One Bold Move A Day

We’ve talked before about the importance of mentoring and career sponsorship. If you’re looking for tips on developing this for yourself, listen to Episodes 17 and 31.

What’s on my mind today is how you can help serve others through your network and increase access. Over the last few years, I’ve read about what’s called the network gap. We know that most people get their jobs through their networks. What if you’re at a significant disadvantage for having a network that advances your career and helps you achieve your goals for factors that are out of your control? Research shows three factors significantly affect your career: where you grew up, where you went to school, and where you work. This is what LinkedIn termed the network gap. They called attention to it, because they learned from their platform how very valuable an effective network can be.

If you’ve experienced benefits based on these factors, it’s your responsibility and opportunity to provide for others. No matter where you are in your career, you can be a meaningful mentor.

Your One Bold Move: Commit to use your talents and connections to mentor someone outside your network. If you’re up for a bonus, proactively reach out to someone today to reconnect and offer to share your time and expertise.

For more from Shanna:

Website: https://www.shannaahocking.com

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When did you last negotiate your salary in a way that made you feel proud of yourself?

I messed up so many salary negotiations earlier in my career and I spent many years catching up to the salary I should’ve been making. My fear reflex had an economic cost.

And I’m not alone: Research shows that women are less likely to negotiate.

I never wanted to be in the position again of making less than I deserved and I made a commitment to help ensure other women wouldn’t face this either.

Whether you’re on the job search right now or thinking about it someday, this is a skill you want to start practicing, because it takes time to get it right.

Your One Bold Move: Negotiate your salary. Practice your negotiation. Research salary ranges on the web and by talking with recruiters. Start a dialogue with your friends about salaries. Do not wait for the moment you need this to get started. Your income for the rest of your career depends on it.

PS Y’all this one is waaaayyy longer than usual, but it’s because I've given you everything you need to know to successfully negotiate your salary.

PPS Still only 12 minutes—ha!

For more from Shanna:

Website: https://www.shannaahocking.com

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To sign up for Shanna's newsletter with more leadership and career advice sent directly to your inbox: https://www.shannaahocking.com/subscribe or text SHANNA to 66866

Perfectionism is so common for women and it limits our success and happiness.

This episode provides tips on what you can start doing today to reduce your need to be perfect.

Your One Bold Move: Maybe your one bold move is to send an imperfect email. Maybe you’ll let go of that mess in the kitchen. Maybe you’ll give yourself grace for that thing that didn’t go as planned. Maybe you’ll try something you’ve never done before, which might result in a mistake or failure—or the most amazing thing you weren’t sure was possible.

For more from Shanna:

Website: https://www.shannaahocking.com

Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannaahocking

Follow on Instagram: @ShannaAHocking

To sign up for Shanna's newsletter with more leadership and career advice sent directly to your inbox: https://www.shannaahocking.com/subscribe or text SHANNA to 66866

Have you ever talked with someone who made you feel truly heard?

The likelihood is the person was really good at asking thoughtful questions and often followed up with more questions to learn more. They’re likely naturally curious, but even if this doesn’t come as naturally to you, you can develop this skill.

This leadership style is often referred to as coaching. It is especially valuable when you’re managing people. Even if you’re not yet a manager, it’s something you can practice with colleagues or people you mentor.

This episode provides practical examples of how to ask more-open ended questions, including my #1 go-to question.

Your One Bold Move: Ask more open-ended questions. Be curious enough to listen and learn.

For more from Shanna:

Website: https://www.shannaahocking.com

Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannaahocking

Follow on Instagram: @ShannaAHocking

To sign up for Shanna's newsletter with more leadership and career advice sent directly to your inbox: https://www.shannaahocking.com/subscribe or text SHANNA to 66866

So much is happening right now. You might feel overwhelmed from all the things.

When you’re stressed, it’s a natural response to see everything as zero sum. You can get caught up in either/or, which limits you.

Find the AND. In research, this is called a paradox mindset, which means accepting the both/and of the situation. This is the reality of life: Things may feel competing or in tension, but you can reframe your approach to see how they integrate.

You can find happiness even in difficult times.

You can find joy even through challenge.

You can love something and still be exhausted from it.

You can walk into the discomfort to get comfortable.

You can be grateful and ambitious.

This episode provides tips for how to integrate two seemingly competing truths and build to a mindset of abundance.

Your One Bold Move: Find the AND in the moment you’re in. Accept that you can hold true more than one thing and believe in possibility. Share this possibility with others, too.

