Blog

Burnout During COVID

DWN Members,

I can’t believe it’s only October–2020 feels like it’s lasting a lifetime. With kids recently starting school again, the continued violence against the Black community, the passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg, fires burning across the west coast, 6+ months since the COVID pandemic began in the U.S., not to mention juggling our many job responsibilities … there is so much going on, and of course, much more than what I just mentioned. I know many of us are currently feeling, or have recently felt, anxious, stressed, exhausted, or all of the above. Burnout is real.

According to award-winning author Emily Nagoski, burnout is, “the feeling of being overwhelmed and exhausted by everything you have to do, while still worrying that you are not doing enough.”

While anyone can experience burnout, since COVID began, women are twice as likely to experience burnout and physical symptoms of severe anxiety according to a recent study by Lean In. On average, women take on 20+ more hours each week than men on unpaid domestic work from chores to childcare which lead women to feel they must “always be on.” Studies pre-COVID show that workplace inequalities also contribute to higher burnout rates … Read more and comment

DWN: May First Friday Coffee

DWN Virtual & WFH Updates

DWN Events

We have gone virtual for all our events! Events will be available through Google Hangouts Meet, which means anyone can participate from any location. To attend, please register–this helps us manage the size for each event and make sure those interested receive the Hangouts Meet link. Thanks in advance for adjusting to this change in format.

• 4/1 @ 8-9 am MDT – First Friday Coffee
  • BYOCoffee! The perfect opportunity to connect with fellow DWN members. We’ll assign you to a small Google Hangouts session, so please register here.

• 4/14 @ 4-5 pm MDT – Leadership Networking Series with Kathy Schneider, SVP of Customer Service
  • We moved this upcoming event to a virtual experience! These small-group sessions allow members the opportunity to get to know leaders in a more informal gathering. Participation is limited to 12 individuals, so to reserve your spot, register here.

Webinars

• DISH Resources
  • DISH training teams have developed resources and webinars to support you while working remotely. You can register for courses and learn more here.

• FairyGodBoss
  • 4/2 @ 10-10:45 am MDT: Best Practices for Working Virtually
  • 4/15 @ 11-11:30 am MDT: How To Reinvent Yourself After 50
  • 4/28 @ 9-10

Tips for Writing an Effective Performance Appraisal

1. Focus on yourself and your greatest accomplishments.
2. Take the time to reflect on your most enjoyable work.
3. If you’re involved in DWN or another Collective Resource Group, be sure to mention it. Whether you volunteer or attend training events, you are taking steps to grow your professional skills and self.
4. Use an active voice.
5. Take credit for your accomplishments. Use “I” rather than “we” and eliminate the word “just.”
6. Project a confident tone by removing phrases like “I feel” or “I believe.”
7. Have a trusted coworker or friend proof-read your PA before you submit.

2019 DWN Flame Award Winners

Megan Casados, IHS Director of Training

What’s been your career progression at DISH? And what do you currently do as IHS Dir. Of Training?

I’ve been with DISH for 10 years as of July. I started at DISH full time right out of college through the University Relations program – I started as a Marketing Specialist within the sales team focused on retail services, working with our third-party retailers. I pretty quickly transitioned over to be an instructional designer creating training content for those retailers. Then I was promoted to be a manager of that group, and we started to work with a larger audience, including direct sales, sales partners, alliance management, and retention.

Most recently I moved over to IHS in September last year to be the Director of the Training group. 

What are your teams’ main responsibilities?

My teams support and train all of our technicians both for DISH satellite installs and on-site sales for DISH customers, and we also handle training for all our fulfillment work such as appliance repair. Now we’re also supporting OnTech and Wireless tower technicians as well.

The training team is structured as two primary groups. One team is located at Meridian, scoping out and working with project managers … Read more and comment

Women in the Workplace 2019 – Fix the “Broken Rung”

McKinsey & Co. and LeanIn.Org recently published the 5th annual Women in the Workplace report which is the largest study of the state of women in Corporate America aiming to help companies foster diversity. Since inception, almost 600 companies and over a quarter of a million people have participated in the study. 

In the last 5 years, Women in the Workplace has seen increased women in senior leadership roles, the C-Suite in particular growing from 17% to 21%. However, women are still significantly underrepresented at every level, and this rings true even more so for women of color. While the numbers are trending in a positive direction, our rate of progress is still decades or more away from gender parity.

This year’s study highlights that to reach equality, companies must fix the “broken rung” and invest in creating a strong culture. 

The biggest obstacle for women in reaching senior leadership is the “broken rung,” as shown below. This refers to the first step into management which has the biggest gap between men and women. For every 100 men promoted and hired to manager, only 72 women are promoted and hired. Addressing this first level is integral to fueling the pipeline … Read more and comment

Listening, the Missing Leadership Skill

In May, Shana Cordon of The Moxy Lab spoke to Dish Women’s Network about what it takes to advance and succeed in leadership. While technical skills are important, even in tech the top-five skills for promotion to leadership depend upon the core skills of listening, speaking, and presence.

While many training programs develop skills for executive presence, including nuances of expression and outward-going communication, we give little attention to the foundational skill of listening. Yet research shows the effects of a healthy listening culture are profound. These include:

• Greater trust in leadership.
• Better team engagement.
• More effective (and shorter) meetings and one-on-ones.
• Fewer costly communication errors.

To develop your listening skills, below are five principles you can adopt immediately:

1)  BE PRESENT & ELIMINATE DISTRACTIONS—Prepare yourself to be completely in the moment. When with others, try to set aside your to-do lists, your phone and technology, and your other concerns. Your undivided attention is the greatest way to show respect and appreciation to others, which creates trust and engagement.

2)  BEFORE RESPONDING, BE PATIENT AND LISTEN COMPLETELY—Resist the Rebuttal Tendency, in which we interject our thoughts before we hear everything a speaker has to … Read more and comment