Angelica Rains, Author at Groupe Insearch

How to Foster a Growth Mindset for Professional Success

By Angelica RainsExecutive Assistant, Hiring Strategies, Leadership

Success in C-level support is often determined by mindset. Professionals who believe in their own potential are more likely to progress in their career than professionals who doubt themselves or believe they aren’t capable of becoming better. The following tips will help you foster a growth mindset.

Practice Self-Reflection

In order to develop a growth mindset, it’s important to know who you are. Begin to understand as much as you can about your skills, talents, and challenges. This will give you a clearer idea of what areas can be improved upon and what talents are being underutilized in your current job that can still be tapped later. Self-reflection helps you gain insight into who you are and what you can become.

Embrace Your Ability to Change

It is common for people to believe that things like intelligence and personality are set it stone. In reality, most aspects of who you are can change if you put your mind to it. If you think your intelligence and capability are static, your focus is on proving your worth instead of on personal growth. Most qualities that define you are really just a starting point. By pushing yourself outside your comfort zone, gaining new experiences, and expanding your knowledge, you can change many aspects of yourself, including your personality, aptitude, and skillset.

Challenge Yourself

One of the main reasons people fail to grow in their professional life is from not challenging themselves enough. When you do the same kind of tasks every day, you become comfortable with the status quo. However, when you embrace new challenges, you often discover new talents you didn’t know you had. By taking on tasks that are outside your comfort zone, you also put yourself in situations that provide opportunities to learn.

Choose Feedback over Praise

Many professionals seek out praise in their work. While praise isn’t inherently bad, it can be an obstacle to growth. When you seek out praise, the tendency is to take on responsibilities with which you know you can excel and lean heavily into the talents you already have. However, it’s unlikely you will get smarter and more skilled by playing it safe. To grow, it’s essential to perform tasks you know will require effort on your part or even tasks that can lead you to instances of failure. Be open-minded about failure and seek out feedback. This is the only way to learn new skills and expand your capabilities.

When you cultivate a growth mindset, you have the ability to continuously gain new talents, improve your intelligence, and become a more valuable employee. To shift toward a growth mindset, you have to learn about your strengths and weaknesses, come to terms with your potential, challenge yourself every chance you get and embrace failure.

December 2, 2020

Tips to Stay Organized Even When You are Busier Than Ever

By Angelica RainsCareer Guidance, Executive Assistant

Do you have trouble staying organized? You’re not the only one. Executive Assistants, Chiefs of Staff, and Office Managers have busy schedules, and the work can often become overwhelming. These tips will help you stay organized even when you are your busiest.

Keep Things Minimal

Whether it’s your desk or your email inboxes, cleaning is always harder if you have a lot of stuff. When it comes to emails, delete those you know you don’t need and archive those you aren’t sure about. Decluttering your desk can also make your work feel much more manageable. It’s important to discard mail, documents, and other paperwork you don’t need before it piles up and becomes overwhelming. Having a shredder nearby can make this task easier since you will have a secure way to get rid of paperwork you no longer need.

Create an Organized System for Notes and Lists

Having sticky notes and random lists all over your office makes it hard to keep track of important reminders. It is a good idea to explore digital options such as G-Suite so you can keep all your notes and lists in one place that is easily accessible. If you prefer paper, try using folders or sleeved organizers. They are easier to keep organized than stacks or bulletin boards.

Prioritize Tasks

Making lists of the task you need to complete can help you stay more organized. However, you should consider how important each task is. Lists aren’t useful if they are too ambitious. Consider what tasks you can delegate to other people and what tasks aren’t worth doing at all. In some cases, you may have a task that stays on your list week after week. Maybe it’s more of a long-term goal than a task. If it becomes clear that it’s a task you’re never going to accomplish, remove it from your to-do list.

Schedule Time for Cleaning

If you schedule time for cleaning on your calendar, you are more likely to get it done. If you devote a half hour each week to cleaning your office, you can prevent the space from ever becoming so disorderly it feels unmanageable. You might also want to schedule a day each month for a larger clean out. Time spent organizing isn’t wasted time because it will allow you work more efficiently, saving you time in the long run.

