A few years ago I wrote a blog called “If you think you’ve ‘arrived’ you’re in trouble!”, warning people of the importance of continually reinventing yourself. My point in that blog was that I often see people work very hard their entire careers, and then reach what they see as the pinnacle of success. But, that is the moment at which they stop pushing themselves, stop learning, and just enjoy the view instead of creating something new up there. That’s
This is the second blog in a two-part series.
In my last blog on leaders, I pointed out how you can be a boss — as in someone who people report to — without being a leader, meaning someone who you want to follow. But what if you’re not in a leadership position yet? If you’re still a “follower,” you may wonder if your boss is the right person on which to model your own strategy and decision making. But
This is the first part of a two-part series. Next time: how to find leaders worth following.
It’s a simple question, but perhaps not an easy answer – what are the signs of a leader, as opposed to just a “boss”? Are you just someone people report to? It’s different to head up a team on an organisational chart, to put in performance reviews and assign work to people. Yes, you’re the boss.
But being a leader isn’t really about any of that. You can be a leader even
Happy new year!
People have different opinions about New Year resolutions. Some people seem to downright relish the idea of assessing where they are at the beginning of a new calendar year and setting out goals to improve themselves. Others emphatically embrace the idea that the best way not to fail to keep a resolution is to not make one in the first place. I think many of us are somewhere in the middle. But even if you are in the no resolution camp, I think we all benefit from thinking about our professional legacy.
I really don’t like sounding preachy. So I wasn’t even going to post anything like this. But the truth is, missteps in holiday party etiquette at the office find their way to my desk every year. Every. Year. For 25 years. So…I decided I’d just give you a few ideas about how not to become a Christmas tale. Consider it my gift to you. You might wish you could exchange it for something more fun. I understand.
One of the challenges of initiatives regarding promotion of women in the workplace is that it can feel like a chicken and egg problem. Studies show that women in positions of power are more likely than men to hire and promote other women. And there are obvious reasons for women to mentor women. And in the era MeToo, it seems a particularly dicey time to encourage men to mentor women in the workplace. But as I wrote in a prior post about the challenges of female leadership, just 7% of the CEOs in the FTSE 100 are
Second in a two-part series. This is the second of two posts about how to use 360-degree feedback. Last time we discussed why this method of assessing performance is problematic. This time: better ways of using 360-degree feedback effectively in individual business relationships.
Everyone has been at a music concert, or listening to a lecture, when someone steps up to the microphone and instead of a human voice there’s nothing but that horrible screeching sound that tries to pluck your eardrums out of
First in a two-part series. This is the first of two posts about 360-degree feedback in performance evaluations. This week we discuss why this method of assessing performance is problematic. Next time: better ways to use this feedback to improve individual business relationships.
Someone asked me recently about performance evaluations, specifically, whether 360-degree feedback in performance evaluations was useful. The argument in favour of them is that by getting a feedback from not only your manager, but also your direct reports, internal clients, external clients, peers and . . . whomever else you can
I’ve been asked more and more frequently how managers can be sure they are being sensitive and inclusive. In almost all cases, I get the question from well-meaning, but fairly stressed executives, often men, usually in their late 40s to early 50s. They have teams that include women, LGBT members, and international employees. ‘
While they all appreciate and actively look for diversity, they recognize their own limitations in being able to identify opportunities to celebrate and unify a diverse team with such different backgrounds and experiences. While more than 70% of executives are white men, the increasing diversity of
I was recently asked to give advice to a professional that was really struggling with the best way to succeed in a divided workplace. She asked: “At my job, you can tell that employees are divided in many ways. I’m not the type of person to fall into groups because it’s what everyone expects or it’s how you get things done. So, how can I get ahead, as an individual, without compromising my character?”
It’s totally understandable why you’d like to be a grown-up and