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…
Read more
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…
Read more
We have all grown up with programming and messages from our families, teachers, media, society, culture, etc. that tell us what we are “supposed” to do in our lives. Some of these messages may include: get good grades, go to a good school, get a good job, get married, have children, save for retirement, follow the rules, don’t talk back, respect your elders, etc. You get the gist of the messages that we have all heard and internalized over many years. Those messages…
Read more
I was watching a video by Dr. Benjamin Hardy, who is the author of many books including the one that I am reading now called 10x is Easier Than 2x. His book, that he co-authored with Dan Sullivan, is focused on ways to achieve more by doing less. In the video, he discussed some of the concepts from the book, he shared that, “courage is the starting point of all transformation.” If I look back on my own transformations throughout my career, that…
Read more
If you have been following me for any of amount of time, you know that getting visibility for you and your team is important. However, there is also an opportunity for you to consider creating visibility for projects and programs too. Let me share an example: A client of mine shared the details of a discussion that he had with an executive leader about a project that would be kicking off soon. My client intended to walk through the proposed…
Read more
Change is a constant, especially when it comes to business. Companies and their leaders need to anticipate customer needs, focus on internal business changes, retain employees and grow the company at a rate that is acceptable by their management and shareholders. Navigating through all of this change isn’t easy for leaders today and it isn’t going away. The Current State This quote was shared from an article on hrexecutive.com, “increasingly, employers report that new hires lack the necessary skills for the job….
Read more
Every week I talk to clients who are so busy and have calendars that are filled with meetings. When we talk about meetings that they say they want to have with influencers, they tell me that there is no time. That may be true some days, but I ask them if they can identify one 30 minute slot per week that could be used for networking. Of course they have at least 30 minutes, it just needs to be prioritized….
Read more
Every week there seems to be a theme that occurs with my clients. This week that theme is value. The value conversation shows up in different ways depending on their thoughts and how they perceive themselves. It may require some reflection to understand what is going on at a deeper level. Here are a couple examples to look at with a few questions and potential solutions. I am frustrated because the person I have to work with is only focused…
Read more
It is time for some straight talk today about managing up. Some people view managing up as a negative and that the people who do it are using that time to gain favor over other team members. The truth is anyone has the opportunity to build a stronger relationship with their boss. If someone else is doing it well, then learn from them instead of seeing it as a bad thing. Here is what it really is – Managing your…
Read more
Are you ready to overcome perfectionism and get things done? I was a perfectionist for so long. I was even proud of myself for being a perfectionist which is hard to imagine now. I am sure that I made everyone else around me feel that they needed to be that way too. I realized that those expectations weren’t good for me and it definitely wasn’t good to place those expectations on my team. I had to change the way that…
Read more