You’ve been in your job for a while and, suddenly, you find out your manager is moving on. This is the person you chose to work for, the one who hired you into the organization. All sorts of thoughts and emotions play out as this seems to change everything for you. How do you react?…
Networking for Career Growth – Seven Approaches to Broaden Your Network
I once held the misguided notion that networking equaled being “political” and getting ahead based on networked relationships was something less than earning the position based on merit. Fortunately, through coaching and experience, that notion was dispelled. I learned that networking is not about being political or well connected. It’s about establishing and nurturing relationships…
The Timeless Power of Recognition: Showing Appreciation is Key to Leadership
Early in my career, I received a very nice clock as an award for a job well done. Much nicer than any of the second-hand goods that filled our apartment back then, the clock found a place of honor in our home. It has continued to occupy a prominent place through moves to other homes…
Handle Job Transitions Gracefully – Five Considerations to Build Your Brand When Moving On
Consider this: Today, people average nearly 12 jobs over a 30-year career. Much has changed in the work world over the past decades. We need to be prepared for greater change in the future. One hundred years ago, it was common for people to have a single occupation, such as farming or fishing, for their…
Running on Empty? Pursuing Your Purpose Can Fill Your Tank
The metaphor of running on empty conveyed meaning long before Jackson Browne made the words iconic with the title track to his 1977 album. The song reminds us that too often we can be running blind, going through the motions instead of living a life of purpose. Many people are searching for purpose in their…
Out of Balance? Five Actions to Improve Work-Life Balance
People want balance in their lives, but often life is more like a teeter-totter. Remember the old-school teeter-totter? Two playmates, sitting on opposite ends of a narrow board and holding onto handles, taking turns bouncing off the ground with their feet. When the playmates balanced the board to accommodate their differences in size, the…
Role-Play Can Help in Giving Tough Feedback
Executive coaches deal with diverse subjects, and also encounter some recurring themes. One common theme is giving tough feedback to staff members who are not performing as well as the client believes they can. While giving and receiving positive feedback is easy, delivering and accepting tough feedback is difficult. So difficult, it seems, avoidance is…
What’s on your Bumper Sticker?
No, this is not about bumper stickers you see on cars signaling anything from political philosophy to how smart one’s kid is. But, like so many bumper stickers, it is about raising awareness. In this case, it’s about a useful coaching technique that helps individuals gain self-awareness through an exercise in which they develop visual…