Organization is a critical skill for professionals in C-Level support, though it can seem impossible to stay organized if your schedule is always jam packed. You can improve your organization by prioritizing tasks, scheduling time for cleaning on your calendar, moving towards a paperless system, and keeping your work environment minimal.

November 25, 2020

How to Know When it’s Time to Move On

By Angelica RainsCareer Guidance, Executive Assistant

It isn’t always easy to know if you should stay in the job you have or look for a new opportunity. There are many factors to consider, including compensation, job satisfaction, mental health, and potential for career advancement. Below are ways to know when it’s time to move on.

You Are Unhappy

The simplest way to assess if a job is right for you is to reflect on your emotional state. If you wake up every morning dreading the workday ahead of you, it doesn’t matter how much money you’re making. Your health isn’t worth risking for a job. Working in a toxic environment that makes you miserable can also have negative effects on your personal life. For long term success, it’s important to have a job that you enjoy and gives you a sense of purpose.

The Company Isn’t Going in a Good Direction

Another thing to consider is the state of the company you work for. Have there been a lot of changes to the staff? Maybe there has been some negative media coverage in recent months, or you have noticed the organization has started to cut corners. You can’t always tell if a company is headed for a merger, acquisition, or bankruptcy, but if the signs of growth aren’t there, it’s time to consider moving on. You want to work for a company that has clear signs of success and growth.

You’re Not Advancing

Do you feel like you aren’t learning any new skills or the work you perform is no longer a challenge? Have you stopped getting raises or doubt whether you will receive a promotion in the future? If you don’t feel like there is room for you to advance in the organization, you’re probably not in the right position. It is especially worrisome if your managers seem distant towards you. Don’t want to wait to be fired or for your job to become obsolete to start looking for a new role.

You Don’t Feel Useful

Companies sometimes hire for a role they don’t clearly understand. They believe a role involves certain skills or tasks, but the reality of the job may look much different than their expectations. This is because managers don’t necessary get to observe the day-to-day job of their employees. If you enter a job expecting to be able to use certain skills only to find that none of those skills are actually being applied, you might want to move on and find a job that is a better fit for you.

Professionals are often reluctant to move on from a job because they worry about money or job security. However, sometimes moving on is your best option. If your work makes you miserable, the work becomes boring, or you feel like you aren’t learning new skills or using those you have, it’s probably time to start looking for your next opportunity.

November 18, 2020

3 Tips to Improve Your Hiring Process Today

By Angelica RainsHiring Strategies, Interviews

The ability to recruit top-of-the-line talent is essential for the success of an organization. Your hiring process greatly influences how your team performs as well as the level of talent you attract and retain. These three tips can help you improve your hiring process today.

1. Eliminate Unconscious Bias

Unconscious bias can decrease the diversity of candidates you attract, negatively affect your decision making, and create a toxic employee experience. There are several ways to reduce bias in your hiring process. First, make the process as standard as possible. Every candidate should be asked the same questions and be judged by the same criteria. Second, use neutral language when writing job descriptions. The job descriptions should not appeal to one gender or ethnicity more than another. You can also reduce bias by blacking out names when you screen resumes, so you don’t know their gender or race.

2. Speed Up the Process

Inefficiency is one of the main reasons hiring strategies fail. The reality is high-quality candidates don’t stay available for long. Their transition from one job to the next could be less than two weeks. A slow hiring process can prevent you from landing exceptional talent and force you to choose between mediocre candidates. With this in mind, you cannot afford to be indecisive. When you find the right candidate, act quickly. It’s also important to reach out to candidates promptly after interviewing them so they know you’re interested.

3. Clarify Expectations

Most candidates have experienced a situation in which they accepted a job offer only to discover the role wasn’t at all what they thought it would be. High-quality candidates are looking for clear expectations. They want the interview process explained to them in advance and next steps carefully communicated. They figure if the hiring manager communicated what to expect from the hiring process clearly, they’ll communicate expectations for the role just as well. That said, accurately describing the role to candidates is essential. Ask employees who work closely with the role to describe what job responsibilities new hires should expect. If the job does not match what a new hire expects, they won’t last long.

An effective hiring process is essential if you want to attract and retain the best talent. You can improve your hiring strategy by eliminating unconscious bias, making the process faster and more efficient, and setting clear expectations.

