High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: 9 Ways to Improve Your Perseverance Skills

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• 9 Ways to Improve Your Perseverance Skills: "By learning to take risks, you raise the probability of facing more difficult situations. When in those difficult situations, if you can learn to adapt and understand what steps are necessary to keep the company moving in the right direction."

• 5 Ways to Manage Your Fear of Uncertainty: "If a feared outcome materializes, chances are you will deal with it better than you could now imagine. Remember that the next time uncertainty rears its head."

• How to Cultivate Determination: "If you spend all of your time weakness-fixing, you’ll lose determination pretty quickly. When you’re moving toward a goal, take on the things you’re really strong at, and collaborate in areas where you’re weak."

• How to Make Your Organization Matter More to People: "We also believe that the business case for inclusion is strong, that we have a credible case to make to organizations that if you're committed to doing this, it will pay off in terms of your relevance, your resilience and your sustainability."
• 15 Leadership Lessons:"If you don't feel like you know what you're doing, leap into leadership anyway. You're more ready than you think."

How to Deal with Your Company's Uncertain Future

Market conditions and business realities can change in a hurry and, with it, plans for a sustained career with a specific employer.

When your company goes through rounds of layoffs or strings a few down quarters in a row, it can be difficult to stay focused on your job, especially if the rumors are flying and others around you have been laid off or are feeling pressure.

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Here are a few steps to deal with the uncertainty.

Stay informed. Be aware of the situation of your company and the state of your industry by attending company meetings, listening to calls with shareholders, or reading industry websites and magazines. The more you know about the situation the better prepared you will be to manage whatever comes. Be sure to have regular conversations with your manager or boss to discuss the specific situation your company is facing and how it might impact you and your team.

Manage stress. This is a particularly good time to practice self-care and focus on ways to feel healthier, both physically and emotionally. Eat well, reduce alcohol, eliminate unhealthy habits like smoking, sleep well, and practice meditation or yoga. The better you are at managing the stress levels in your life, the better prepared you will be for any eventuality at work.

Be prepared. It’s possible your company could file for bankruptcy, be sold, or go out of business. Any of these possibilities could lead to you losing your job. Prepare for this possibility by deepening your network of contacts, updating your resume, and becoming familiar with job search sites that will be most relevant to your work interests.

Diversify skills. The more valuable you are to the company the better your chances of remaining employed, and like the NFL, one way to increase value is to be able to play multiple positions. What that looks like in your company is specific to your work and industry, but it also means developing your soft skills, like conflict resolution or empathy, while also being a good accountant or engineer. Think about the skills and abilities your company needs to succeed and find ways to develop the skills needed to make a positive contribution.

You might not avoid a lay off or the impacts of the market on your company, but you can find ways to better position yourself for a more positive future.

High 5 Weekly Career Transitions Roundup: How to Get That Promotion You Want

This is our weekly roundup of some of the best career-related articles, interviews, blogs, etc., we've read during the week. We share them so you have some great resources to prepare you for the coming week. Enjoy!

• How to Get That Promotion You Want:"Challenge yourself to list three reasons the responsibilities of the new role are better than your responsibilities now. If you can’t answer this, you have homework to do."

• Uncertainty is a Key to Success: "some of the world’s greatest thought leaders didn’t succeed because they were dead sure that they would; they succeeded because they wouldn’t allow doubt and fear of the unknown to keep them from succeeding. In other words, they embraced uncertainty."

• Why Good Leaders Delegate: "She worried that staffers might be overwhelmed by taking on work she had done, for example, handling the initial phone call with a prospective client."

• How to Make the Best of Failure: "Mentors, coaches and leaders are in a position to teach because they have made the mistakes. Failing their way through is what gave them the wisdom to lead others."
• 5 Questions to Make Sure You Want to Quite Your Job: "It’s easy to underestimate just how tightly the fabric of your daily life is knitted around your job. So, think about what you will lose and how it is likely to affect you."