success

Susan M Barber Coaching & Consulting, LLC > Blog > success

Taking Advantage of Opportunities is the Key to Personal and Professional Growth

Are you paying attention to opportunities that you can take advantage of?  Opportunities often come in unexpected ways, and it’s important to be open and adaptable to new experiences. You have to keep your eyes and ears open for potential opportunities, even if they don’t seem immediately relevant to your goals. Sometimes, these opportunities can lead to unexpected and rewarding paths that can benefit your career.  You may be thinking that you don’t have time for anything additional. However, there…
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How to Build Self-Trust as a Leader

I was just reading an article from the co-founder of Netflix, Marc Randolph, about the 25 year anniversary of the company. He shared that “they simply believed that there “had to be a better way” to rent movies but along the way, we ended up not just changing the way the world consumes content, but how that content is created.” He also mentioned that every single person told him in the beginning that what he wanted to create with Netflix “would never…
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Are You Ready to Create a New Story?

Did you have a chance to listen to my interview with Kristina Paider yet? Her book The Hollywood Approach helps the reader use characters and movies as a way to look at their own story and design what they want it to be. It has changed everything about how I watch movies and see the strengths and flaws of characters.  Recently I was introduced to a new show on HBO MAX called The Big Brunch. Yes, I know you are thinking really another cooking show and…
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How to Have Meaningful Discussions with Leaders Above You

I met with a client the other day who wanted to meet with a VP in her organization. However, in the next breath, she said, “but I can’t meet with him and have a conversation, I wouldn’t know what to say.” This is a common response from clients who are meeting with someone at a higher level than they are or it is the first time that they are having a conversation together. It is understandable to feel that way…
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Simple Ways to Create Stronger Boundaries for Yourself

Can we all just stop breaking our boundaries already? I taught a class last week on impostor syndrome with an amazing group of leaders. I asked them which impostor syndrome type they struggled with the most and the majority of them chose to keep their boundaries personally and professionally.  Boundaries create guidelines and rules for you and others to understand, follow and respect. You can define physical, relationship, conversational, and time boundaries for yourself. Strong boundaries help you to avoid…
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3 Easy Ways to Improve Your Visibility Today

Are you ready to take some action today? It’s time to get off the sidelines and get into the visibility game. There is a huge misconception that creating visibility for yourself is a lot of work. That is 100% untrue. Here are some simple ideas to try so you can see that it only takes intention and consistency to show a new side of you to others.  Create a visibility partnership – find someone who you can partner up with to give…
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Are You Making the Most of Your Opportunities?

Climbing the corporate ladder isn’t for everyone. There are expectations that that you will do more outside of normal work hours.   Attending conferences, dinners, happy hours, or attending meetings in other time zones are but a few examples. These are some of the sacrifices to your personal time that you may need to do. For example, when co-workers were in town, there would be dinners and happy hours that were planned that I would need to attend. These were…
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Do You Play to Win When You Take on a New Role?

How does it feel to get the job that you have dreamed of for so long? Most people would say to other people that it is amazing and just like I hoped it would be. What they say in their head though, is that I hope I can keep it or what if I make mistakes and they demote me or let me go?  Climbing to higher roles in an organization brings a lot of additional responsibility, but it also…
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Are You Ready to Help New Leaders Succeed?

man walking across a hand to the next cliff

Think back to the first time you led a team. It may be quite a few years ago now, but can you remember how it felt? For me, I was full of excitement and loved the idea of leading a team. A new opportunity like this doesn’t come along every day and I didn’t want to lose it. I had done so much to prove myself and this was my chance to show my leadership team that I could do…
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2 Easy Ways to Be Intentional and Achieve Your Goals

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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