Does the word networking have a negative connotation for you? For me, it triggered me a bit. It was like that uncomfortable feeling on the first day of school. Do you remember that moment? You walk into the classroom, without knowing anyone yet and you must find ways to make friends. I don’t know if it was any easier back then, but we all figured it out somehow. Networking from a place of scarcity. Connecting with new people was still…
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I met with a Director about the results of a leadership assessment that she recently completed which included direct feedback from her peers, direct reports and management. In that conversation, we also talked about the feedback that her manager had shared with her… she wasn’t communicating or acting like a Director. She was obviously concerned about the feedback and couldn’t understand what she needed to do differently. We talked about what she was focused on and she shared some of…
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Are you paying attention to your personal brand? Some people may refer to a personal brand as your image. If you aren’t familiar with the term, here is a great definition from Laura Morgan Roberts in an article titled, Creating a Positive Professional Image. She was quoted to say, “Your professional image is the set of qualities and characteristics that represent perceptions of your competence and character as judged by key constituents (i.e. clients, colleagues, superiors, subordinates).” You will see that at times, the…
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When someone first told me that I should “slow down to speed up,” I couldn’t even process what that would mean for me. There was too much to do and no time to get it all done! If I slowed down, then I would fall behind even further. What I came to realize though, is that slowing down is what is needed to prepare for what is ahead. Taking the time to reflect, be strategic, plan, create new ideas or…
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When is the last time you reviewed the work that you are doing? I have spent time with a few different people this week on the work that they are doing in their groups and exploring if they could accomplish it in a new way. The conversation usually starts with a few questions like, “where are you overloaded or what are you or your team saying yes to instead of saying no?” They can usually come up with a list…
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If I could only find some time to just think. I have heard this from some of my friends this week and to be honest, I have said it to myself. When there is so much happening, it can be easy to get caught up in the mode of being busy and not taking any time to think. You just keep doing more things without a lot of thought behind them. Sometimes you can get paralyzed by the sheer number…
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“You can do anything, but you can’t do everything.” My former CEO shared that message with our group during a company wide presentation. We were going through a huge acquisition with an aggressive timeline to meet and she could see the stress that the organization was under to deliver on time. She wanted to make sure we focused on only what was absolutely necessary to get done. I have shared that same message with clients when they are overwhelmed and…
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I am just not smart enough. I remember thinking that as I sat in the back of the room of a big meeting and looked around at everyone contributing to the conversation. I felt completely inadequate. How do all these people know the answers and what to do to get things done? I can picture sitting in that room as if it was just yesterday. Unfortunately, I carried all those feelings with me for a really long time and even…
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What are you avoiding? It is a powerful question to ask yourself. When I ask this question of my clients, they will usually start with the items on their to-do list. I keep asking them what else they are avoiding until they get to the items that they don’t want to bring up, but know they need to discuss. These are the things that they don’t know how to do, deliverables that are higher exposure, conversations that they don’t want…
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Every time a leader moves up to the next level it brings excitement, but it also brings out the doubts and insecurities. It can also happen when you take on more responsibilities that are new to you. One of my business mentors referred to it as a new “first.” This is when you go through something for the first time. It feels uncomfortable and it is filled with unknowns. It is completely normal and the same experience that everyone goes through…
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