Future Female Leaders

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Introduction: In this episode of the Future Female Leaders Podcast, host Nichole Harrop discusses the common experience of feeling overwhelmed at work after a holiday weekend. She reassures listeners that this is a normal occurrence and provides practical tips for managing overwhelm and prioritizing tasks effectively. Nichole introduces a simple exercise called the "Red Light Green Light" technique, which helps categorize and visualize work-related tasks based on enjoyment and energy levels.

Episode Highlights:

1. The State of Overwhelm: Nichole acknowledges the feeling of overwhelm that often arises when returning to work after a long holiday weekend. She emphasizes that it is a shared experience among many individuals and addresses the inaction that can accompany overwhelm.

2. The Red Light Green Light Exercise: Nichole introduces the Red Light Green Light exercise as a tool to navigate overwhelming tasks. She instructs listeners to envision three columns: Green Light (tasks they enjoy), Red Light (draining tasks), and Yellow Light (challenging tasks).

3. Green Light Column: Listeners are encouraged to identify tasks they genuinely love doing and consider how they can incorporate more of these activities into their work. Nichole advises communicating these preferences to direct leaders to foster a more fulfilling work experience.

4. Red Light Column: The focus shifts to tasks that drain energy and create feelings of dread or procrastination. Nichole prompts listeners to evaluate whether they have communicated their aversion to these tasks with their leaders, emphasizing the importance of sharing honest feedback while still committing to completing them effectively.

5. Yellow Light Column: Nichole introduces the concept of yellow light tasks—tasks that don't bring immediate joy but involve curiosity, challenges, and the need for clarification. She highlights the significance of seeking clarity and direction from leaders to ensure successful execution.

6. Effective Communication: Nichole emphasizes the importance of open dialogue and effective communication with leaders. She encourages listeners to discuss task preferences, seek clarity, and align expectations to enhance job satisfaction and reduce overwhelm.

7. Delegation and Support: Nichole suggests considering delegation as a solution for tasks that others might enjoy more, allowing individuals to focus on their strengths and find more fulfillment in their work. She emphasizes the need to communicate the desire for support and collaboration rather than avoiding tasks altogether.

8. Journaling Resource: Nichole recommends her career journal available on Amazon, designed to help individuals advance their careers. The journal contains over a hundred unique prompts for ongoing self-reflection and personal growth.

Conclusion: Nichole wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to try the Red Light Green Light exercise and engage in open conversations with their leaders about task preferences and challenges. By prioritizing tasks and aligning expectations, individuals can reduce overwhelm, improve job satisfaction, and create a more fulfilling work experience.

Outro: Don't forget to check out Nichole's career journal available on Amazon—a valuable resource for tracking career progress and personal growth. Stay tuned for the next episode of the Future Female Leaders Podcast. Until then, keep thriving in your career journey. See you next time!

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Listen to Episode 125 about Office Housework

In this episode, Nichole discusses the importance of setting boundaries in the workplace, offering advice on how to identify and enforce them. She encourages listeners to book a leadership assessment call to help them better understand their current situation and where they want to go.

Nichole emphasizes that awareness is key to setting boundaries and that it is important to recognize what boundaries look like for you in the workplace. She also advises against feeling the need to say yes to everything and encourages listeners to understand what actually brings them joy in their role.

She uses the example of delegation as a way to set boundaries, noting that just because you are good at something does not mean you enjoy doing it. Nichole also discusses "non-promotable tasks," such as note-taking and recognition efforts, that may not help listeners get promoted.

To further illustrate the importance of setting boundaries, Nichole suggests thinking about how your leader sets boundaries and whether they respond to messages or emails late at night or on weekends. She notes that it is easier to enforce boundaries when you see your leader doing it.

In conclusion, Nichole encourages listeners to recognize their own boundaries and to say no to certain things that are not a right fit for them, as well as to understand the importance of a healthy work-life harmony.

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Podcast Episode with Anna Dearmon Kornick

In this episode of the Future Female Leaders podcast, host Nichole Harrop discusses the importance of setting boundaries in the workplace to avoid burnout. She emphasizes the need for awareness of one's workload and calendar management and provides tips on how to efficiently manage time. Nichole recommends creating blocks of time for preparation before and after meetings, deciding which meetings to attend, and assigning a buddy to stay informed of meetings not attended. She also advises avoiding responding to emails and messages late at night and setting firm boundaries that can be communicated to colleagues. By setting boundaries, employees can be more productive and avoid overworking themselves. The host invites listeners to think about their boundaries and offers support throughout the week to help them set and maintain them.

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Welcome to the Future Female Leaders podcast, hosted by Nichole Harrop, who aims to create more female leaders in the workplace. In this episode, she focuses on a meditation that helps to overcome negative perceptions at work. Nichole starts by suggesting that listeners find a comfortable and distraction-free location and then guides them through a relaxation process to calm down their breathing and let go of any tension. She asks listeners to be mindful of their emotions and any tightness or stress within their bodies. She then guides them to reflect on how they react to people having negative perceptions of them and to think of how they want to react going forward. Listeners are encouraged to envision a scenario in which they work for a company they love and have a manager who cares about them, and to think about what efforts or changes need to happen in their current working relationship to make it a reality. Nichole encourages listeners to take deep breaths and repeat after her, saying they can work on their self-awareness to recognize negative perceptions and are capable of overcoming them. The episode ends with Nichole encouraging listeners to continue taking deep breaths and to know that overcoming perception issues takes time and daily practice.

