Curated by the Knowledge Team of ICS Career GPS
Career
Best career tips of 2020 — The Gifts in a Crisis
Excerpts from article by Joan Michelson published in Forbes
Covid-19 tossed all of our lives into a tornado and we’re still figuring out where we’ll land. Change is the only constant. Chaos, crisis and change also shake us out of complacency and forces us to see things with fresh eyes and make different choices – and that’s where the gifts lie.
Managing chaos, crisis and change is about being able to innovate – your career, your skills, your perspective, your operations, your team, your products, your business model, your budget, everything. So, here’s a look at the top career tips of 2020 through the lens of the Innovator’s DNA (designed by the late Dr. Clayton Christensen of Harvard Business School): observe, question, associate, network, and experiment.
1. Observe – Know thyself
Step one in any review of your career or life circumstances is to “look yourself in the mirror,” and the forced isolation of the pandemic gave us a unique opportunity to do so.
Another critical way to increase your self-knowledge is to pay attention to the people around you, and listen to what they see in your career. That is, notice which projects and jobs people asked you to do or paid you to do, and how they introduced you to other people. It gives you insight into where people see your professional value.
2. Question – Assume nothing
Keep asking questions to get the facts, the data, including from unconventional sources. For example, to manage a crisis that potentially put millions of lives at risk, obtain the most valuable, unvarnished, and actionable information.
To understand what drives women to achieve, a survey was conducted in 2020. It was found that women are driven by: power (influence), status (recognition), curiosity (learning) and idealism (making a difference).
3. Associate – Connect things
Covid-19 has certainly forced us to connect dots differently. Joni Carswell, CEO of Texan By Nature (a nonprofit) said, “Look out at your path, at your history and the things that you think don’t have anything to do with one another…and, use those different ways that you’ve seen the world to solve problems.”
MSNBC legal analyst and former Watergate prosecutor Jill Wine-Banks suggests make a list of all the skills you used in past jobs, indicating which you loved and those you disliked, and then look for jobs that maximise the skills you enjoy and minimise those you don’t.
4. Network – People matter
“The best leaders, particularly during periods of change, are people-first leaders,” said Deborah Roche Lee James, the 23rd Secretary of the US Air Force.
No matter what level you’re at, there’s always office politics, or what Dr. Jennifer Wisdom calls “the game that’s being played,” – even in a virtual world.
She said, “It’s who gets the plum assignments…and how everyone talks to each other…(and) it’s enormous in women’s advancement.” She gave several tips, such as, “if you’re working with someone who makes you feel like you’re not good enough, there’s something else going on.”
5. Experiment – “Just do it!”
“I would recommend exploring ways to bring that knowledge (in your core competence) to a new area, a new firm, a new venue, sort of bridging,” Dr. Corinne Post of Lehigh University told me (author of this article, Joan Michelson).
She said that bringing one’s core competence into a new field, a new place…(or) to a new area can be very rewarding because there’s the opportunity to learn and to make an impact.
Wherever you are, seize opportunities.
Education
6 tips to prevent your child’s back, neck pain during online classes
Excerpts from article published in Times Of India
1. Improve posture during your child’s online classes
Incorrect posture, while sitting in front of a computer for long, can strain the eyes, neck and the back. Long screen time can impair your child’s spine and lead to back stiffness, physical fatigue and other health problems. With some more months extended into online learning, it has become all the more imperative that good posture and suitable learning environment are crafted even at home.
2. Fix a steady desk position
A home desk should be patterned similar to that of a classroom. Do not encourage them to slouch, lie down and watch classes on their gadgets. Encourage them to maintain proper posture while they are sitting and studying at the table. Their feet should touch the ground, screen elevated at the right level so that they don’t have to slouch and look straight ahead at the computer screen. If you have a child younger than 8, consider getting a special desk or chair which suits their structure and doesn’t harm their back.
3. Encourage stretching breaks between classes
Too much of screen-time is bad for your body as it can induce unnecessary stress on your eyes, neck and back muscles. Long hours sitting down can also turn your little ones physically inactive. A simple solution to this would be to tell them to take frequent breaks between classes. It could be a simple walk around the room or doing routine exercises.
4. Support their lower back
When we sit and focus on the laptop, we put a lot of stress on our lower back muscles and lumbar region. The extra stress is also one of the reasons why a lot of children tend to slouch or have bad posture, which can end up causing problems later on. To fix this problem, try and support their lower back by rolling a comfortable pillow or towel at the back of the chair when they sit. This would make them a lot more comfortable.
5. Do not encourage them to watch classes on the phone
If possible, instruct children to attend classes and complete assignments on a computer unit, preferably affixed to a desk. Mobiles and tablets have a smaller screen, which is bad for their eyes. Kids who attend classes on the phone are more likely to lean back on the couch, bed and be less attentive as well. Therefore, it’s crucial you maintain a good study environment if you want their performance to match that in a classroom setting.
6. Serve them a healthy diet
Lastly, make sure your kid gets all neccessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals needed for growing ages. A complete, healthy meal which contains a rich source of calcium, magnesium, Vitamin B12 and D would help them strengthen muscles and bones, and may even combat the ill-effects of long hours of sitting and bad postural habits.
(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in the article mentioned above are those of the author(s). They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of ICS Career GPS or its staff.)
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