courage, you’ll need to finally do the dreaded deed: schedule a time with your boss to talk.
Try to pick a time when he or she will be the least overwhelmed, like in the morning earlier in the week. By Thursday or Friday, your boss might be less inclined to listen to your feelings, especially when they are seemingly negative. Before you enter the room, know exactly what you will say – and what you want to come out of it. Do you want a promotion or a decreased workload? Ensure there’s an end goal, and your boss is made aware of it early on.
6. Think positive.
Although tempting to blurt out to your bully, statements like “I feel like you’re continually turning me down for raises” will get you nowhere. Instead, try to take the emotion out of your complaint and spin it in a positive light.
For example, try: “I’ve noticed that you have turned me down for three consecutive raises. Can you please explain to me why, and what aspects of my performance I can improve for the review period?”
7. Continue to work hard, but know when enough is enough.
Once you’ve left the confrontation with your bully boss, things will undoubtedly be awkward for a bit. And of course, there will be a significant chance he or she will ignore your feelings and continue their bullying behavior.
If this is the case, know when enough is enough. Consider approaching your boss’s supervisor or HR. If that’s out of the question, there’s no shame in finding a new role – with a boss who will appreciate your talents and invest in your success.
This was originally published on Shine, a daily messaging experience to help you live your best life.
MORE FROM OUR BLOG
3 Ways to Maintain Excellence in the Workplace
Ever heard of a fall resolution?
The words that every eager job seeker yearns to hear amidst ongoing applications and interviews are: You’re hired.
The relief that comes when the human resources department of your desired company calls and informs you that you’ve been selected for the position is positively overwhelming. A megawatt smile stretches its way across your face and you liken your emotions to The Little Engine That Could.
But after dedicating a significant amount of time to the position and mastering the ins and outs of the workplace — and observing the politics of the business — you begin to notice that you are exceeding the expectations of the role and are not being properly compensated for it. Whether the sought after compensation is verbal praise, an increased salary, leniency on hours, or additional gifted days off, your toleration threshold has lowered and the undervalued itch begins to scratch.
Though it can be easy to complain to coworkers, abandon your role and run for the hills of another company, slack off in your position, or unashamedly and inappropriately wear your emotions on your sleeve, none of these quick fixes allow you to nurture one of the most valuable and respected employee traits: character.
As eager and driven employees, our goals are set to move from point A to point B as quickly as possibly. While drive is necessary and healthy, the workforce journey is much more than just an increased annual salary and a title change on your business card. The ups and downs that your career will take you on can teach and refine you as an individual … if you let them. Character is so rarely praised, yet is integral in leading a healthy staff and propelling a business for success.
"...the workforce journey is much more than just an increased annual salary and a title change on your business card."
Tweet this.
In your waiting to switch jobs or for increased compensation, and between those moments of great exasperation and defeat, choose to build and strengthen your character. From character, excellence overflows and the desire to endlessly perform to your best becomes priority.
Here are three ways to maintain excellence in your workplace:
WORK TOWARD YOUR NEXT JOB
Though you may feel you’ve mastered all you can in your current position, challenge yourself with tasks that can translate over to your next job. If you finish a task early, ask your boss for additional projects that you can apply your own creativity to. Be willing to extend yourself outside of what you know and learn skills that your next position may require. Keep in mind that your portfolio is a reflection of you, so be proud of what you showcase to future employers and perfect as many skills as possible in your present position.
LEAVE A COMPANY ON A POSITIVE NOTE
The last way that you would want an employer to remember you is negatively. You may be in the process of interviewing for outside positions, but intentionally maintain a positive attitude while at your current company. You have worked hard in your role and want the option of listing your supervisor as a reference further on down the line. Industries are small and your path with current employees may cross later on, so choose a positive attitude that reflects integrity and character.
REALIZE THAT LIFE IS MORE
It can be easy to find self-worth in your job title and salary, but true meaning and purpose are not dependent on your resume or monetary worth. People are why the workforce functions, so focus on nurturing and maximizing those relationships and networks. If there is an individual at your company that you admire, grab lunch with them and pick their brain. Perhaps you have a coworker that is struggling with something outside of work — ask them how they’re holding up and invite them out for coffee. You may never be in the same circles again with the people that currently surround you, so maximize the time that you have with them.
Though the feeling of defeat can overtake us at times, seek the positive in your current role. Character is widely valuable to you as an individual and is something that can never be taken away by an employer, no matter how undervalued they make you feel. Strive to attain it.
Have you struggled in certain role at work? What did you learn from it?
The original version of this article appeared on Darling Magazine.
Image via Marlena Pearl Photography
MORE FROM OUR BLOG
The 4 Rs You Need to Recover From a Mistake
The logistic ninjas of Grow Marketing break it down.