November 11, 2020

4 Skills That Will Make You the Leader Others Want to Follow

By Angelica RainsExecutive Assistant, Leadership, Training

There are a few traits all great leaders in the c-suite have in common, such as excellent communication skills and the ability to take charge. But not all great leaders inspire people to want to follow them. These four underrated skills will help you become the best leader you can be.

1. Nimbleness

The business world changes rapidly. For this reason, the most effective leaders know how to identify and make sense of complex and dynamic business environments. Great leaders are nimble; they have the ability to respond quickly to change. Essentially, the best leaders can sense opportunities when they present themselves and then take advantage of those opportunities by acting decisively.

2. Receptivity to Feedback

The best leaders continually work on improving themselves. They know there is always room for improvement, so they listen closely when people give them feedback and are not defensive in reaction. As a leader, when you listen to criticism and take it in stride, you also encourage your employees to embrace constructive feedback. Thus, receptivity not only helps you improve your leadership capabilities, it also helps to improve performance of your team members.

3. Diplomacy

Diplomacy is one of the most under appreciated leadership skills. Few things can impede the success of a team as much having a toxic work environment. While there will always be conflict in the workplace, leaders who are diplomatic know how to mitigate conflict without alienating employees. Diplomacy also help leaders get along with all of their team members, even if their personalities clash. Ultimately, great leaders need to be able to stay professional.

4. Accountability

Excellent leaders practice accountability. They follow through on their commitments, keep their promises, and take responsibility for their mistakes. One way to improve accountability is to plan for the unexpected. For example, it’s smart to assume tasks will take longer than you think in case you encounter any roadblocks. When you show accountability, people are more likely to see you as trustworthy and responsible. These are the kind of traits that make people want to follow you.

There are many different skills and characteristics that can make someone an effective leader, but not all great leaders are exceptional. Nimbleness, receptivity, diplomacy, and accountability are four skills can make you an exceptional leader who inspires your employees to be their best.

November 4, 2020

Embodying Cultural Awareness at Work

By Angelica RainsExecutive Assistant, Leadership, Training

As the C-suite becomes more and more diverse, companies and their employees need to actively work on raising their cultural awareness. Truly embodying cultural awareness in the workplace means understanding differences in cultures and giving everyone an equal level of respect. It also involves eliminating unconscious biases and normalizing the idea that diversity makes an organization stronger.

Benefits of Cultural Awareness

When your company embodies cultural awareness, everyone benefits. Employees feel more comfortable in their work environment and are encouraged to learn from each other. Cultural awareness is also the first step in creating an inclusive work culture. When everyone on your team feels valued and respected, the team works better together, and employee engagement and productivity increase. Cultural awareness can also improve a company’s ability to solve problems because the team can approach problems from many different perspectives.

It Starts with Research

The first step is to recognize that everyone has preconceived notions about other cultures that may not be true. In developing cultural awareness, you have to set aside assumptions and research with an open mind. Part of this requires you to talk to people with diverse backgrounds and listen. As you work on advancing cultural awareness in the workplace, monitor your own behavior in interacting with people from other cultures. This is the easiest way to identify any unconscious biases you may have. Research cultural practices to better understand how to show respect to employees from different backgrounds than your own.

Learn How to Communicate Flexibly

Communication practices differ from one culture to the next. It’s important to take the time to learn about communication variations related to culture because it helps avoid misunderstandings and workplace conflict. For example, a word in one culture can be a compliment but, in another culture, it could be an insult. With this in mind, when a company embodies cultural awareness, overall communication improves over time. This, in turn, helps employees work harmoniously as a team, allowing for more cooperation.

The C-Suite is becoming more diverse, which means it is more important than ever that companies start thinking more about how they can improve cultural awareness in the workplace. Cultural awareness and inclusivity helps ensure all employees feel respected, improves communication, encourages teamwork, and more. The key is to promote self-reflection and interaction because it is the best way to learn about different cultures and eliminate unconscious biases.

October 28, 2020

The Importance of Prioritizing Your Team’s Mental Health

By Angelica RainsExecutive Assistant, Industry Trends, Leadership

As a leader in C-level support, the mental health of your team should be a top priority. When employees are overstressed, anxious, or depressed, they can’t perform their best. Fortunately, there is a lot you can do to tend to the mental health of your team. Below we’ll cover the importance of prioritizing your team’s mental health and tips for how to emphasize their well-being.

