Our Corporate Life
September 20, 2011   •   Volume 2, Issue 19   •   ISSN: 2154-3240    
In This Issue
♦   Feature Article: Career Paths
Ask Amanda: How do I deal with a boss who interferes with the performance reviews I’m giving my team?
♦   Practical Tips: Being Perfect
 
Career Paths

The idea of a career path is so compelling that as of this writing there are more than 13 million online hits when the term “career path” is searched. From an early age we’re taught that there is a right and wrong way to achieve, and if we simply follow “the path,” things will turn out OK. This line of thinking is all about minimizing risk. After all, if we follow a path that others have tread, logically we should get the same results. Where’s the problem?

First, career paths are constructed by looking back over a career. Circumstances like the business and competitive environment at the time, and the specific combination of attributes of those who paved that career path, are usually not transparent.
read more

Thought to Ponder

Actively managing your career prevents regrets.

  
Practical Tips: Being Perfect

Perfectionism is the ultimate self-defeating behavior, and ironically is often exhibited by the most conventionally successful people in our culture. These people become slaves to success because they are constantly focused on what is not going right and are unable to enjoy their achievements. At their most extreme, perfectionists accomplish nothing and create nothing, perfectly.

One of my favorite sayings is, “Consistently awful beats intermittently brilliant every time.”
read more
    
 ask Amanda
Question:

My boss constantly changes the ratings I give to subordinates on their performance reviews. I believe his interference shows favoritism and I strongly disagree with his numbers. I want to keep my job but he's being unethical. How should I handle? P.C., Meridian, MS

Amanda Mitchell
Answer:

I understand that you’re frustrated, but be careful about the logic leaps and judgments you’re making. You’ve labeled him “unethical” and someone who “shows favoritism.” Even if you’re correct, you are not his judge. Your prejudice will come through in your dealings with him and will likely escalate the situation.
read more

    
     
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Recommended Resources

Are you inadvertently recreating disempowering situations for yourself? Read Amanda's blogpost and let us know what you think.

For all you obsessive list makers out there, check out a new free tool we just discovered - workflowy.com--especially great if you think in words not pictures!

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About Us: Our Corporate Life LLC (OCL) is a company that offers a new system for reducing unnecessary workplace suffering caused by the organizational, interpersonal, and ethical issues of our time. It is founded on the belief that adhering to core human values and achieving business success are always compatible. Working with both companies and individuals, OCL helps create solutions that enable corporate employees at every level to optimize profits while enabling them to thrive in the corporate environment. OCL was founded by Amanda Mitchell to help meet the needs of people working in corporate America during this transformative moment in our nation's history. The OCL system reflects her experience and insight gained from a 20–year corporate career working with Fortune 500 companies, and as an executive coach to senior–level corporate executives. Our Corporate Life
 
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