Edition Five
June 2011
HELLO IAAP MEMBERS
Contents What you missed at the IAAP Murder Mystery Event
Page 2
NETWORKING TIME! I AM WOMAN … HEAR ME ROAR!!
Page 3
A Soccer team with a Big Dream
Page 4
How to organise your emails
Page 5
How to boost your visibility at work.
Page 6-7
WOW, winter snuck up on us all. I hope as you read this edition of the TALK SA Newsletter you are somewhere warm and comfortable. The Johannesburg Chapter at Large has already had some exciting events and meetings this year already. If you missed the Murder Mystery Event, I have put some pictures of page 2 of what happened that evening. Thank you to all that came and participated, even though the murderer was not discovered congratulations to Teresa and Kelly Cotterrell as well as the CSI team for winning the prizes for the evening. The AGM took place on the 19 May 2011 at AdvTech, once again thank you to all who attended the evening. For the next year the following people will be on the board: Esmé van der Merwe - President Lee Chapman - Vice President Dawn Williams - Treasurer Kelly Williams - Secretary The reason for the carry over of the board members is that we are all in the middle of certain projects which
will set the chapter up. Next year we will have different board members, and we want to hand over a successful chapter to them.
NETWORKING 23 JUNE Charlotte Blignault from Emotion in Motion will be taking over the networking session for us. Go to page 3 for more information about what is going to happen on the evening. IAAP members pay R50, Non IAAP members pay R75. Please let me know by the 22 June 2011 if you would like to attend the meeting for catering purposes. More exciting news - we have 6 new members joining the chapter. 5 from Gauteng and 1 from the Western Cape, I would like to welcome: Susan Jooste, Letitia Stempfle, Diana Milo, Faheema Mia, Bernice Abrahams and Emma Mphahlele For more information about the event, please contact Kelly on 011 943 2622 or kelly@capinstitute.co.za Hope to see you all at the next networking event.
Kelly Williams CAP,
Board Members: Esmé van der Merwe CPS/CAP (President) Lee Chapman CPS (Vice President) Dawn Williams CAP (Treasurer) Kelly Williams CAP (Secretary)
Secretary
WHAT YOU MISSED AT THE IAAP MURDER MYSTERY EVENT
NETWORKING: 23 JUNE I AM...... Hear Me Roar ......Fun, Motivate, Inspirational Can’t see the wood for the trees? Learn how...there is choice..... R50 for IAAP Members R75 for non-IAAP Members Book with Kelly on kelly@capinstitute.co.za or 011 943 2622 Your Challenges: 1. Do you lack drive, passion and motivation? 2. Does stress make you battle to stay focused? 3. Is stress affecting your life to the point of no work/life balance? 4. Would you like to access more choices and build self esteem? 5. Need a fun workshop to revisit your life, thoughts and your choices? Short Workshop: The session may include the use of interactive participation, movement to create awareness and open creative thought process. Great for stress relief! About Charlotte: Consultant, Facilitator, ICF Credentialed Business/Life Coach Philosophies: I believe in authenticity and truth and no nonsense approach, “It is what it is”. I believe we don’t have all the answers all the time. I believe we are here to learn from one another, and the depth of innermost introspective sharing in group or individual coaching sessions, facilitates inspired growth and ensures the balance and harmony we require at a much deeper level. It is through knowing and acceptance of who we really are, that we come to realise our full potential. This awareness brings to the fore the fact that WE HAVE CHOICE – and not all learning has to be serious or hard, it can be fun and different - exciting!
IAAP Meetings and Networking events that need to be diarised Chapter Meetings
Networking Meetings
28 July 2011 22 September 2011 17 November 2011 2 December 2011
7 September 2011 22 October 2011
A Soccer Team with a Big Dream Meet the Protea Glen Shooting Stars My name is Lucas Mandla Mazibuko and I am the Founder of Protea Glen Shooting Stars. The Shooting Stars are a very popular Little League soccer club for under 11,13,15 & 17 year olds based at Protea Glen ext 11.
The major expense for the club is paying our share of the upkeep costs of the football pitches together with the football kit i.e boots, tracksuits, soccer jersey and soccer balls. We were hoping that this might be something you would consider helping us with.
The club has been running for nearly 10 years now, it was formed in 2000 and in that time we have had over 90 different young people in the team. You may also be aware of our popular soccer skills schools which we run at 4 different locations throughout Protea Glen during the school holidays.
In return for your sponsorship we would of course be willing to wear the company logo on our club shirts and for you to be listed as our key sponsor on all our club literature. Our matches are well attended by local parents and an increasing number of spectators from the local community.