Why Does Mental Health Matter?

The mental health of an employees affects almost every aspect of their work performance, including the ability to focus, motivation, confidence, and interpersonal relationships. If members of your team are struggling with their mental health, they may feel like they have no sense of purpose, which will inevitably affect engagement. Mental health can also impact sleep habits. If employees aren’t getting a healthy amount of sleep, they will make more mistakes and struggle to focus.

Be Observant

The first thing a manager can do to make the well-being of their team a priority is paying attention. You can often tell if someone is experiencing stress, anxiety, depression, or other mental health concerns by observing them. For example, they might seem more agitated than usual. Encourage your team members to be open about their mental health without pressuring them. Keep in mind that sometimes the signs of mental illness aren’t so obvious.

Be Supportive

The best thing you can do as a leader to encourage better mental health within your team is to be supportive. When employees are struggling with mental health, they often feel overwhelmed and alone. They need to know that you care about their well-being and that they have your support if they need it. Moreover, an unsupportive work environment can be a trigger for anxiety and other problems.

Be a Source of Motivation

One reason the well-being of your team is so important is the effect it can have on engagement. Employees who feel depressed can have a difficult time motivating themselves and putting the right amount of energy into their work. Almost everyone struggles with motivation from time to time, especially when they’re feeling more stressed than usual. As a leader, you can help by being a source of positive energy. If you stay positive and motivated, you can improve team morale as a whole. You can also encourage team engagement by setting goals for your team members and taking an interest in their career development.

Cultivating the mental well-being of your team members should be a priority at any organization, especially now. When your team is healthy, they are more alert, more engaged, and more productive. You not only will show your team you value them as people, but also that you want to help them perform at their best.

October 21, 2020

How to Improve Your Negotiation Skills

By Angelica RainsCareer Guidance, Executive Assistant

Many professionals struggle with negotiation because they don’t want to step on toes or come across as too ambitious. While negotiating can sometimes lead to conflict, it is necessary if you want to succeed in C-level support. The ability to negotiate effectively can help facilitate raises, promotions, and other career milestones, as well as improve your ability to gain new clients and influence decision makers. Below are some tips for how to improve your negotiation skills.

Rethink What Negotiation Means

Many professionals avoid negotiating with management because they equate negotiation with confrontation. Although it is true that the two can sometime go hand in hand, confrontation is not an inherent part of negotiation. Look at negotiation as an opportunity for both parties to come to an agreement in a way that gives everyone what they want. If you walk into a meeting focused on reaching an agreement that benefits you more than the other party, you either won’t receive what you want in the present or you’ll make future negotiations more challenging. Instead, focus on achieving an outcome that favors all parties equally.

Identify Interests and Goals

When negotiating, be aware of what your interests are and what the interests are of the other individuals involved in the conversation. The first step is to take the time to reflect on your goals before you begin negotiations. The clearer you understand your aim, the better. To understand the interests of the people you are negotiating with, you need to practice active listening. Let them talk enough for you to identify what they want and why they want it.

Give Yourself a Pep Talk

If you have consistently struggled with negotiating, you are likely used to receiving less than you deserve. Over time, this can have a negative effect on your confidence. It is important to build yourself up before you walk into a negotiation. You need to believe you deserve what you are asking for from the moment you start talking. If others see hesitation or self-doubt in you, they will be less likely to cooperate with you because they will know it will be easy for them to get you to back down.

Successful negotiation is all about ensuring all parties walk away happy. You can improve your negotiation skills by focusing on creating win-win solutions, clearly identifying your interests, actively listening, and presenting yourself as confident and self-assured. Practicing your negotiation skills will make it easier for you to attain your own goals in a way that is mutually beneficial for everyone involved.

October 14, 2020

Transforming a Toxic Work Culture

By Angelica RainsExecutive Assistant, Leadership, Training

Few things can hinder success of an organization more than a toxic work culture. Negative attitudes, interpersonal conflict, and stress can lower the performance of the whole team. Companies often have a few negative members who weigh down the entire team, which speaks to how damaging toxicity can be. However, with strong leadership, you can transform a toxic work culture back into a healthy one.