Photo Credit: Musings of a Curvy Lady
By: Cassie Hughes & Gabrey Means, Grow Marketing
Anyone who has dared greatly, innovated or made things better has also known failure. When we first set out to create our own experiential agency, we may not have known what we were doing, but we were crystal clear on what we wanted. Neither of us came from an agency background but we knew what was important from the client’s perspective and that we had something different to offer than what we were seeing in the marketplace. We knew there would be a lot of mistakes along the way and rather than shying away, we faced them head on.
"Anyone who has dared greatly, innovated or made things better has also known failure."
Tweet this.
Everyone makes mistakes. We’re only human. But how you learn and grow from them can help you better prepare for challenges ahead. Whether in your personal or professional life, here are a few tips to help you bounce back from a mistake and walk away stronger and smarter.
RECOGNIZE
Early in the life of our agency we took on a project where there were red flags we didn’t pay attention to because we were so eager to prove ourselves as a new entity, even though we had a long track record of success in our careers. It was a huge national brand in a category we were dying to break into so while our intuitions were screaming no, our egos kept saying yes. The client was unrealistic but we thought we could turn her around. We couldn’t have been more wrong. In addition to grinding us on every budget and continually asking for new ideas (free of charge) eventually she actually became verbally abusive. We got through the project and delivered but at a cost to ourselves and our team, who were left feeling deflated, unappreciated and exhausted.
RECORD
We are big believers in intention and writing things down. When we make mistakes we process them by writing down a list of what we learned and would do differently the next time. This was crucial to our process of avoiding bad project/client matches in the future. While it may sound intimidating to see your mistake recorded in black and white, it's actually quite liberating. When possible, sharing your list with a friend or partner who can keep you from being too hard or easy on yourself helps to keep the process honest and, therefore, most useful.
REPAIR
If you want to create an environment where people are inspired to be their best, they have to feel safe to fail. If they don’t, they’ll engage in all kinds of unproductive behaviors that only compound the mistake, from covering up to placing blame on others. Meanwhile, time ticks away and the impacts are increased. Encouraging people to own their mistake and take an active part in the solution means resolution comes quicker and the individual is left with the empowered feeling of having helped to repair it versus the deflation of screwing up, which only makes people feel and think smaller. To repair the damage to our team from the verbally abusive client, we owned up to letting our eagerness override our instinct and shared how we would avoid such situations in the future.
"If you want to create an environment where people are inspired to be their best, they have to feel safe to fail."
Tweet this.
RESOLVE
One of the most important parts of recovering from a mistake is knowing when to take a deep breath and let it go. Continually reliving mistakes is unproductive and paralyzing. Once you have done the work to repair the mistake and can clearly articulate your learnings, you should trust you have learned what that mistake has to teach you, freeing you to move on.
The mindset of recovery and resolution is an important one to build. It allows people to continue to want to take on new challenges and find new ways of doing things-- which, are really powerful assets. A culture that rewards creativity and trying new things – without punishing the misses – fosters a team of savvy problem-solvers who can think on their feet and are energized, instead of paralyzed, by new challenges.
More from our blog:
What Do Your Jewelry Choices Say About You As an Employee?
You don't need bling to be a boss.
Ever wonder what your jewelry choices say about you as an employee? Whether you’re slaying Keynote proposals in a statement necklace or you’re a simple bangle kind of boss, we’re breaking down jewelry choices and work styles with Simon G. Jewelry.
There is a rapport between what you put on and how you go about your day.
THE STRAIGHT SHOOTER IN THE SIMPLE BANGLE
A simple bangle says you like to get into the office early and clear out your inbox ASAP. It’s a no-fuss approach to business and dressing that says, I bang that drum, but with a bangle that doesn’t get in the way.
With an arresting intertwined design of white and rose gold and white diamonds, you’re also a bit of a dreamer who takes chances by bending the rules a little bit. You’re not afraid to mix metals and you’re certainly not afraid of mixing it up in the conference room, stating your ideas with confidence; two-tone means you’ve got ideas in every hue.
THE GO-GETTER IN THE CLIMBER EARRINGS
Call it a hike, a journey, or a climb, you’re all about getting to the top. But as dedicated as you are about going after your dreams, you also make sure to reach down and to the side as you go.
These climber diamond earrings mean you’re a go-getter, you want to be noticed, and you make a statement with both your earrings and your handshake: firm and no-nonsense.
You know that not everything you do will be a success but that never stops you from trying.
You like talking strategy and growth with your team and you’re constantly brainstorming innovative ideas for expansion. In 18k white gold with floral pattern you’re classic but crafty and nothing will hold you back.
