Some of my clients find themselves in a catch-22. They don’t have enough people or the right people to get the job done, but they don’t have the time to recruit, interview, hire, on-board, and train the people who can get it done. In coaching sessions, they have many...
Have you ever made a recommendation to leadership that fell on deaf ears, but then a consultant, new employee or customer makes the recommendation and all of a sudden leadership thinks it’s the best idea since cupholders in cars? Leaders seem to believe people outside...
“What, you don’t trust me?” Becky asked her boss, Pat, when he told her he needed to get daily progress reports from her. “Sure . . . I trust you,” Pat replied after an awkward pause. “It’s . . . my boss. She’s a stickler for all this administrative stuff.”...
When it comes to career highs and lows, many of us obsess about the troughs and skim over the crests. But if we take the long view — seeing these ups and downs as recurring patterns that are neither good nor bad — we can better manage our response and accept the...
After earning an undergraduate degree in mathematics I pursued a career in systems engineering. I found the work enjoyable enough but realized that a sizable part of my brain wasn’t fully engaged in it. So I went to business school to find my next career. At the end...
The best companies want engaged employees. The Gallup Organization surveyed over 30,000 employees in 2018 and found that fully two-thirds said they were disengaged from their work. Imagine the loss of productivity, poor customer relations and opportunities that are...
Many of my clients tell me they “hate public speaking” and dread giving presentations to large groups. This is troubling because the ability to share one’s expertise, lessons learned, and vision can be crucial to career advancement and job satisfaction. It is the rare...
When it comes to expressing appreciation, managers have many informal options, such as offering praise, spending time developing employees, and treating the team to donuts and bagels or a pizza lunch. More formal expressions include thoughtful performance appraisals,...
A common coaching topic is how managers can encourage employees to take responsibility for their work. Some employees fully embrace their job, do it to the best of their ability, want to learn more and do more, help their colleagues, and are fully engaged. These are...
Regardless of the type of job market, your ability to manage and direct your career is an essential skill. Organizations change, so developing your skill set is the best job security you will ever have. Finding Your Best Work First, figure out the intersection of...
