I just watched the season premiere of Madam Secretary tonight. It is absolutely one of my favorite shows! I love the character of Elizabeth McCord who is the Secretary of State of the United States played by the actress Tea Leoni. She has a tough job to do as she is navigating the politics that surrounds her, managing up (imagine if the President was your boss?), staying connected with what is going on, having a good staff that she had…
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When you think about your career, have you planned it all out or has it been mostly accidental? When you are asked to take on a new role, do you consider whether the role is a good fit for you or do you just agree to take it? Many people just take it. Why is that? Maybe you are flattered that someone picked you for the role, you are ready for a change, you are happy to learn something new or you…
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I have seen many occasions where people don’t always support each other in the workplace. Why don’t we assume the best about each other? There is already enough negativity in the world, let’s not add to it. Helen Keller said “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much.” Imagine what we could accomplish if we all worked together and supported each other? There are so many people who have helped to mentor and support me in…
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One of my favorite quotes is “You don’t have to be great to start, but you have to start to be great” by Zig Ziglar. Have you ever struggled to get started on something that was new to you or you held yourself back because it was out of your comfort zone? What causes this hesitation? Is it fear, a lack of confidence, the fear of failure, the concern about what others may think or just the uncertainty of not…
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Leaders need to focus their efforts on areas where they can add the most value. There is never a shortage of priorities, so what do you do? One of the biggest transitions for a new leader is that you no longer do things by yourself, but you need to get things done through others. Focus on delegation and accountability or it becomes very easy to fall into old habits of doing things yourself and you get overwhelmed. Doing things really…
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It is time. There has been a good ol’ boys club in place for quite a long time now. This club has provided opportunities for men to gain success and climb the ladder much more quickly. Why don’t women learn from this and take the same approach? Jacquie Champagne wrote a great article on this topic called “5 Actions to Help Ensure You’re Promoting Fellow Females (and Yourself) at Work” I really love this article and the great ways she identifies…
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Have you worked with a leader who has trouble delegating and they need to do everything themselves? I have to admit that I had this issue the first time I had a really large team with multiple layers below me. I struggled to trust the managers who worked for me to make their own decisions and when they did things their way vs. my way, it would really frustrate me. One day I attended a leadership session and I…
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Today is Leap Year Day and I am launching my website! I am writing my first official blog and I wanted to post a picture of one of my favorite places to walk. if I went there tonight however, it would be covered in 8 inches of snow! So what will I write about in this blog? It will be a place to share new things that I have learned, inspired me or made me see things differently. ( I am always open to topic suggestions!)…
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