Lifestyles Inventory Essays

Lifestyles Inventory Essays Lifestyles Inventory Essay Lifestyles Inventory Essay Personal Thinking Styles The Life Styles Inventory (LSI) was designed to help assess effectiveness in relationships on the job and support the development of interpersonal skills. This â€Å"road map† to self development was the brainchild of Dr. Clayton Lafferty. This survey of questions measures 12 key thinking styles, that are regarded to promote performance change and improve personal understanding of how our thinking affects our behavior. The 12 styles are categorized into three general clusters: Constructive, which includes Achievement, Self-Actualizing, Humanistic-Encouraging, and Affinitive thinking styles, Passive/Defensive, which includes Approval, Conventional, Dependent, and Avoidance thinking styles; Aggressive/Defensive, which includes Oppositional, Power, Competitive, and Perfectionist thinking styles. I must admit, I was quite hesitant about doing another self evaluation as they sometimes do not accurately reflect who you know yourself to be. After all, who knows you better than you do? Nevertheless, the purpose of this exercise was to help me discover how my thinking styles may or may not directly influence my behavior as a manager and could be a great asset in my endeavors for advancement. Primary and Backup Thinking Styles After taking this self assessment, my circumplex shows the two styles with the greatest influences falls under the Constructive style and Passive/Defensive Patterns as displayed in Figure 1. It focuses in on my primary thinking style is Humanistic-Encouraging (1 o’clock position) and my back up thinking style is being Dependent (5 o’clock position). Humanistic-Encouraging Style I can identify with the Humanistic-Encouraging style because it does describe who I am in both my professional and personal life. This style measures our interest in people, our tendency to care about others, and our ability to accept without others without criticism. It is optimistic about what people can achieve and has the ability to inspire and motivate people around them. I have always been genuinely concerned about people in my life and I always want to focus on how I can help them grow and develop their skills. I see potential where other managers do not see and support aspirations that no one else thinks exist in people. I can’t help but nurture others. It is simply who I am. Dependent Style I somewhat disagree with the backup being Dependant as I do not believe this style of thinking is a true depiction of the way I think or see myself as a whole. This style measures the degree to which we feel our efforts do not count. This type of behavior derives from a need for security and self protection. People who fall under this style typically feel helpless with very little control over their lives. They lack self respect and always want to please others. This part could not be further from the truth about who I am. However, it does mention that dependent style people are passive which I am, and sometimes have a difficulty making hard decisions. A lot of this has to do with sudden changes or set back in our life. The latter can be found more in relation to my person life and not so much professional. Limiting Style It was hard to determine which style is limiting my effectiveness from looking at the chart. The obvious would be to select Oppositional; however, says that I an aggressive and like to argue would contradict me â€Å"Dependent quality of passiveness. I decided to go with is Conventional Style. This style I feel is most limiting in that being passive, causes me to want to simply blend in and conform even though my heart says I was made to stand out. The measure that best describes me is â€Å"the preoccupation of appearing normal and unquestioned obedience†. ( survey-server2. com/lsiuniversity-sso/rpt4. sp) This style is most difficult for me because it is not who I am personally, but professionally it speaks truth. Coming from a managerial position to that of a subordate role at my current job had a dramatic affect on me. I have adapted and conformed to the conditions of the culture in my office because it seems to be the easiest way to remain employed in this company. I have watched colleague be terminated for speaking their minds or having different of opinions fro m that of our direct report who is new to this role and wants to flex her power. It is disheartening and discouraging for me. This is a style that needs to be addressed. Impact on Management Style Most of my life, I have successful in maintain balance between my personal and professional life. But as we all know, they overlap and are intertwined. Our management styles whether good or bad reflect our ability to lead other. To be an effective manager you must have the four basic management functions: 1) the ability to Plan; 2) Organize; 3) Lead; and 4) Control. Planning I am not big on procrastination, so planning is very important to me. I need to know the why, when, how, what to generate a plan and effectively