The club also has very strong links to its local community and to the community around the area. The kids are from the following schools namely: (1) Titelo High (2) Faranani Primary (3) Reasoma High (4) Tholimfundo Primary and (5) Itemogele.
We do hope that this is something you might be willing to consider. We can provide you with further details and a full break down of the likely costs of any deal and I would welcome the opportunity to speak with you further about this.
We are very proud of our achievements and the hard work of a lot of people connected with the club has also led to on-field success.
Please see picture of some of the young boys of the team below.
There are however many expenses connected with running the club and we rely for funding solely on our own fundraising events and the support of local community.
Best Regards Lucas Mandla Mazibuko Protea Glen Shooting Stars
Thank you for giving this your consideration.
If you would like to help the Protea Glen Shooting Stars please contact LUCAS on 076 423 3080
“I think there are a lot of things that soccer does in the communities that transcend the soccer field.” ~Brandi Chastain~ Brandi Chastain is an American soccer player currently playing for FC Gold Pride in the Women’s Professional Soccer League. This time she’s talking about how sports are not just rules on the field, they are guidelines for behaving in your community and they teach
How to organise your emails Article Source: EzineArticles.com
With office workers often feeling overwhelmed by emails, Rich Talbot offers his advice about how to organise your emails and get back in control of your inbox
and increase security such as Websense, which was formerly Surfcontrol and BlackSpider. These allow Spam emails to be dumped without ever reaching the employee.
When I first started working in an office environment I would get hundreds of emails every day. Regardless of the various types of office work I have done since then, I have always had huge numbers of emails each day. If I had not found a method of organising these emails then I would never have achieved anything since I would have been thoroughly overwhelmed.
A report can be generated to view the emails in case anything designated and removed as Spam is in fact required. Once a Spam filter is in place, this should dramatically decrease the amount of time you spend reading and deleting emails as well as stopping rogue emails penetrating your system.
Categorising
The remaining emails should be easier to manage since they are easier to categorise. Consider the type of work you do and look for a structure to sort the emails. If you are an account manager for example then it might be worth organising your emails via client.
I began by categorising the types of emails I received each day. These generally fell into the following categories;
Emails from clients Emails from contacts Spam Junk emails Personal emails Colleague emails Auto-generated system emails
There are several ways to organise them. The aim is to ensure that you can find emails at a later date easily and without the need for extensive searches.
Reduce Spam The first step should always be reducing the amount of Spam that reaches your inbox. Sometimes a company can receive so much Spam that there is no way they can physically read and deal with it all. There are many software packages designed to deal with this problem
Structure
Microsoft Outlook does allow you to create a simple folder structure. Create one folder per client along with any sub categories you may require. Each time an email comes in you can simply drag it into the correct folder. This will make searching for the email at a later date much easier, particularly as the emails can be automatically sorted by date, sender and a number of other categories. Separate folders can be created for personal emails.
Automatic rules An employee can further utilise this structure by creating automatic rules to place emails in folders directly without having to read them first. A folder with an unread email will show up as bold just like the Inbox. This is more useful for the system generated emails.
One company I worked with had the system automatically generate emails for a number of procedures that I would never need to be informed of. Having set up a folder to contain these emails I set up a rule, which automatically sent them to the folder. Every now and again I would quickly skim over them and mass delete them. Rules are a brilliant way to organise emails since there are so many different aspects you can sort on and you can even delete automatically. The rules are very simple to set up since it is via a simple wizard format showing all the options on tabs. From the Tools menu select Rules and Alerts and create a new rule.
Sent emails Inbox emails need to be organised, but do not forget that Sent emails can be just as vital to arrange. I have had a problem many times where I have completed some work for a client who then says I have not done what they asked for. It is very satisfying to be able to send them the email I saved where they requested exactly what I gave them. The sent emails should be organised in the same way as the Inbox to avoid confusion. At some point it may be worth going through all the emails and archiving anything that is no longer relevant. In this way you will be able to feel in complete control and manage your emails effectively.
