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GRACE ORISAKIYA: VOICE CATEGORIZATION IN THE WORKPLACE.

Your voice can be described in different ways, the most common definition is the sound the is being produced when you speak or sing, however, your voice could also be what your opinions are and how you are perceived. It isn’t just the sound but the message embedded in the sound of your voice.

In the corporate world, a career or professional voice may be described as how this message being conveyed in the sound of your voice can be of benefit to its owner.

This article will therefore highlight what you need to know about your professional voice and it’s applications.

The professional voice

Finding a professional voice is the first step in categorising your voice for the workplace. It provides you with the ability to have your personal voice which you use in informal meetings, gatherings or places and still be able to switch to your business or professional voice when necessary. (This improves your social and professional identity). The importance of having a professional voice is that it makes you credible, authentic, organized and it gets you coordinated for a presentation, job interview, business meeting, as well as impromptu meetings. It could be developed by using appropriate words or sentences, having a stable and comfortable pitch or speaking with a comfortable pace. Developing a Professional Voice will improve your ability to engage, connect & persuade when communicating to internal & external audiences. The Professional Voice gives you the confidence, techniques & skills to deliver your message effectively & achieve results. Based on my experience and research in social identity complexity (as related to the work place especially when an individual has various roles) one of the ways to categorize your identity is to develop these professional voices;

The unapologetic voice

The unapologetic voice enables you stand your ground against all odds in a meaningful yet respectful manner. The unapologetic voice make you voice out your values and beliefs in order to set boundaries. Finding this voice gives you confidence in your beliefs and helps you communicate in effectively. This does not mean you have to be rude, it is just being able to know what your values are, what you can and can’t do and being able to say it out and not keep it within you because if you do, you will be able to tolerate anything which may not be healthy.

The appealing voice

When it comes to finding the right tone to ask for a favour, we may all seem to have it but have you ever thought of that tone being misleading? The best way to go about it is by being straightforward about what favour you need and also concentrate on asking for the favour with more percentage of your voice rather than your body language. So, how is that done? With a softer tone and pleasant words (please, can you, I will be grateful, thank you, I’d really appreciate if you could.. ) these words help in conveying a direct message.

The approachable voice

Many people struggle to maintain a good first impression but what about a lasting impression? Your approachable voice should make others feel comfortable to have a discussion with you without having to think of how they might need to please you first. Using words like Hello, it is a pleasure meeting you, how may I help you,  lastly, having your concentration on the person you are communicating with and not being distracted by your PHONE.

Leadership voice:

As a leader, your major goal will be to get your followers to work together to achieve a common goal. Over the years, leaders have adopted various styles that can enable them achieve this fundamental goal. These leadership styles therefore can be seen as either an active voice or a passive voice.

Active voice: participating and coaching style is when a leader is actively engaging in the duties of the team either by joining in working with the team or helping the followers overcome the obstacles and challenges they are faced with by coaching them.

Passive voice: directing and delegating style. This style involves the leader assigning duties to each of the team members. Usually, leaders start by being actively involved in the teamwork and when the leader feels they are ready to work on their own, the passive voice is used to direct and delegate.

Remember, your voice is most effect when the message in the sound of your voice is unambiguous, clear and concise.

 

About Grace

Grace Asemota is a Business Psychologist (M.Sc) and a Certified Life Coach. She has partnered with Organizations and solopreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands and has coached students and staff in different institutions and organisations.

She continuously coaches and trains on the importance of goal setting, happiness, team management, personal development and self- confidence in a wide range of organisations (in Nigeria, UAE and US) and institutions by motivating staff to develop a collaborative culture and identify key factors that can enhance personal growth.