execute it. There is always that need to establish a goal and a plan of action to accomplish this. This is a process that must be seen through to the end. Organizing No plan successful plan can be executed with proper organization. As a manager it is imperative to be able to organize the plan for which a goal has been set. Organization is very broad. For me, as long as there is a plan where it is personal or in my professional environment, I strategically put resources in place, which will best efficient way to accomplish the plan of action I set up. Lead Not everyone has the ability to lead or has the know how to do so. Sometimes people get lead and managed confused. Nevertheless, using simple directives set for people to follow is what has always worked for me. I have always been able to influence my employees because I lead by example. I never tried to manage or use power to have my way or force something to be done. Leading is influential. Control Control is about making sure policies and processes are in line with the goals and objects you have. I think for me, it wants to always make sure everything is close to perfection. So that requires periodically monitoring progress, revisiting structural issues and talking to everyone involve for input and their opinions on whatever we are working to accomplish. I don’t really look at control as being in charge; it is more so just making sure everything goes smooth. Genesis of Personal Style My personal style is who I am. It was defined by my character, my values, my life experiences, role models, education and trainings. Over the course of my life, my family’s heritage, the environment I grow up in and even the people I kept close to me all affected who I am today. My values developed more and as I get older. I continue to hold in high regard traits like humility, respect which I was taught as a child. Growing up in the West Indies, it was always about respect, having manors and knowing your place. I heard the Proverb’ â€Å"Children should be seen and not heard† more times than I could remember. But it put in retrospect, it made me realize, that there was a time and a place for everything. I always want to lend a helping hand no matter the cost. Knowing when to speak up for injustice and knowing which battle to fit because we can’t win them all. I was always a bit shy and passive growing up, but had big dreams and an even bigger heart. My grandfather would always ask me, â€Å"Why do you always try to fit in when you were made to stand out†. He along with my entire family has been my inspiration for my life and has help shape who I am. Since then, I have made it a life choice that in whatever I do, to be it personal or professional, I want to shine. I joined Toastmasters at a young age to help work on my shyness which allowed me to reach deep within myself find the confidence and strength hidden. I became more active in student governments and youth foundations where I began to see who I wanted to be; A leader. I worked in an Industry where people were my business and found new respect and strength in optimism. I despise people who are arrogant and have no compassion for others simply because of their position. I never paid much attention to achievements as I do to character. This is where I find value. Conclusion and Reflection The purpose of this exercise was to discover how thinking styles may influence my behavior as a manager. No management style is the same, perfect or fits every situation. What I may see as a strong management style to have, may very well be contradictory of what the other staff thinks it should be. When it comes down to it, my primary style Humanistic-Encouraging patterns, I cannot refute this theory. I claim it proudly because I wear this style every day. It has given me the ability to develop others and help them grow without the need for recognition. I take much gratification in knowing that I have helped, encourage or improve the quality of life whether professionally or personally for my employees. Not everyone can say that and it is displayed in the appreciation the show towards me. Although the Dependent style was my back up, I did not find anything substantial that related to me. A bit of stress here and there, changes in company ownership and job security issues may be the cause for the score in this. But lack of self respect is definitely not who I am. I would rather focus my attention on Conventional style as recently in my professional life, I have take a back seat far from the strong voice that carried over a reign of applause during one of my speeches. I have conformed if only to get along. But this is not the way to achieve my goals. I want to be able to be me; A woman once so positive and willing to go the mile. I want to once again be successful not only in my personal life where I have full control, but also in my professional life where I should be more assertive with my needs and desires as a part of my team. Everyone should have autonomy over their lives and the ability to fully stand behind your Life Style.