How to Boost Your Visibility at Work by Robert Hosking
Think of all the times you were the one who saved the day by assisting co-workers and managers with complex projects and problems. You may have been reluctant to call attention to yourself in such cases because you didn’t want to seem boastful. Or perhaps you didn’t feel right seeking attention for “just doing your job.” But too much modesty may actually hinder your career advancement. When the time comes for public praise or promotions, you may be passed over — or worse, someone else may be given credit for your contributions. Silence may be golden in some cases. But in a busy office, don’t rely on your work to speak for itself. There is nothing wrong with seeking recognition for your accomplishments or raising your profile. The key is to go about it the right way. To make the transition from hidden hero to noted star, you need self-promotional savvy. Try the following strategies to stand out from the crowd without bragging or boasting. DO MORE TO INCREASE YOUR IMPACT Performing your day-to-day duties effectively is essential, of course, but it’s not enough to boost your visibility. You need to expand the scope of your impact. The best way to do this is by volunteering for additional assignments whenever you can. As long as it doesn’t detract from your core responsibilities, taking on new assignments will demonstrate your dedication and willingness to go the extra mile to help the team. DON’T WAIT UNTIL SOMEONE ASKS YOU FOR HELP. Make it a point to learn about all the projects and initiatives in your department or division, and then figure out how you might contribute. It could be something as simple as conducting some online research, proofreading a report or helping to prepare a slide presentation. By frequently asking, “How can I help?” you’ll step from the shadows and become the go -to resource for your colleagues. GO PUBLIC WITH YOUR IDEAS If you have bright ideas that could help your firm generate revenues, cut expenses or streamline work functions, don’t keep them to yourself. Pitch your solutions to management and speak up in meetings and brainstorming sessions. Don’t be shy.
Companies continue to seek innovative thinkers and smart, confident risk-takers, not shrinking violets. Your manager will appreciate your consideration of the bottom line and your desire to help the firm operate more efficiently. DON’T BURY YOUR TALENTS Do you tend to downplay your efforts with a comment like, “It was nothing” when someone acknowledges your contributions on a project? If so, it’s time to change your response. You won’t boost your visibility by being self-effacing. The next time someone compliments your work, take credit where it’s due. Respond with a smile and say: “Thank you. I’m pleased my efforts made such a difference.” Similarly, don’t be silent during staff meetings. If you simply listen and take notes, you’re missing out on a valuable opportunity to shine. Before your next meeting, look at the agenda to determine where you can offer insight or contribute to a topic. Sharing ideas and suggestions and actively participating in the discussion will help you build your reputation as a thoughtful contributor. BUILD NAME RECOGNITION You may be well known in your department, but how about in the rest of the company? Particularly at a large firm, it can be a challenge to stand out, but it’s not impossible. At events like the annual holiday party or company picnic, don’t just talk with your peers in the administrative group. Introduce yourself to managers and professionals in other departments. Give your name and department, and, if appropriate, mention a relevant bit of company news (e.g., “I heard your sales team set a new record this quarter.”). Making new contacts throughout the firm can build camaraderie and let others know who you are and what you do in the company. MAKE NETWORKING AN ‘INSIDE JOB’ You know how important it is to develop connections outside your firm, through membership in professional associations and volunteer activities. But expanding your reach within your own firm is just as critical. Create an internal network by establishing strong relationships with colleagues throughout your company. One of the best ways to build your internal
network is to become involved in crossdepartmental initiatives. You’ll meet peers and superiors in other areas of the company, learn more about operations and current initiatives and forge ties that will garner you notice outside your own department. You’ll also cement your reputation as an outgoing and helpful team player. Another good way to make new contacts is to participate in corporate philanthropic efforts. For example, you might join the committee that’s organizing the companysponsored charity run or help collect canned goods for the local food bank. KEEP YOUR SKILLS CURRENT Enhance your job security by keeping your skills cutting-edge. Take advantage of all professional development opportunities your employer offers, from online tutorials to reimbursement for continuing education. In addition, join industry associations, attend conferences and seminars, seek relevant certifications, and read specialized publications to keep up with the latest developments in your field. Once you’ve learned something new, don’t keep it to yourself. Share your knowledge with your boss and coworkers. This will demonstrate your commitment to continuous professional development and excellence. CONSISTENTLY CONVEY YOUR VALUE Weekly status reports are a good way to tactfully toot your own horn. Concisely explain your accomplishments without being too general. For instance, saying that you “coordinated the mailing of a marketing brochure” doesn’t convey the fact that you culled delivery information from a database, secured brochures from the warehouse, managed the staff who filled envelopes and directed mailroom personnel on shipping requirements. As you work on building your visibility within your firm, keep it subtle. If you tout your accomplishments too aggressively or exaggerate your contributions, you’ll leave a bad impression. You want your supervisor and other decision makers to be aware of what you do through a consistent track record of successful, relevant activities. With this approach, you’ll stand out for the right reasons and build a reputation as an indispensible employee.