You can get in touch with her on

grace.orisakiya@gmail.com

LinkedIn @Grace Asemota-Orisakiya

 

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GRACE ORISAKIYA: IDENTIFYING YOUR UNIQUE VALUE PROPOSITION FOR A JOB SEARCH

Everyone is unique in his or her own way. Those values, skills, ideas that’s makes you unique, different, special and can be used for various purposes and this is usually referred to as your personal or unique value proposition. Your value proposition can either get you that business deal or job your applied for several. However, some people are not fully aware of what their UVPs are, in some cases, it is mistaken for just their career. During some career coaching sessions with my clients, they express their inability to do things differently, their fear of failing and they usually wish to be different that is why it is important for everyone to know how special and unique they are and how this uniqueness can be useful. In a nutshell, your UVP is basically the things you can do but with a positive difference. The best ways to identify your UVP are to:

  • Know your strengths.
  • Create a difficult scenario and figure out how you could handle it in a different way (sometimes done during employees engagement sessions in companies).
  • Identify those attributes that matches your personality perfectly.
  • Think of what kind of solutions you can offer to problems.
  • Be authentic.
  • Ask people to identify what makes you unique to them.

Identifying your UVP however can give you the confidence you need to apply for a job. Remember these:

  • Everyone may know how to do a particular job but not everyone may have the right skills to get it done.
  • Social media has made it easy to have a false identity, so it’s important you focus on knowing what you can do uniquely than trying to be someone else. (Being inspired by someone isn’t wrong but being inspired should make you find out your path not live like someone else).
  • Your UVP can set prepare you for success. It can enable you know what you can do and how you can do it differently and better.
  • It makes you a better version of yourself.

Therefore, your UVP can set you one the right path for a successful job interview and employment when you can prove concisely why your values and skills can be vital to the organization you are applying to.

 

About Grace

Grace Asemota is a Business Psychologist (M.Sc) and a Certified Life Coach. She has partnered with Organizations and solopreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands and has coached students and staff in different institutions and organisations.

She continuously coaches and trains on the importance of goal setting, happiness, team management, personal development and self- confidence in a wide range of organisations (in Nigeria, UAE and US) and institutions by motivating staff to develop a collaborative culture and identify key factors that can enhance personal growth.

You can get in touch with her on

grace.orisakiya@gmail.com

LinkedIn @Grace Asemota-Orisakiya

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GRACE ORISAKIYA: TEAMING UP IN A RELATIONSHIP

No man is an island of his own, there will be times you will need people’s contributions, opinions and help. Working together with people has been useful in different circumstances and has contributed to productivity and time management. Team work is essential in the organization and management of tasks. Team work isn’t confined to the corporate world, you could have teams in schools, religious gatherings and some couples even consider their relationship or family a team. When managed properly, there will be a positive impact on the team goals and its members. Have you ever been friends with someone and one day you get to know people are being selected for different teams and you wish to be in the same team as your friend. After a while you hear you names announced under the same team, if this were you, how would you feel? Teamwork can contribute to having a higher sense of purpose with its members. This article will concentrate on how a relationship/marriage can be seen as a team. Some factors that shouldn’t be ignored when building a team includes;

A common goal-

Without a common goal and interest, it is considered a group. A team is usually formed with the desire to achieve a particular goal and all members of the team will be interested in accomplishing this goal. For instance if you consider your relationship a team and decide to achieve a common goal which is ultimately to build a future together, you both should make it your priority, talk about it and plan to make it achievable.

Compatibility –

Two or more people can’t work together if there is no compatibility. I don’t just mean in personalities, you might not have compatible interest or future plans. Although some won’t mind as long as they ‘love’ each other but how sustainable can love be when faced with issues that could have been avoided? Being realistic about your compatibility is huge step in becoming a team.

Team size

A team consists of people with a shared goal, since this article addresses relationships becoming a team, it should consist of TWO individuals who love each other, have the desire to build a future together not Two individuals and some people by the side. If you wish to include your children, that is totally fine as long as the size is restricted to your family. Being in a relationship and having others by the side destroys trust, respect and the overall purpose of the team. Being committed to your partner is of essence in becoming a team.

Shared task –

Like any other team, a relationship team should have shared task. This can be developed or identified by recognizing each other’s strengths. What are you good at? How will the bills be shared? Who will take the children to school in the morning? Who will pick them up? And so on. It is important to discuss tasks that should be performed, failure to do so might lead to expectations and disappointments.

