delegation

I need help! I am so overwhelmed right now!

Imagine that this is what is on your calendar this week…3 presentations, 15 meetings with various groups, 6 meetings with your direct team and your kids have two sporting events that you need to attend after work. Some of you may be thinking how on earth can that be real? I can tell you that it is absolutely real and the way that many people will be spending their week. It seems crazy, but this is actually probably conservative…
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3 ways to focus on the things that should be first

Generally when people talk about “firsts” they refer to babies and toddlers. She got her first tooth today, she rolled over or she took her first steps. The truth is that you go through a million firsts in your lifetime though. First day of school, first time you go on a date, first time you drive, first job, etc. Each time you go through the next big “first” it brings a little anxiety, a bit of fear, but it also…
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6 Leadership Lessons for a New Leader

I remember when I first became a leader of a team. I went to a training class for three days to learn how to be a leader. I learned a lot of things at that first session, but I didn’t have a whole lot of real life experience to apply at that point. However, I took those lessons to heart and began to lead my first team. Even though I tried really hard, I made many mistakes along the way. …
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How can I build confidence to do more self-promotion?

It is great to be humble and modest, but there comes a time that you need to self-promote. Remember that you were hired for a reason. You have knowledge that others do not have and details that could make a difference in decisions that your management needs to know. Just start by interjecting a comment about what you are working on in a meeting, asking a question that shows you have thought about the conversation or sending a status report…
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Do you want to be the Secretary of State?

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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Hey new leaders…you need to read this advice!

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’s time to put the Superhero Cape in the closet!

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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Six Strategies to Leverage for a Successful Visibility Partnership

There are so many ways to create visibility for yourself, but what if you have a colleague who also wants more visibility? Then you might want to choose the visibility partnership approach! This partnership is created when you and your colleague find opportunities to share wins, results, and accomplishments about each other with key stakeholders, decision makers, influencers, and with your online network. Both of the people in the partnership advocate for the other to gain visibility. Of course, it…
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Do You Have a Strong Leadership Foundation?

Leadership is a journey that requires a strong foundation to be successful. A leader who starts out with this type of strong foundation has a clear sense of purpose, values, and principles that guide their decisions and actions. This foundation enables them to stay focused, make tough decisions, and lead with integrity. Building this type of foundation wasn’t something I realized that I needed to do when I first became a leader of people and managed large project teams. To…
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Answer These 3 Questions to Help You Fast Track Your Visibility

This week I have been working with emerging leaders to build out their visibility action plans. Although they understand what visibility is now and why it is important, it can be hard for them to come up with the best actions that will help them make a bigger impact. Fear of failure, limiting beliefs, impostor syndrome and self-doubt gets in the way and holds them back. My role as their coach is to ask them questions to help them make…
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