Many of us are so used to the organisation being top-centric where authority lives and directives are flowed down. The upside-down organisation chart is something that we need to consciously adopt and adapt to.
If you visualise the upside-down org chart, you will see that the leader literally is supporting and holding up the entire structure. What drives this leader?
Continue reading
[8 June 2021] Day 8 of the fmco* in Malaysia.
I wrote about Stewardship in an upside-down org chart yesterday.
There is more to leadership than our decision-making skills. One of the services a leader must provide is the capacity of vision and foresight. Without this, the whole organisation will either go in different directions or in the wrong direction.
Continue reading
[7 June 2021] Day 7 of the fmco* in Malaysia.
We’ve seen this kind of organisation chart being drawn all the time. The leader is always at the top. Yeah, I’ve used it too. But in practise, it should be upside-down. What sort of leadership will put themselves at the bottom?
Continue reading
[6 June 2021] Day 6 of the fmco* in Malaysia.
Everyone is selling happiness. Everyday, we are overloaded on social media with well-intentioned messages. If we follow their advise, you’ll be a better at what you do or you’ll live better, and hence there’s a promise of achieving happiness at the end of the journey.
“Buy my product. Follow my plan. Invest.”
You can do it! See, I’ve done it! If I can do it, you can do it! Aim high.
What if I cannot? What if I cannot make it to my goal? Should I give up? This is not for me.
Recently, I read a comment on social media. The commenter says she feels so much better on a channel with dysfunctional folks than on the channel with lots of polished experts. She was more depressed after spending time on the latter. For her, the former was more authentic. (More on this in another musing.) Everyone could laugh at themselves.
I believe some of us are too harsh on ourselves A few years ago, I came about this realisation. I now aim for progress in my journey, not perfection in my goal. Often, we confuse perfectionism with striving for excellence.
Here are some examples of what perfectionism sounds like:
This sounds really stressful. Be kind to yourself.
Compare this to how progress sounds like:
I visualise progress as taking a drive along country roads – taking simple joys in the pace, in the scenery, and if we are lucky, friends we make along the way. And with each stop, we are a better version of ourselves than in the previous stop.
To me, happiness is not a destination. It’s the journey itself. Take joy in your successes, and also in your setbacks. Progress is what fills the gap between your abilities and your aspirations.
About the Author: Gina Phan is a consultant and trainer with Zinfinity Consulting. She currently conducts courses in workplace performance skills. Click here to contact her, follow her on Facebook or connect with her on Linkedin.
#progress #kaizen #bekindtoyourself #acceptance #openmindset #happiness #growthmindset
#trainergina #ginaphan #gp
(Feature Image by Jill Wellington from Pixabay)
*fmco stands for Full Movement Control Order.
I got my first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine yesterday evening! I am so happy! I have done a small part to help achieve herd immunity and to protect my family and myself.
The process was very smooth. Everyone we met was friendly, patient, polite, accommodating, and mindful. We got done in 25 minutes plus 15-minutes in the observation area and another 10 minutes queuing at the photo booths. I started timing from the elevator at the car park.
At every stop, the people in charge were professional, carefully checking our IDs, the MySejahtera tracing app, our forms, and our health condition. The whole process worked like a well-oiled machine. I applaud the logistics and operations managers for this massive national vaccination programme. They have done a really good job.
At each point, I asked the staff if they were volunteers. Many are. Malaysia, we owe these volunteers big time. They don’t have to do this. They could have spent their days either tending to their business, studies or jobs, or spending time at home with their family during this lockdown. And yet, they stepped up to the plate to do this for us.
We still need more volunteers – both healthcare and non-healthcare. Learn more about MyVAC (Malaysia Vaccine Support Volunteers) . The FAQ page is pretty comprehensive. The more volunteers we have, the more vaccination centres we can operate. Sign up as one if you wish to contribute.
What about me? My most recent experience as a volunteer was for #WLIC2018 international conference that Malaysia hosted. It was a very rewarding experience. I am considering to sign up as a MyVac volunteer after my second dose. Wanna join me?
About the Author: Gina Phan is a consultant and trainer with Zinfinity Consulting. She currently conducts courses in workplace performance skills. Click here to contact her, follow her on Facebook or connect with her on Linkedin.