Conflict management –

As long as two people are involved, there will be disagreements. How do you plan to manage conflict? What’s you apology strategy? What can you do to make things better. Don’t assume that there won’t be conflict as this is considered failing to prepare or assume that there should always be conflict as this is considered preparing to fail. Sometimes conflict can be avoided when there’s understanding in the relationship and when it occurs, the ability to resolve quickly depends on how you are willing to make it work.

A leader –

First of all, I believe everyone should do what they are comfortable with. Some believe men are the leaders or head of a relationship/ home while others believe both people in the relationship are leaders. In my opinion, my husband being the leader doesn’t make me a weaker member of the team. It has been that way right from our dating phase. Let’s face it, What are the qualities of a leader? They should be willing to communicate, guide, direct, listen, give constructive feedback and so on. A leader sometimes may need assistance in taking a decision and he will consult his team member. That goes to show how much he’s interested in your opinion.

In summary, making your relationship/ marriage a team requires commitment, understanding and a common goal.

 

About Grace

Grace Asemota is a Business Psychologist (M.Sc) and a Certified Life Coach. She has partnered with Organizations and solopreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands and has coached students and staff in different institutions and organisations.

She continuously coaches and trains on the importance of goal setting, happiness,personal development and self- confidence in a wide range of organisations and institutions by motivating staff to develop a collaborative culture and identify key factors that can enhance personal growth.

You can follow her on

LinkedIn @Grace Asemota-Orisakiya

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GRACE ORISAKIYA: JOB SEARCH TIPS; FOCUS ON WHAT YOU CAN CONTROL

It’s no news that the rate of unemployment has increased over the years. Fresh graduates are turned down for lack of experience, previously employed individuals are rejected due to unaccounted gap years on their CVs and other reasons. Frustration kicks in, depression might take over and lack of self belief may be the order of the day. I have been in such a nasty situation before and based on my experience I took control of what I could handle and with that, I experienced a change.

Develop your skill:

Every profession is unique and has required skill sets. Identify which is unique to your profession and develop it. Make it known on your CV and be ready to explain it when asked during the interview phase.

Take more courses: 

Instead of having gap years on your CV that only proves you haven’t been in touch with your career since you left your previous job or school, taking courses especially online courses is a great method to bridge the gap and show you have been busy doing more research while searching for a job or tending to some personal needs. This won’t only prove to the employer that you have a keen interest in professional and personal development but it will enable you learn more about your industry

Network and build professional relationships:

Go for events, meet people, let people know what you do, the services you render and how you can add value to them or their company. What I have noticed is the sentence ‘I need a job’ itches the ears but starting a conversation and leading it interestingly towards what you can do and letting the listener know you are interested in starting a new position is a better approach as you’ll not only make the conversation about what you need, you also get to know what the person does, talk about your interests and have the opportunity to pitch your unique skills and application in the workplace (and maybe do a little bragging about your previous experiences).

Develop your CV:

Notice I didn’t make this the first tip? Working on your CV is great but without the right content it is considered disturbing and unprofessional. Your CV should summarize your work experiences, highlight your educational background, unique skills as related to your career, volunteering experiences (if necessary), your contact. You don’t need to fill up your CV with:

irrelevant information like your elementary school details,

in my opinion there’s no need to add your hobbies rather make it your skills,

Unaccountable years of experience,

Lies.

Your CV should be authentic, precise, professionally written and shouldn’t be too long.

Apply online:

I got my first job online via indeed. LinkedIn is another great platform to apply for jobs and network with people in your industry. Actively search online for jobs as you may not know the day you will get a response from the company.

Photocredit: The sister

About Author

Grace Asemota is a Business Psychologist (M.Sc) and a Certified Life Coach. She has partnered with Organizations and solopreneurs to grow their personal and professional brands and has coached students and staff in different institutions and organisations.

She continuously coaches and trains on the importance of goal setting, happiness,personal development and self- confidence in a wide range of organisations and institutions by motivating staff to develop a collaborative culture and identify key factors that can enhance personal growth.

You can follow her on

LinkedIn @Grace Asemota-Orisakiya

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