The Following post is an essay I wrote for school and I would like to have it published here because I found really good information for me, myself and I to ponder more about as I keep on the search to find my niche in the workplace.
Today, as I sat in class I found myself wondering what I want to do and who I want to be when I am done with school. I have thought about this since I was a kid, but as life as we know it comes revealing itself, it becomes harder and harder to find out what is my niche. I have been following the trends of hair and style for as long as I can remember. I am so passionate about it I can not lie. I am a dreamer. My dreams so far have become reality. I grow up watching my mom serve others around her as she worked as a hairstylist. It was then, even when I was little that I felt something so strong in me longing to make others around me feel confident in their own skin. I have learned though something very important within the years. I have learned that confidence does not come from the outside. It comes from within. Realizing that helps me understand what and who I want to become more like as I grow up. Life as a mom, wife and house duties is already very much so exausting, so as I do my best to keep up with hair school and the many changes that comes with being a mom, doesn’t make me want to keep on wanting to just be a hairstylist. I am still looking forward to finding my niche in the world. And that is one of the many reasons I am writing this essay about how to find my niche in the workplace.
In the article, “How to launch your strategy for taking the right risk” By Wandia Chiuri (Social Media Enterprise Architect, Wandia.info) she shares: “With the recent Facebook pie-in-your-face IPO still ringing in our ears, it might be wise to dwell on what constitutes taking the “right risk” for you. Like it or not, risk taking will always be an inesapable part of our everyday lives. Whether you are changing jobs, investing, or beginning a new relationship you will ultimately be confronted with some risk. But here’s the kicker question: How do we know if the risk is right for you? In a recent interview, Robert Michael Fried, best selling author of Igniting Your True Purpose and Passion, offered “the risk is right when it will help you close the disparity or gap between who you are and where you want to go. When your outside view of the world reflects your inner voice, you are will on your way to taking the right risk.”
Make no mistake about it – it takes courage to take the right risk, but the greatest rewards go to those who take them. So if we don’t take any risks in life, we lessen the risk of getting hurt – but we don’t live life to the fullest either.
As Seneca once pined, “It’s not because things are difficult that we do not dare. It is because we do not dare that things are difficult.” That being said, Fried offers up 7 jumpstarting steps to take the right risk:
- Listen to your heart. Follow your heart, not just your reason. You seldom go wrong when you listen to your own inner voice.
- Get out of your comfort zone. Golden opportunities often lie just outside our comfort zone. Have the courage and fortitude to grab that brass ring.
- Avoid analysis paralysis. Do your homework, but ultimately you need to take action.
- Somehow the biggest risk is not to risk at all. Don’t wait for your ship to come in… row out and meet it.
- Don’t wait for the perfect time. There will never be a truly perfect time to act. In life, you generally learn more by doing than waiting. The perfect time to act is now!
- Face your fears. Feel the fear and do it anyway. Have the courage to work through your fear and use it to propel your spirit and rekindle your focus.
- Live in the present. Make the present the primary focus in your life, not the past or the future. Remember, life is a gift; that’s why they call it a present. The present moment is all you’ll ever have in your life.
- Take the leap. Aristotle once said, “Courage is the first of all human qualities because it is the one that guarantees all others.” Have the courage to take the leap and close the gap between your dreams and reality.
In business, a successful strategy offers a clarion call to action. But an action strategy often requires a certain degree of risk. Once a company completes its market research with due diligence, it’s time to pull the ripcord.
Similarly, in life, it’s not good enough to just have a mission. We need to act. When was the last time you risked failure for something you passionately believed in?
About the guest blogger: Wandia Chiuri is a digital, mobile and social media aficionado. She has designed a career that combines an avid interest in global emerging markets with enthusiasm for adventure, fascination with science and passion for people. With a track record of leadership, she has worked in the sales divisions of two Fortune 500 corporations, Medtronic Inc. and Eli Lilly and Company and serves on the boards of two non-profit organizations. Follow her on Twitter at @Wandia_Info. This post was originally posted at Women 2.0.