"You’re classic but crafty and nothing will hold you back."
Tweet this.
THE WORKER BEE IN THE SIMPLE DIAMOND PENDANT
You work out at 6am. Are in the office by 8:30, and you’ve corresponded with more people before noon than most people do in a day. You’re practical, fast, and you like jewelry that you don’t have to think about— but know is always looking stunning.
This is the kind of necklace you can wear morning, noon, and night. In part because you’re always heading from the office to work drinks!
You never have to take it off (and you often don’t). Don’t underestimate it’s simplicity for simpleness. This necklace works hard for you and you need something that works like you do: around-the-clock.
Like they say: you want something done, give it to a busy person.
THE OFFICE UNICORN IN THE RIGHT HAND RING
You are always there to jump in, take on a challenge head-on, and come up with ideas that benefit the whole team. If someone is out sick, you’re helping.
If a co-worker is hitting a wall with creative ideas, you’re staying behind to spitball. You’re a true right hand to everyone in the company and it’s an attitude that doesn’t go unnoticed. It has helped you advance your position in the past and will continue to do so.
This spiral ring is comfortable and resilient due to the design of tiny, almost unnoticeable joints in the solid 18k rose gold design. Which mirrors your personality precisely. The diamonds add a bit of sparkle— just like you add to the workplace.
More from our blog:
What Do Millennials Really Want From Work
Hint: it's not ping pong tables
Credit: Laura Dee Photography
Everyone knows some lucky Millennial working at a Bay Area tech company where free food, massages, and dry cleaning are industry standard perks. Due to some major workplace jealousy, every Millennial is guilty of day dreaming about working somewhere where sneaking off to find a nap pod is encouraged. But despite what employers may think, these untraditional perks are not what most Millennials are looking for in a place of employment. In 2015 Millennials surpassed Baby Boomers as the majority of the U.S. workforce at 53.5% and as such it is time to take what they want at work seriously. And their needs are much more serious than one might think.
FLEXIBILITY
Millennials are starting to devote more time and money than ever on experiences. More than 3 in 4 Millennials (78%) would choose to spend money on a desirable experience or event over buying something desirable. Millennials’ desire for more flexibility with their work hours goes hand in hand with this spending trend. As it turns out, Millennials are not happy working your average 9 to 5 job. 81% would appreciate being able to make their own hours at work, 77% believe that flexible work hours would make them more productive at work overall and 43% would switch jobs if given greater flexibility in work hours elsewhere. The freedom to design their own work hours is so valuable to workers of any age that 2 out of 5 are even willing to forfeit a portion of their salary if it meant increasing their position’s flexibility. If Millennials were able to introduce more flexibility into their current posts, 64% would favor sometimes working from home and 66% would appreciate an adjustment in their hours.
MAKING A DIFFERENCE
Despite having a reputation for being self-centered, 84% of Millennials say that helping to make a positive difference in the world is more important to them than professional recognition. To feel fulfilled at work, Millennials need to feel as if their work matters. 60% of Millennials cite “a sense of purpose” as part of the reason they work for their current employer. Watch out Baby Boomers, Millennials were found to care much more about making a difference through their work than other generations. When surveyed 35% of Millennials found it important to have a job with a positive social impact, compared with just 19% of employed Americans overall.
"60% of Millennials cite a 'sense of purpose' as a reason they work for their current employer."
Tweet this.
TRADITIONAL VALUES
While ping pong tables, bringing your dog to work and riding around the office on scooters are all fun perks, what Millennials are actually looking for at work is not that different than previous generations of workers. Essentially employees of each recent generation share the same reason for changing jobs: more money and a more creative workplace. This sentiment was expressed by 42% of Millennials, 42% of Baby Boomers and 47% of Generation Xers. When gauging what makes an employer attractive, Millennials placed career advancement opportunities at the top of their list followed by competitive wages/other financial incentives and then excellent training/development programs.
CREATIVITY
Creativity is key for Millennials, with 31% placing value on working with creative people. Millennials are not the only generation craving more creativity at work, 36% of employed U.S. adults report that they want to leave their current job to pursue a career that allows them to be more creative. The American workforce values creativity so much that almost 41 million employed U.S. adults, are willing to take a pay cut for a job that allowed them to be more creative. Allowing Millennials to think outside the box is key to retaining Millennial talent. If they don’t, employers risk losing employees to the more creative and less restrictive path of being an entrepreneur. 67% of Millennial employees surveyed said they would leave their traditional jobs for a more creative self-employed track if they believed they could pay their bills by working for themselves.
Written by: Jacqueline DeMarco is a freelance writer with experience in editorial and news writing.
More from our blog: