COMUNICAZIONE ASSERTIVA Ossia: Dì la tua mantenendo buoni rapporti

Assertiveness is the ability to express one’s emotions and opinions clearly and effectively, while maintaining good relationships with others. Assertive people express themselves authentically, listen actively, and ask for clarification without being either passive or aggressive, respecting themselves and others. This experiential course is designed to increase participants’ level of self-affirmation through the theory and practice of a variety of assertive communication techniques.

1 Oct. 2014
CIS Valmadrera (LC)
€155 + IVA (with lunch). Held in Italian.
Download the brochure here (pdf) for more information.

Effective self-marketing (not to be confused with boasting) is a professional skill of ever-increasing importance – and it’s crucial to know which points to emphasize when you talk about yourself. Whereas technical skills and experience in today’s highly competitive market are nearly considered as a “given”, interpersonal skills have become a distinguishing factor in one’s professional success.

In this hands-on course, participants will increase awareness of their strengths and uniqueness in terms of soft skills, and acquire greater confidence in self-marketing through practical techniques. Download the brochure here.

10 February 2014
9:00-17:00
CIS Valmadrera (LC)
Cost: €155 +Iva, incl. lunch

ciscorno@ciscorno.it
www.ciscorno.it

A Man’s Advice for Women in Management

I read an interesting article not too long ago, interesting in that it gave a male view of what women managers should or should not do to further succeed in their career. Here are some choice pieces of proffered advice from a respected sales and ex-HR director of well-known multinationals:

– “When women make it to certain level they don’t necessarily need to demonstrate that they deserve it –- a little more self-confidence would serve them well.”
– “Women need to realize that if roles and positions have been attributed to them, trying too hard to copy male characteristics, such as authoritativeness, is not only unnecessary, but it can also be counterproductive. If women occupy a certain position, it’s because they possess the appropriate qualities for that specific position.”
– “Men don’t worry too much about why they hold a certain position, which gives them more energy to understand their surroundings and develop relationships. On the other hand, women are strongly focused on themselves once they get to a certain level, as if they constantly need to convince themselves of their role.”

Alas, I too have experienced a number of women like the ones that this man is referring to, akin to Miranda Priestly in “The Devil Wears Prada”. Fortunately, not all successful women in management try to emulate men, are overly demonstrative of their capabilities, and are too self-centered.

What do those other women do differently? They frequently adopt a coach approach to management, where their oft-innate skills of listening, encouragement and showing empathy, for example, are expressed and appreciated. In short, women allow themselves to be more natural without necessarily trying to fit into a male mold.

Try it, it works.

To sharpen your management skills in coaching and avoid Miranda’s fate, see the News & Events section for upcoming courses on this subject: “Nuove competenze al femminile: Affiancare e sviluppare i propri collaboratori” and “Coaching e strumenti di sviluppo manageriale” within Il Sole 24 Ore’s Master’s program, Management della Formazione.

As a parent, I am always happy – relieved, even – when September rolls around and it’s time for the kids to return to school. As a professional, why hasn’t a similar annual reminder to think about my education been firmly ingrained into my brain? Now is the time for that to happen: taking learning and development into your own hands has become crucial to continued professional success in today’s economy.

LinkedIn cofounder and executive chairman Reid Hoffman, spurred by the recent publication of his book “The Start-up of You”(Crown Business), states in a March 2012 interview by Reader’s Digest: “It’s no longer: I do my job, and The Man promotes me. You must develop your own capabilities, your own assets, your own opportunities.…The real question is how you invest in yourself every week and every month, just like businesses do–because businesses that don’t invest in themselves are terminal businesses.”

Developing your skills and knowledge is one of the primary aspects of investing in yourself. What is your next self-development move?

For further advice on proactively managing your professional success, see “Working Women and Self-Managing Your Career”, where life-long learning is one of the top 5 proactive moves implemented by real-life women of Milan.

Autorevolezza e assertività al femminile: Affermare la propria leadership

Designed to empower women to assert themselves as leaders both professionally and personally, this program is comprised of three interactive half-day modules and an individual coaching session. Participants will develop assertive communication and self-management skills, increase self-assurance, and become more aware of what it means to personally be a leader.

28 Oct., 12 & 26 Nov. 2013
9:00-13:00
CIS Valmadrera (LC)
€390 + IVA (incl. coaching session and lunches). Held in Italian. Visit here for more information.

Wouldn’t it be nice if the steps to becoming more self-confident were explained as simply as, say, the steps to making chocolate cheesecake? Well, my Métamorphose partner Dorcas Lasme-Adou and I think it should be. That is why we put together a short instruction manual, specifically for women, with instructions on how to increase your self-assurance. Read the condensed version here.

Self-Confidence Instructions c_v 06_12 (pdf)

What techniques work well to boost your self-confidence? Please let us know!