Credibility workshop a hit at latest forum

Cathy Busani (right) provides advice and guidance at the workshop

The Women in Engineering forum returned last week with a workshop on building credibility in the workplace.

In a lively session hosted by guest speaker Cathy Busani, Group Managing Director at Happy, the group explored the notion of credibility at work and the impact it has on achieving career success.

Through a series of group-focused activities, a number of key themes were covered, including; the importance of being assertive; understanding the cycle of conflict and developing strategies to resolve this; building trust; and establishing an effective peer support network.

Addressing an old cliché, the group examined whether first impressions really do count at work and despite accepting that this shouldn’t necessarily be the way we judge the people we meet, all agreed that it remains an important factor in generating influence and positive sentiment among colleagues.

The group debated the way existing behaviours at work can impact and influence those around us, and how this, in turn, shapes our credibility and reputation.

For many people at work there tends to be something that can hold us back, preventing us from achieving success. Rather than blame external factors, however, the workshop promoted accountability and self-awareness, so that members could feel empowered to make positive changes for themselves.

So what changes should people make? Naturally this varies from person to person, but the group examined how important our use of words, body language and tone of voice are for influencing a person’s credibility at work.

Added to the importance of making a good first impression, the group resolved to focus on things that are within a person’s control – not past regrets or future concerns, but things in the present.

By being mindful of an existing situation, being respectful of others and remaining positive about prospects, a person can become more confident at work. Though we should strive to be assertive, a pitfall of this is the potential risk of being aggressive and denying other people their view.

With this in mind, each attendee conducted a self-assessment, determining whether their style of communication ranks as assertive, aggressive, passive aggressive or passive. The results made for interesting reading for many attendees, and although some may not have been too surprised by the assessment, the group accepted that it can only be through such reflection that a person can become self-aware and seek to change their behaviours.

The theme of introspection played an important part in the workshop, and attendees also discussed how to resolve conflict at work, deal with upset colleagues and listen both attentively and strategically.

Armed with strategies for dealing with personal behaviour as well as how to deal with others, members of the forum will look forward to putting these actions into practice.