For more from Shanna:

Website: https://www.shannaahocking.com

Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannaahocking

Follow on Instagram: @ShannaAHocking

To sign up for Shanna's newsletter with more leadership and career advice sent directly to your inbox: https://www.shannaahocking.com/subscribe or text SHANNA to 66866

If you want to help your team understand who you are and how you approach your work, so you can build trust faster and learn how to best support them, I have a resource for this: my About Me template.

Whether you are new to your role or organization or have been there for many years, you can use this document. It’s an opportunity to clarify who you are as a leader and how others can work successfully with you.

I spent time writing my own thoughts about my leadership style and values, and I sought input from others on what they wished they knew about me earlier on. From there, I developed what I called About Me, which I shared with my new team in a group meeting in my first week on the job.

It’s only the first step to share your About Me document; ask your team members to fill one out as well. You can provide them with the same template you used. Then, create a time for everyone to meet and discuss. After all, great leaders share who they are and care who their employees are too.

To get your copy of my most-requested template and other leadership and career tips sent directly to your inbox, text SHANNA to 66866 or go to https://www.shannahocking.com/subscribe.

How do you feel about delegating?

Pro tip: Your job is not to be the superstar anymore.

One of the ways you can extend your strengths as a leader is learning how to delegate well. Though it may seem counterintuitive, you need to become less involved in the day-to-day work.

This episode provides tips on how to identify projects or tasks to delegate and what to keep in mind when giving these assignments to team members.

Your One Bold Move: Delegate. This is your team member’s chance to grow and your chance to level up as a leader.

For more from Shanna:

Website: https://www.shannaahocking.com

Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannaahocking

Follow on Instagram: @ShannaAHocking

To sign up for Shanna's newsletter with more leadership and career advice sent directly to your inbox: https://www.shannaahocking.com/subscribe or text SHANNA to 66866

How did you sleep last night?

Several friends have recently confided in me they've had trouble sleeping or relaxing. It’s become a frequent refrain when speaking with friends and co-workers over the last few months.

I’ve heard stories about women who fall asleep fine, but then are awake for hours in the middle of the night or have this uneasy feeling during their daily activities that they just can’t shake. Often they can’t identify what is making them feel upset or keeping them awake.

Here’s the one thing that has helped me overcome sleeplessness time and again: journaling.

This episode provides tips on how to get started on this practice and why getting your thoughts out of your head is so important.

Your One Bold Move: Journal your thoughts. Give yourself space to process, so you can rest. Sweet dreams.

For more from Shanna:

Website: https://www.shannaahocking.com

Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannaahocking

Follow on Instagram: @ShannaAHocking

To sign up for Shanna's newsletter with more leadership and career advice sent directly to your inbox: https://www.shannaahocking.com/subscribe or text SHANNA to 66866

Success at work and success at home should not have to be an either/or. Right now working parents are making difficult choices about how to do all the things. This will only be heightened with the anticipation of school and childcare adjustments for the fall.

We need working parents in the workforce and I’m especially keen to help support working mothers to achieve their goals and believe this is possible for themselves.

This episode provides tips for working parents and company leaders alike.

Your One Bold Move: Company leaders, stand up for working parents. If you are a working parent, speak up to ask for what you need. The companies that do this most successfully will be the ones that thrive well beyond these challenging times.

For more from Shanna:

Website: https://www.shannaahocking.com

Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannaahocking

Follow on Instagram: @ShannaAHocking

To sign up for Shanna's newsletter with more leadership and career advice sent directly to your inbox: https://www.shannaahocking.com/subscribe or text SHANNA to 66866

What if we all spent a little time thanking someone for how they are awesome or for something they did? I want to inspire you to bring this joy to your life and someone else’s. Think about who you’ll send this to. Write it down if you can, so you commit to following through. All it takes is two minutes to write a note of thanks to someone else.

Research shows you become happier on day one of this practice and you’ll feel more deeply supported if you do this every day for 21 days. Just start somewhere!

Your One Bold Move: Send one positive email, letter, or text. It can be to someone you haven’t talked to in a while or someone you see often. The goal is to show gratitude, which has benefits to the recipient and the sender. Happy writing!

Link to How to Stay Motivated When Working From Home: https://www.careercontessa.com/advice/how-to-work-from-home/

For more from Shanna:

Website: https://www.shannaahocking.com

Follow on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/shannaahocking

Follow on Instagram: @ShannaAHocking

To sign up for Shanna's newsletter with more leadership and career advice sent directly to your inbox: https://www.shannaahocking.com/subscribe or text SHANNA to 66866