Can you grow your career without changing jobs? Plus, how to navigate decision-making when you co-own a business

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“What if you’re ready for a different career challenge and want to find a new role to enhance your experience, but you’re worried that now isn’t the time to make a big change? says Eileen Chadnick of Big Cheese Coaching.

She gives some examples reflecting the type of conversations she has had with people facing this dilemma. In a context of slowdown in the job market, “George” wonders if it is prudent to leave a position where he has a certain amount of experience and seniority. “Irina” has young children and aging parents and fears she won’t have the ability or time to invest in a demanding new role.

“If the time doesn’t seem quite right, will you just wait?” » » asks Ms. Chadnick. “This question has no single answer. People will have different circumstances, goals and risk levels. Career developments should always invite in-depth reflection on the process.

“If you ultimately decide that it’s not the right time to change jobs, there are other ways to maintain the momentum of career development. »

Read Ms. Chadnick’s tips for growing your career while keeping your job.

It’s not just you. Experts agree that the post-pandemic workplace is really more distracting

If you find that working in the office is now more distracting, you’re not alone.

Not only has the workplace changed since the pandemic began in early 2020, but experts suggest so have our brains. As a result, many workers feel uncomfortable in an office environment that once felt like a second home. While some of this discomfort may be temporary, experts suggest we may never feel the same way about shared workspaces again.

“It is possible that our threshold for distraction has changed, as the pandemic has lasted several years and we have become accustomed to an environment that is calmer and over which we have more control,” explains Veronica Galván, associate professor of psychological sciences. at the University of San Diego. “It can be shocking to return to a very different situation. »

Learn how the pandemic has affected our ability to focus and feel comfortable in an office environment.

Opening my store in New York gave me a sense of belonging

“I grew up as an only child in Toronto, but I never felt alone,” says Canadian fashion designer Tanya Taylor.

“From a very young age, I communicated better by creating. I painted life-size 1960s-style models on our basement walls to make it look like the room was full of friends to dance with. When I was older, I made my first boyfriend a collage of our dream life that included a poem in which I cut letters out of rose petals to profess my love. (He was scared, I was inspired.) I bonded with my mother through papier-mâché projects and with my father through dance.

Despite all these artistic sparks, I studied finance at McGill University in Montreal. I loved business and wanted to live in a culturally inspiring city to find myself. Needless to say, my creative itch hasn’t been scratched. Fashion, however, seemed like a form of personal expression that could combine my love of the arts and my business background.

Find out how Ms. Taylor launched her own fashion brand at 25.

In case you missed it

The problem with workplace wellness programs? They don’t work for everyone

Natasha Singh burned out in 2021.

She had worked in tech marketing for over eight years, calling it a “roller coaster of experience, from startup to large corporation.” And while she says she learned a lot during that time, “a lot of those years were deeply draining.”

Although there were wellness programs to support employees in her organizations, the lack of inclusive activities and significant job demands made participation difficult for Ms. Singh. While her colleagues found time to take advantage of a gym membership or lunchtime activities, she felt she couldn’t.

“I would look at my peers and (they) would go to yoga at lunch. They were going to practice at 5 p.m. They focused on their well-being first and then on their work,” says Ms. Singh. “My peers were white and I was one of the only people of color in the organization at the time. That was their level of privilege. The things they don’t have to worry about, like me, are different.

Read the entire article.

When it comes to women’s voices in the workplace, authenticity is what matters

What does a leader look like?

According to research on how people perceive voices, a deep baritone is much more likely to evoke leadership than a breathy soprano.

“If we ask people who sound like a leader, who seem to be dominant or in charge, even when it comes to female voices, it’s usually the deeper voice that is preferred in terms of leadership,” says Jillian O’Connor. , assistant professor of psychology at Queen’s University, whose research focuses on how voice influences our perceptions of others. “(And) if we ask people who seems more trustworthy, it’s always a deeper voice.”

Even in stereotypically female leadership settings, like PTAs and school boards, this preference remains, says Dr. O’Connor. The gender of the audience doesn’t seem to matter either. When someone speaks as a subject matter expert, such as at a TED talk or during a presentation at work, both men and women unconsciously lower their voices, says Dr. O’Connor.

“It’s about making the tone more serious (perceived as) more authoritative, more dominant and more powerful.”

Read the entire article.

Ask women and work

Question: I started a business with two partners: my sister and a friend. We have been in business for about six months, but we are experiencing problems with planning and decision-making. With three of us in charge, it takes too long to reach agreement on next steps, actions, spending, etc. How can we structure our relationship as co-owners and rationalize our decision-making?

We asked Karla Brionesowner of Global Pet Foods and business coach for the Ottawa area, to address this one:

The first thing I would recommend to anyone starting a business with co-owners is to enter into a partnership agreement from the start. You can find these documents online and they describe exactly the type of questions you’re asking: what are everyone’s roles and responsibilities? How will business decisions be made? How will disagreements be managed?

To avoid difficulties in decision-making, it is important to be perfectly clear about the roles and responsibilities of everyone within the organization. Sometimes this will be very obvious, depending on each person’s personality, strengths and what they like to do. But it can be helpful to take a personality assessment test such as a Myers-Briggs Type Indicator or a DiSC assessment to give you insight into the individual traits each person can bring to a professional environment. By knowing your Myers-Briggs Personality or DiSC Assessment Personality, it will be easier to understand how each person thinks and how you can best work together.

Worst case scenario, when there is an important decision and you just can’t come to an agreement, you can put it to a vote. There are three of you and sometimes democracy works. However, it’s not a good idea to put everything to a vote, as it will really slow down your organization. Ultimately, there will need to be one person making decisions in different areas of your business.

For example, in my retail business (Global Pet Foods), I work with my husband. From the beginning, we decided that I would be in charge of everything client-related. I was at the front desk, responsible for staff, inventory, that sort of thing, and my husband was in the back of the house, so everything that happened behind the scenes. I think when you’re starting out, titles might not make sense, but when you think about it, I was CEO, CMO and President, and my husband was CTO and CFO.

Another important part of making business decisions is having regular meetings. My husband and I meet with our senior management every week, no matter what. They are sacred. If we can’t do the meetings in person, we do them online. These meetings last an hour or less and we discuss operations, human resources, marketing, sales – each of the different departments in our company. Many decisions are made during these quick one-hour weekly meetings and it keeps everyone accountable.

Submit your own questions to Ask Women and Work by emailing us at GWC@globeandmail.com.

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