#gratitude #covid-19 #vaccine #volunteering
#trainergina #ginaphan #gp
*fmco stands for Full Movement Control Order.
A young child with missing front teeth is cute. It’s so adorable when kids flash their wide toothless grin.
Today, I am sharing something more personal. A few days ago, a friend posted this question on Linkedin. What if it’s an adult? Will missing front teeth hurt his/her image?
Continue reading
Zoom fatigue. Screen fatigue.
Many people have gone online for more than a year now since the pandemic start early last year. For many of us, we are doing almost everything staring at the screen — emails, texting, as well as reading for work and for pleasure.
I used to watch TV (remember that box?) or videos on the computer as a break. But recently, I found that I have very little patience to watch even a 2-minute video. I keep forwarding the video to see if there’s really anything that will interest me. Does this happen to you?
Continue reading
Last night, I was making a comment in a friend’s Facebook post when the question hit me. Since the pandemic started, we are so used to the wfh (work-from-home) acronym. Why do we say ‘work from home‘, but never ‘work from office‘?
Continue reading
I wrote this soundbite yesterday on my social media channel and thought I’ll post it here as well.
When we are locked in with the rest of the family, there will be stress because we may feel we are pulled in different directions all at the same time. We are bound to find ourselves in #disagreements (aka #conflict) more often than ‘normal’. (What is normal now, btw?)
Here are some #communication tips for you:
Recently, I had 2 experiences that inspired this post about how attitudes are so important. It’s obvious that either one shouldn’t have happen so it’s incredible that they did.
Continue reading
There was a train accident 2 nights ago in Kuala Lumpur. While there were no fatalities, many were injured, some being in critical condition. The nation has many questions. Investigations have started. But many are incensed with the way the press conference by the service provider was conducted yesterday.
Continue reading
You’re laying pipes and there’s a rock. I wrote about this here and here 4 months ago. When you encounter something unexpected, you can have a not-my-problem mindset. Are you smiling and nodding your head? Perhaps, you are thinking of someone you know.
But there are reasons that you would want to keep the rock there and work around it.
Continue reading
You cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Last Friday, I tackled the piling loose papers on my work desk. Procrastination is a funny thing. According to NY Times, it is not about laziness.
Then what is it about?
Continue reading
SWINGING doors.
These remind me of the old western movies. The cowboy pushes the doors open with both hands. He never enters the saloon through 1 side. (Cowboy 101: You cannot swagger through one side of the saloon doorway.)
Continue readingMichael Jordan (“MJ”) was a professional basketball player in the NBA. He played for the Chicago Bulls team for many years and later, the Washington Wizard. Quoting from his biography on the official NBA website: “By acclamation, Michael Jordan is the greatest basketball player of all time.”
It’s not easy to remain reach the apex. It takes talent, skills, and diligence. Plus, a growth mindset helps. But MJ has this to day about enduring success. This is what he said:
“Not my problem! I’m just here to do my job. I mind my own business.”
This is the core of an individualistic task-based mindset. “My task is to lay pipes from point A to point B. It’s someone else’s job to look for and remove the obstacles in the way. If not, I’ll just work around the obstacle even if it doesn’t meet the specifications.”
Continue reading
Someone asked me this question not too long ago so I thought I would write a little about this.
____________________________________________________________________________
About the Author: Gina Phan is a consultant and trainer with Zinfinity Consulting. She currently conducts courses in workplace performance skills. Click here to contact her, follow her on Facebook or connect with her on Linkedin.
How to answer a question you cannot answerCustomer Service staff in medical centres are not allowed to recommend doctors to patients when they call in. Most medical centres have this policy. So, what can they do when pushed for an answer?
I was at the Customer Services Counter at a medical centre last week. The lady had to multi-task — answering phone calls and entertaining walk-ins like me.
The phone lines were not busy and the Customer Service lobby was quiet. The agent signaled me to be seated right at her desk. She had just answered a call and I could hear the phone conversation. It went something like this: Continue reading
CC0 Image: Pixabay/missavana
A participant in my Consultative Sales course asked me to summarise what customers want from the sales professional. To answer this question, I looked back at the valuable customer relationships I had over the years. Here’s my list:
Customers want you to: Continue reading
