Most of us have been taught that there’s no room for emotion at work. We were told “it’s not personal, it’s just business.” Well, we’ve been taught wrong. Work is always personal. And as long as human beings are doing the work, it will always stay personal. Want proof? Even when we humans are programming our droids, […]Read the full post >>
Even the best of us have gotten our signals crossed at work. And when things get troublesome, we’ve found ourselves managing through a PIP: a performance improvement plan. A reader wrote recently and asked me about managing through hers. Here’s her story, and my suggestions for managing through your own PIP with clarity, confidence, and […]Read the full post >>
What if I had a magic pill that would instantly make you a better leader? You know, the kind people talk about, fondly, for years –even long after they’ve left the organization? Well, that magic pill exists. It’s called TRUST. We all know when we don’t trust someone. But we don’t always know when someone […]Read the full post >>
I’m a big fan of intuition, but here’s one thing I know. You can’t always trust your gut. Sure, that’s a scandalous thing to claim today in an age when leaders are being asked to be more emotionally intelligent, insightful and empathic than ever before. Knowing yourself well–your values, your long-term vision and priorities, your […]Read the full post >>
For kids, back-to-school means buses and backpacks. But for grown-ups like you and me, the turn of the season seems to jump start our drive to get back to business. We’re suddenly motivated to look at the list of goals and projects we conjured up on January 1 and—after our “oh crap” moment of realizing […]Read the full post >>
If you search “how to prevent career burnout,” you’ll discover tacit advice like this: “Get some exercise,” or “Learn to manage your stress,” or “Manage your time better.” Which sounds lovely. But that kind of “wisdom” gives me indigestion. Because if you’re searching “how to prevent career burnout,” here’s one thing I know: You’re already […]Read the full post >>
No matter where you work or what you do, there’ll be a time when you’ll notice a coworker is slacking. Maybe he starts missing deadlines, or she doesn’t respond to requests quickly. Or maybe you just notice that the focus, energy or spark that was once apparent in your coworker now seems to be flickering […]Read the full post >>
Want more courage in your career? One place to start is to mine your mistakes. We all make them–even the smartest among us. Mining our mistakes helps us get clear about what’s gotten in our way in the past, so we can create new strategies to go forward. Here’s more in this short clip (4 […]Read the full post >>
Imagine it’s the day of your annual performance review. You’re sitting down with your leader to talk about what’s happened, and what’s next. Your technical skills are awesome. Of course they are—you focus on excellence every single day. But your communication skills—the long-mislabeled “soft skills?” Well, you’re told they could use some work. Honestly, you knew […]Read the full post >>
When I’m asked for career advice, one of the questions I get often is “how do I figure out what I should do next in my career?” My answer is always to start with getting clear on what you want. In this mini-training (10 min., 43 seconds), I share more about why clarity is often […]Read the full post >>