How to Make Money Freelance Writing Online

How to Make Money Freelance Writing Online How to Make Money Freelance Writing Online How to Make Money Freelance Writing Online By Daniel Scocco Until 15 years ago or so becoming a freelance writer was not an easy task. You had to get in touch with print magazines and newspapers, and you had to convince the editor that you were the right person for the job. The number of applications for each job was quite high, because the number of publications was limited. As a result, the chances of actually landing the job were quite low. The Internet and the Web changed all that, for the better! Today we have tens of thousands of online publications, from small blogs to online magazines and news sites, covering virtually any niche and topic you can imagine! Each of those online publications need fresh content, so the demand for freelance writers is higher than ever, and landing a job can be as simple as reaching out via email. If you like to write and want to start making some money freelancing online, this guide will provide all the information you need to get started. 1. Prerequisites Contrary to what many people believe, you dont need to be a talented writer to make money freelance writing online. You need to be talented if you want to write fiction, poetry, or if you want to write for TV sitcoms, for example. As long as you can write clear, correct English, you are qualified for most online writing jobs, as those only require clear and direct prose. On the technical side, all you need is basic computer and Internet skills. This includes using a word processor, sending and receiving emails, searching on Google efficiently and so on. If you need to brush up on your technical skills, the Goodwill Community Foundation has a free Internet Basics course. 2. Improving Your Writing Skills If you need to improve your writing skills, here are some tips: Practice is the best way to improve your writing skills, so write every day, as much as possible. Read sites that offer grammar, spelling and punctuation tips like this one. Read books about grammar and writing. We reviewed many in the past. Get friends and family to read your material and provide feedback. Consider joining a writing group to get feedback from fellow writers. Edit the work of other people. 3. Becoming a prolific writer If you want to make money writing, the amount of content you can produce per day will directly affect your income. In other words, its essential to become an efficient and prolific writer. Here are some strategies that can help with you that: Understand that writing and editing are two different things, and that you should do these tasks separately. Practically speaking, first you should write down all you need (perhaps more than you need), and only then you should edit it. Stop the habit of editing sentences as you write them, or of going back to read each paragraph once you finish it. One exercise you can use to practice this is to turn your computer monitor off (or to cover it in case of a notebook) while you write. Consider using a full screen editor like Dark Room to reduce distractions. Develop a writing routine, allocating some time slots in your day for writing. 4. Building an online presence with a website If you want to make money writing online, having a strong online presence is essential, because that is how many clients will find you. Having a website should be the cornerstone of your online strategy, as its the best way to showcase your expertise, portfolio, and it allows potential customers to quickly contact you. The first step here is to decide on the domain name you are going to use. Aim for something that is easy to spell, easy to remember, and not too long. For example: JohnWrites.com PunchingWords.com LiveProse.com WordsByMary.com You can also go with a .net or .org extension if you cant find a good domain with a .com. Use the InstantDomainSearch.com tool to check whether or not the domains you want are available (but dont register one yet!). Once you choose the domain name you want to use, it will be time to get a hosting plan, and most hosting companies will give you a free domain name registration (you just need to inform the domain while signing up). We use and recommend HostGator.com, as they have some very affordable prices, and both the service and customer support quality are top notch. Finally, refer to this tutorial to install WordPress on your site. WordPress is the most popular publishing software around. Its free, and easy to use, so you cant go wrong with it. 5. Promoting your website The first thing you should do after installing WordPress is to choose a template (there are thousands of free ones available from your Dashboard -> Appearance). Customize it a bit if you want and you should be ready to go. Now you need visitors to your website! There are two building blocks to bring visitors: content and backlinks (also called links). Content refers to the articles youll post on your website. Aim to provide valuable content to people looking for specific information (e.g., like this post provides information for aspiring freelance writers), and try to publish new content regularly (e.g., two or three times per week at least). Backlinks refer to getting other websites to mention and link to your own. Google considers each link from another website as a vote of trust for the quality of your website and its content. Guess what, the more links/votes you have, the higher your articles will rank on the search engine, and the more visitors youll get. Here are some strategies to gain links from other sites: Create a profile on all social networks, and include a link back to your site. Email bloggers and site owners and propose a partnership. Run interviews with site owners, and ask them to link to the interview. Write great content and email it to site owners, asking them to help to spread the word. Write a guest post for one these blogs. Finally, dont forget to have a Hire Me page on your site, so that visitors will promptly know that you offer freelance writing services. 