One of my friends wants to move to a healthier weight. She began to change what she eats last year and has now started to add exercise in to help her achieve her goal. She proudly announced to our group that she is going to work out every day this year and she hasn’t missed a day yet. She has attempted weight loss in the past, but she is doing something different this time. She knows that she will need help…
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One of the biggest challenges that leaders face is carving out space in their calendars to think, plan, and be strategic. It makes sense that they would feel that way when there they have so much to accomplish and a never-ending to-do list. However, what we talk about in coaching conversations is how they can slow down and focus, which ultimately helps them speed up. It helps them to lead with intention and not just be in reactive mode. This isn’t…
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John who had been leading his new team for about a year, came to me and said he wanted to be viewed by others as strategic. I asked him why it was important for him to be viewed as strategic? He said that his manager gave him feedback that he wasn’t being strategic enough and that he was still too focused on the details. His manager said that this was creating a perception that he didn’t have what it takes to…
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Do you know what your personal brand is? Many people operate on autopilot with a lack of understanding about how they are perceived. Your brand is the first 3-4 things that people think about you when they see you or talk to you. These traits are what you are known for and what makes people know, like, and trust you. Everyone has to figure out for themselves what makes their brand unique and find ways to stand out. Do you want…
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I like to do leadership assessments for clients to help them learn more about who they are as leaders and how they are perceived. It also helps me get to know them better as their coach. Without fail, there is always an “aha” moment that occurs as we go through the results. How they see themselves is contradicted by the way that others see them, but they had no idea. Some people hesitate to do assessments because they have some fear…
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Your reputation is your personal brand. It is the first thing that people think about you and how they see you. I have often equated it to a bank account. Money goes into the account as you accomplish things and add to your reputation. If things don’t go well and a few mistakes are made then you may have to make a withdrawal against your balance. If you have enough in the account because you have a strong reputation, then…
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This is the time of year that many clients are focused on goals in preparation for the new year. It can feel a bit overwhelming for leaders to get started so I will ask my clients to share what their big outcomes are for the next year. They bring rough ideas to the conversation based on the gaps that need to be addressed, opportunity areas or upcoming business plans that they know are coming. The questions that I ask them are intended to…
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Most people think about strategy in a business context. It is important to identify and implement strategies at various levels in a company to move the company forward and accomplish their goals. However, there are also other places where strategy is equally important, but it is about you and not the company. Let me share a client case study of how strategy is involved in a career change. Mary who was a Director at her current company reached out to me…
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Kathy was a mentee of mine who met with me monthly. She would bring various challenges that she faced to our meetings and we talked about how she could handle them. One of those conversations focused on some feedback that she received from her manager who thought she was really good at leading projects, but she needed to be more strategic. She asked me for advice because she wasn’t sure what to do to be more strategic and how to show…
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I sat in the big auditorium back in my corporate job with about 100 people in the room and many others who joined remotely. We were listening to a career panel discussion put on by the employee resource group called Women@Kraft that I led. Some amazing women were up on stage and shared their stories of how they got to their current position. I had what is known as an accidental career. Every time it was time for a new role, a manager…
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