Janie Lazar is at heart a ChangeMaker. As a qualified Executive and Personal Coach, Trainer, Facilitator, Speaker and Writer, her work with professionals has a focus on Communication, specialising in working with senior management and in particular with those whose first language is NOT English. With Andrea Goldman in 2016, Janie piloted workshops to evaluate the needs of international professionals working in Ireland, resulting in an Integrated Approach to Professional Development for non-native English Speakers in the Workplace.
I learnt plenty from my early years of working. Mainly that training is different now. Our needs as human beings are recognised. Looking back, I can see the inadvertent and destructive way in which I was given feedback succeeded only in knocking me back, which is why I so strongly believe that the workplace is indeed an emotional arena and every possible support needs to be given. Yes, our experiences and emotions do indeed shape us and perhaps as confident as the ‘millenials’ may appear to be, they need all the help available to really connect. On-line is not the same as ‘Off-line’. and the work needed in building self awareness is an individual continuous journey.
Dr. Annette Clancy, Assistant Professor of Organisational Behaviour at UCD College of Business shares invaluable insights as our key note speaker at our first Breakfast Meeting of 2017 for HR Specialists and people involved in Leadership roles. Book now
This event is kindly hosted by the Bank of Ireland at the new Enterprise Lounge at UCD, Montrose. Registration from 7.45 for 8am Start. Event ends c. 9.30. Join us for lively discussion around what we believe really matters.
Whether you are working and speaking in your own language or another, speaking from experience I can say hand on heart, self confidence is key to performance.
The first Dublin breakfast event for 2017 – Contact Janie on 087 8572005 or click on image to book your place.
Calling HR Professionals: Be part of the conversation and join us as Dr. Annette Clancy shares invaluable insights at our first breakfast meeting of 2017 in Dublin at the Bank of Ireland Enterprise Centre, Montrose. Details here. Booking advisable.
Human Emotions shape us. They shape us professionally and personally. They also have a stronger influence on our overall performance and satisfaction with life than we care to realize.
In talking with participants of a Much More Than Words workshop we ran back in the Autumn, I was reminded of how strongly I too felt when working overseas about ‘not being who I thought I was’. What I mean by that is that in another country and not being as able to express myself as well as I might in my own language, I somehow felt ‘less’ and undoubtedly lost out, as did the company in different ways.
It was if I had lost part of my identity because I had mentally defined myself by what I did, rather than who I was. I felt as if someone was going to tap me on the shoulder and whisper ‘Psst… what are you doing here’ and that I was an imposter somehow because by the time I opened my mouth to say something, to contribute in team meetings, all too often the conversations moved on before I had a chance.The problem was not that I lacked the ability to speak in French, but I lacked the confidence to just say what I meant and not worry about speaking perfectly. I believe it was this lack of confidence in my early working life that led to emotions getting the better of me and working in the world of advertising, I needed to brave up fast, which I did but paid the price, a story or two for another day.
Lack of Confidence can mean missing out
But I learnt plenty from those early years. That our experiences and emotions do indeed shape us and as my career progressed, I had a responsibility to those who worked in my teams to make sure how I handled situations didn’t have a detrimental impact like some of my earlier experiences had on me. Whether you are working and speaking in your own language or another, self confidence is key to performance.
The first Dublin breakfast event for 2017 – Contact Janie on 087 8572005 or click on image to book your place.
Had I been a stronger, more resilient person and not so self conscious perhaps my ‘strangeness’, my identity as the girl from London could have been used to my advantage, as ‘a wild card’ and I would have played it stronger. But my emotions won and got the better of me.
In the workplace, how we see ourselves and others see us impact hugely on our ability to perform. How we are treated by our peers and those who lead the organisations we find ourselves in impact in ways previously considered less important perhaps than they are today.
Dr. Annette Clancy from the Quinn School of Business in UCD will be sharing invaluable insights on the 18th January, at the first of our Breakfast Events for 2017 to be held at the Bank of Ireland Enterprise Centre, Montrose, Dublin. If you’re involved in HR or a leadership role and can make it, I feel sure this will be time well spent. If you’d like to know more, you can call me directly on 086 8572005.
This blog post by Dr. Annette Clancy, our keynote speaker for January 18th caught my eye
.. Many words will be written on the wind and the sand, or end up in some obscure digital vault. But the storytelling will go on until the last human being stops listening. Then we can send the great chronicle of humanity out into the endless universe.
I found this TED Talk via Dr. Annette Clancy’s blog where she writes ‘most of the time we like to surround ourselves with people ‘like us’ thereby minimising difference in an attempt to avoid conflict. It takes a degree of self confidence and assurance to be able to sit in the middle of this kind of disagreement and to think constructively about it.‘ For me, confidence underpins everything we do. It gives us the ability to work well, work collaboratively and to speak out, to challenge, to lead to greater things. The workplace is perhaps the most emotionally charged environment of all. Let the conversations continue.
Conversations can start up just about anywhere and no better place than at airports. Recently before flying back from London, as I was having coffee I found myself chatting with a lovely Polish firefighter from Kent on his way home for the New Year. He’d lived in the UK for some 12 years plus and after the topical chit-chat around what Brexit would mean for him, I asked him about his work. The conversation moved on to whilst most of the work was straightforward dealing with relatively minor events, the more dangerous and tragic the incidents he and his crew dealt with, the greater the emotional impact. I sensed that as with most types of trauma, there is a sense of loss, futility and disappointment which builds up and felt immensely sad that these feelings lingered long afterwards and wondered how these brave firefighters dealt with their emotions. Inevitably and true to stereotype, most men he said, would bottle up their feelings and inevitably something quite trivial would act as a catalyst and ‘boom’ the built up feelings would explode, out of context and often out of control. Never dealt with. I felt fortunate to talk with this man, to have had the opportunity of going behind the capable, brave masks people like him have to wear day after day in providing such an invaluable public service. Before we parted company, we went on to talk about the excitement of being with family and friends to celebrate the coming New Year and all that is joyous in life too. A few coffees later as I left for my flight, my resolve to raise awareness of the need to deal with emotions in the workplace was ever stronger. Most certainly, we need to keep pushing this issue to the fore-front, rather than ‘under the carpet’ as it is indeed a bigger conversation, one Much More Than Words will be highlighting in a couple of weeks time and we’d like you to be part of.
The second conversation was a brief one with the Ryanair flight attendant, who provided endless entertainment to weary and extremely unresponsive passengers. He looked Irish, had a real ‘country’ accent, was both funny and fluent. Yet something in his accent told me otherwise. Another Pole ! A Polish man with a big heart, resilient and sense of humour. Welcome and Safe Journey home. How are you, I asked. With the biggest warmest smile ‘Living the Dream, living the dream’. He made me laugh as we talked, another side of the human roller-coaster of emotions. Ryanair often get slagged for all sorts of things, but I have to say, not only has their service been consistent, their customer service on a face to face level has become more human, despite it being all too easy to find yourself paying unnecessary surcharges.
So to the two Polish gentlemen, from deep in my heart, I thank you both for making my night.
the first of our Breakfast Meetings for 2017 with Dr. Annette Clancy of UCD
Before the work day really begins, we’re getting together with fellow professionals, all of whom have the power to make a tangible difference, particularly within a multi-cultural workplace.
Join us for this, the first in a series of breakfast meetings.
