I found this glossary of buzzwords used in Human Resources in the German -speaking world—like Generation X,Y,Z and Alpha or Offboarding and Onboarding—on allevia.ch‘s website.

You’ve probably heard of most of these words, but do you know what they mean? Why not test yourself?

You feel there’s a term missing? You can let allevia know and they will add it to the list.

Were there any words that were new to you, or words you feel are missing?

We can learn so much more about ourselves when someone gives us constructive feedback. 

This is something I again realised recently.

A good colleague and friend of mine gave me some valuable feedback the other day. Something they had observed and felt it was helpful for me to know.

A person giving feedback is taking a risk, as they have no idea how the other person is going to respond. So my first reaction was to thank them for this gift.

To check that I understood the message correctly and to show the other person that I was listening carefully, I summarised what I had heard them say.

And then I explained how I was going to act differently, or at least try to.

Of course, I will be asking my colleague again for their feedback very soon.

That should help me to get better at receiving feedback, and to also let the other person feel more comfortable giving it to me.

What are you thoughts on this?

To avoid discriminatory language, we should use people-first language. But what does that mean?

According to Employer Assistance and Resource Network on Disability Inclusion (EARN), people-first language “emphasizes the individuality, equality and dignity of people with disabilities. Rather than defining people primarily by their disability, people-first language conveys respect by emphasizing the fact that people with disabilities are first and foremost just that—people.”

Here are some examples

Use                                                  Instead of
person of colour                            coloured
people with a disability                the disabled
homeless people                            the homeless
people who are blind                     the blind
person who is unable to speak   dumb, mute
people who are deaf                      the deaf
person who is in recovery
from a substance abuse
disorder                                             addict
transgender people                        transgenders
older people                                     the elderly
spouse, partner                               husband, wife

Do you have any to add to my list?

“To an artist, rejection*, at first, feels like death. That’s how personal the work is. And that’s why we’re afraid to do the work. Because then we have to show it. And then they might reject it. But rejection is only a death if you let it stop you from doing the work the next day.”
Brian Koppelman

Rejection is a normal part of life. It’s something we all face at some point.

Knowing this can help us to fear it less.

But it can also help us to look at rejection as a learning opportunity.

Do you agree?

*rejection = Ablehnung, Zurückweisung

Many German-speakers seem to confuse these two words. Perhaps the easiest way to remember the difference is to translate in your head until you get it right. “To be happy” is “glücklich sein”. You’re happy when someone praises your work, for example. And “to be lucky” is “Glück haben”. You were lucky to win the first prize in a contest, for example. Listen to my short explanation here:

Have you heard the term “Human Design” before? I only heard about it a few weeks ago, so I can’t tell you that much.

What I’ve read is that it’s a kind of cosmic Myers-Briggs tool that organises people into five different high-level types.

Just for fun, you might like to enter your birth data here to receive your personal chart. (It’s free and you don’t need to enter your email address!)

I didn’t fully understand my chart (I’m a Projector, by the way), but what I did find interesting where these two statements:

“AUTHORITY (the way you make decisions): Emotional-Solar Plexus based on how something makes you feel.” (It’s so true!)

“ENVIRONMENT: Markets – Places where there are people coming together to work; whether it’s literal or virtual, you thrive in the activity of a group with common direction.” (Wow, this is why I’ve started building a Community of like-minded people.)

I’d love to know what you found out about yourself. Would you like to share it with me?

PS. Look what I found on a German website:

“… der Projektor ist auch wirklich an anderen Menschen interessiert. Er “fühlt” andere Menschen und erkennt ihr Potential. Seine Aura dringt ein und erforscht den gegenüber. Projektoren sind z.B. wunderbare Coaches und Berater und haben ausgezeichnete Führungsqualitäten.”

That’s music for my ears! 😉