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The Future Female Leaders Podcast is a show dedicated to creating more female leaders in the workplace, hosted by Nichole Harrop. In this episode, Nichole talks about how to work through negative perceptions at work. She offers a complimentary leadership assessment call to help women understand where they are currently in the workplace and where they want to go.

Nichole describes how perceptions can lead to bigger issues and create negative self-doubt thoughts. She shares a personal experience of applying for team leader roles and being turned down multiple times. She explains that this was a sign that there might be a perception issue at work. She realized that there were office politics at play, and some leaders only hired people who they were friends with or who they saw as part of their inner circle.

Nichole emphasizes that it's essential to work on self-awareness and to be aware of the perceptions others have of you. She suggests taking on additional responsibilities, showing up as your best self, and having open and honest conversations with your manager. Nichole shares how working through negative perceptions at work takes time and effort but is worth it to achieve your career goals.

By doing pulse checks with other team members, you can gain insight into how to approach difficult situations with tact and strategy. Rather than placing blame, it's important to get curious and understand how to best move forward.

Perception issues can lead to disengagement and poor performance, but by asking for guidance and clarity, you can overcome those struggles. Nichole shares personal experiences of having to set boundaries to avoid being seen as a social butterfly and not being taken seriously.

The Future Leaders program is highlighted as a resource for live one-on-one training and real-time feedback to help individuals grow and work towards their first leadership position.

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Schedule time to see if the Future Leaders Program is a right fit for you.

In this episode of the Future Female Leaders podcast, host Nichole Harrop talks about how perception issues can hold back one's career growth in the organization. She defines perception as a quick judgment, mental impression, or way of regarding, understanding or interpreting something. Nichole explains that perception issues arise when people make quick judgments without having all the facts. To challenge these perceptions, she suggests getting curious and asking questions to get a better understanding of the situation. Additionally, Nichole emphasizes the importance of building a strong relationship with one's leader and being open to feedback. She suggests that one should ask their leader what kind of roles they see them in and why, to better understand how to grow in their career. Finally, Nichole advises listeners not to be too hard on themselves and to receive feedback with an open mind, even if it can be difficult to take in.

In this episode, the focus is on embracing change at work. Nichole starts with a brief meditation session, encouraging listeners to find a comfortable and quiet space, breathe deeply, and relax their bodies. After this, she invites listeners to reflect on how they respond to changes happening in their workplace, and encourages them to think about how they want to show up when changes happen.

Listeners are asked to imagine themselves in a meeting where changes are announced, and to envision two different versions of themselves: the old version, which is filled with dread and fear, and the new version, which sees the opportunity for growth and feels at peace with the change. Listeners are encouraged to become the new version of themselves, to communicate clearly with their leadership team about any concerns, and to seek to understand if they are unsure of changes that are coming.

Nichole leads listeners in repeating affirmations, such as "I can stand out as a leader exactly where I am" and "I will be open to concerns, but I don't participate in gossip around change." Ultimately, Nichole encourages listeners to approach changes at work with an open mind and a positive attitude, so they can be seen as leaders in their organizations.

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Connect with guest Lata Hamilton on LinkedIn

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Todays guest episode features Lata Hamilton, Lata is a pocket rocket burst of energy with a big heart... and big hair! She is the Founder & CEO of Passion Pioneers and the creator of the "Leading Successful Change" program. Lata has worked with some of Australia's biggest companies, and tripled her salary in just 3 years to almost $200,000. She moved from Marketing to the world of Organizational Change Management and developed her own style of inspiring change leadership. She's worked on changes that have impacted over 100,000 people, global cultural transformations, operating model changes, and digital transformation that is literally changing the way that we work.

Nichole and Lata discuss how entry level team members can be seen as change leaders in the workplace, starting today.

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In this episode, Nichole talks about change in the workplace and how people react to it. She encourages listeners to assess their feelings about change and how they can improve their change leadership skills. Nichole also suggests ways to align feelings about change with desired feelings. She reminds listeners to take a moment to reflect on how they feel about change and how they want to feel about it.

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Follow the Jealousy Junkie Podcast hosted by Shanenn Bryant

Nichole and Shannon discuss ways to improve communication in the workplace. One way is to ask questions separately in bullet points instead of in long paragraphs within an email, allowing the other person to answer each question next to it. Another way is to present information and requests in a table format to allow for more detailed responses and easier communication.

These methods help make communication more concise and prevent misunderstandings. Additionally, Shanenn encourages people to ask for what they need in a clear and direct manner.

Nichole and Shannon discuss how to approach a conversation with a supervisor who is not a good communicator. They recommend making a list of questions, including when the task is due, who needs to be involved, and if there are any specific instructions. It is also recommended to set up one-on-ones with the supervisor and discuss expectations and how to communicate better. Additionally, they suggest proactively communicating what type of learner you are and how the supervisor can accommodate that.

In meetings, women get interrupted more often than men. To prevent interruptions, a woman can politely say a couple of phrases like "I have just another point to make and then I'd love to hear your feedback," or "As soon as I'm finished, I'm gonna open it up, and we'll be able to hear everyone's feedback." Women can practice these phrases to feel more comfortable in the moment. If interrupted, a woman can use visual cues like putting her finger up or reaching out physically to get the speaker's attention and say that she wasn't done speaking yet. People interrupt because they're thinking of their response and not because they're rude.