In another article while researching more about ways to find your niche in the workplace. I have found significant information. Jennifer Walker shares the following: “It’s the same story everywhere you work: You can’t think on the fly during meetings or jump in during call-it-out brainstorming sessions. You feel drained after office events that involve being around a lot of people, no matter how nice they are. And you’re always pegged as the quiet one. But you have ideas. Good ones. You just need to find a way to contribute.
If this sounds familiar, you may be an introvert. Depending on the website, book or study, introverts make up 25 percent to slightly more than 50 percent of the population. My own extensive research – in the form of an anonymous survey distributed on Facebook, Twitter, and my blog – had 60 percent of the 68 respondents identify themselves as introverts. If we were a political party, we’d win by a landslide.
Yet the odds are still stacked against us at work, where meetings and brainstorming sessions often rule the culture. “A lot of workplace things are organized in extroverted ways,” says Wendy Gelberg, author of The Successful Introvert: How to Enhance Your Job Search and Advance Your Career and owner of Gentle Job Search & Career Services.
But introverts can find their workplace niche, which will enable them to feel more comfortable – and excel – on the job.
- Understand What Introversion Is
The words “extrovert” and “introvert”, used on the Myers Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI), a popular personality test, relate to where we access our energy. At an office holiday party, extroverts may talk in big groups, drawing energy from the people around them as if they were chugging can after can of Red Bull.
Introverts, on the other hand, become more energized by focusing inward. We aren’t necessarily shy, which is a completely different personality trait. But after spending time with ten people around a conference table, we may have to close our office door for some alone time. This helps us recharge and put out our best work for the rest of the day.
Of course, most people fall somewhere along the long line between extroversion and introversion. But it’s our introvert side that is often harder to embrace.
2. Understand Where Introversion Comes From
Extroverts show increased blood flow in areas that respond to external stimuli which helps them excel in social situations, according to a 1999 study in The American Journal of Psychiatry. Introverts, on the other hand, have increased blood flow in the front lobes and anterior thalamus of the brain. This means we are better at thinking activities.
“I tend to think slowly and my responses are not lightning quick,” says Sophia Dembling, author of the Psychology Todayblog, The Introvert’s Corner. But, she continues, “Introversion is not synonymous with cold and unfriendly. It’s just a different way to be. Once we understand who we are, we can begin to understand our boundaries even better.”
3. Relish the Positives
Introverts bring many finer points to the table. Because of the way our brains are wired, we are good at remembering stories from the past, planning, and solving problems. Gelberg adds that introverts are also well-prepared because we like to understand what’s going on around us. “We’re not impulsive with our contributions to the world,” she says. And we have a tremendous ability to form deep relationships. These qualities would be an asset in any workplace.
4. Rethink Corporate Language
Extroverted language is common in office culture, says Gelberg. But phrases like “sell yourself” and words like “networking” can make introverts cringe. We’re not always comfortable with this language because we feel like we’re engaging in a business transaction.
But rethinking these terms changes everything. Since introverts are good at forming relationships with people, think of “networking” and “selling yourself” – both sales terms – as having a conversation with someone else. Get to know the person and let them get to know you. Try to talk one-on-one or in small groups if you can. These tactics can make introverts feel much more at ease.
5. Try “Brainwriting”
Brainstorming sessions can be one of the most difficult workplace activities for introverts. “[We] are going to get completely steamrolled,” says Dembling. But if your bosses are game, try brainwriting instead.
Developed by Southern Methodist University business professor Peter Heslin, this technique gives introverts a voice. Everyone sits around a conference table with introvert-friendly pens and paper, and has time to write down an idea before passing the paper on to the next person. Once a slip contains four or five ideas, the group discusses them. Then introverts have much-needed time to think of what they want to say.
6. Push Yourself Outside of Your Comfort Zone Every Now and Then
Even full-on, 100 percent introverts still need human contact. So don’t completely eschew extrovert activities because they are out of your comfort zone. Try to offer a thought or two to the string of ideas on the table during meetings or brainstorming sessions. Attend an office party or an afterhours get-together for an hour. Chit-chat about last night’s episode of Top Chef by the water cooler. Your co-workers will appreciate that you’re making an effort.