Acknowledge Toxic Behavior

One reason toxic behavior has the tendency to pervade the entire work culture is that leaders take too long to address the behavior because they want to avoid conflict, or they don’t realize the impact one person can have on team dynamics before it’s too late. It is imperative that leadership call out toxic behavior immediately, so team members can identify the unproductive behaviors they might be unaware of. It is also important to discipline consistently. Employees need to know that toxic behavior will not be tolerated.

Encourage Positive Actions

On the flip side, it is essential to also identify what behaviors and attitudes you do value as an organization and encourage your team members to embrace those characteristics, such as collaboration, humility, and respect. This is how building a positive work culture starts. If everyone treats others with compassion, acts ethically, works together to solve problems, and maintains an optimistic attitude, you can create a work environment that is both productive and enjoyable.

Be Supportive

It takes time to heal from the effects of working in a toxic culture. Employees may have had to deal with unnecessary anxiety, bullying, feelings of inadequacy, and other challenges. It’s not enough to get rid of toxic behaviors in the workplace. You also have to build your team members back up. If employees know they have the support of management and that work culture is a top priority, they can start to feel comfortable in their jobs again.

Use Training and Team Building Exercises

Training and team building exercises can be used to reinforce positive behaviors in the workplace. You can use training activities to show employees how to communicate respectfully with one another and how to deal with conflict in a healthy manner. Team building activities can help rebuild trust between team members and encourage cooperation.

Having a toxic culture will always keep an organization from performing at its best. If employees dread coming to work every day, they aren’t going to be as productive or engaged as they need to be to maximize their potential. Companies can transform toxic cultures into positive ones by firmly addressing negative behaviors, identifying, demonstrating, and encouraging positive behaviors, and creating a supportive work environment.

October 7, 2020

Sharing Your Leadership Skills in the Job Interview

By Angelica RainsExecutive Assistant, Leadership, Training

When considering new opportunities in C-level support, it’s important to demonstrate to employers that you have leadership qualities. You may be asked to provide examples of times you showed leadership skills. People applying for managerial positions expect these types of questions. However, it has become common for employers to ask about leadership skills in roles such as chief of staff, family office management, or even executive assistant, which can sometimes throw interviewees for a loop. The following tips will guide you through the process of sharing your leadership skills during the job interview.

Reflect on Your Ideas about Leadership

The first step is to think about what leadership means to you. There isn’t one definition that applies to everyone or every situation. Employers don’t want you to have the exact same understanding of leadership as they do, nor do they want you to share examples they can relate to. What they want to know is that you comprehend why leadership is important and are self-aware enough to understand how you exemplify leadership in a professional setting. Start by thinking about a role model you admire who held a position of authority. This will help you reflect on how your ideal leader behaves. What qualities did they have? How did they approach problems?

Pick an Example that Highlights Your Strengths

Employers are always looking for talent who has the potential to be decisive, take action, and inspire others. Once you have a clear understanding of what you value in a leader, you can reflect on past situations in which you demonstrated the leadership skills and qualities you most admire. It’s also a smart idea to take a second look at the job description, as well as the company website. You may find clues about how your role could require you to lead. You don’t necessarily want to share the story that is the most impressive. Share a story that is relevant to the role you are applying for and genuinely reflects how you perceive strong leadership.

Communicate Your Example Clearly

A good story is meaningless without good storytelling. Start by briefly describing what leadership means to you using a definition that complements your example. Then, describe the scenario in which you demonstrated leadership skills. Provide enough context for the interviewer to comprehend why the situation required that you take charge. Next, identify what actions you took that reflect leadership skills. What role did you play and how did you behave during the scenario? Finally, discuss the outcome. What did your actions achieve and how did the experience inform your opinion about the importance of leadership.

Behavioral questions are often the hardest kind to answer during interviews. Questions about leadership can be particularly challenging because it’s such an important skillset. The key to sharing examples of leadership with prospective employers is to have a firm understanding of what leadership means to you, choose a story that is relevant to the role you have applied for, and structure the story in a way that is clear, concise, and detailed.

September 30, 2020