6. Leveraging social media Literally billions of people use social media sites these days, so you need to have a profile on the most popular sites to strengthen your online presence and possibly land new clients. The most popular social media sites today are: Facebook YouTube Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest I recommend creating an account on all of them and regularly sharing content there. YouTube is a special case because you would need to upload videos there. Its worth the trouble, but consider doing it later on, as you will probably need to learn how to create those videos. You can share articles you write, interesting content from around the web, and occasionally you can promote your freelance writing services. 7. Finding clients Over time, as you spread your online presence, expand your network and become known as a freelance writer, clients will come to you spontaneously. In the beginning, however, dont count on this happening. Instead, youll need to literally hunt jobs down. Heres some strategies you can use: 1. Create a profile and browse freelance marketplaces Freelancer.com Upwork.com Guru.com The above marketplaces connect companies and freelancers, providing a platform where people can post job requirements and freelancers can bid for those jobs. They all have sections dedicated to freelance writing jobs, so its worth to create an account and browse the new jobs regularly. 2. Contact sites that pay writers There are many websites that make available the guidelines for writing for them and getting paid for it. Payment varies, but depending on the niche you can get as much as $200 per article. You can find lists of such sites here. Browse and list filtering the sites you believe are a good match for your style and skills, and then contact all of them. On some cases you can pitch your article right away, and they will get back to you stating if your article was accepted or not. 3. Browse boards with job listings There are several job boards that are completely dedicated or have special sections for freelance writing jobs. Some are updated regularly, even daily. Problogger Jobs and Freelance Writing Jobs are two examples. Browsing those job boards and contacting the job listings is a great way to land new gigs and eventually clients that will require your services on a regular basis. 4. Contact websites you like Even if a certain website is not publicly asking for new writers, it doesnt mean that they are not willing to hire one, should the right person show up. Guess what, be that right person! Get in touch via email or via the contact form on the website, and explain why you want to write for them, why you believe your style will match the audience of the site and so on. Better yet, send along some sample articles written specifically for that website. If they like what they see, there are good chances that they will hire you at least for a trial period. 8. How Much to Charge Figuring out how much to charge is not easy. If you charge too little youll be leaving money at the table. If you charge too much, you might scare away clients and lose job opportunities. On top of that there are differences that arise from the type of content you are producing, the niche you will be writing for and so on, which means that its virtually impossible to say how much you should charge. If you want ballpark numbers, consider that for short articles or blog posts (around 400 words) the low end is $15 per post and the high end is $100 per post. For longer and more structured pieces (i.e., feature articles or tutorials with 1000+ words) the low end is $50 and the high end $200 per article. You can start at the low end and gradually increase your rates as you gain new clients and establish a network of companies and websites who hire you on a regular basis. 9. Billing clients If you want to make money freelance writing online, getting paid will be an important part of the equation! The first tool you need to have is PayPal. Most companies and clients will prefer to pay you using PayPal, so having and account there and familiarizing yourself with how it works is essential. Make sure to verify your account, and learn how to send invoices (you can find this under Tools). Another very useful tool is FreshBooks, which allows you to create beautiful invoices (that can be integrated with your PayPal account). With FreshBooks you will be able to manage all your work and clients from a single platform. Remember that people are not always honest online, so avoid delivering a lot of work without being sure that the client will pay you. When in doubt, require at least part of the payment upfront. 10. Delivering your work The easiest way to deliver your work is to email it as an attachment to your client. Another tool you can use to produce and share your work with clients is Google Docs. Once you create an account you will be able to work on your articles from any computer, as they will always be saved and synchronized on Googles servers. Once the article is ready to be delivered you just need to share it with your client (using his email address). Good luck! Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Freelance Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should Avoid7 Tips for Writing a Film ReviewRite, Write, Right, Wright