During a recent early morning yoga class, the instructor admonished the group with five words that have haunted me ever since: “Don’t just audit your practice.” I was guilty as charged... but not just at yoga. How frequently do we audit other dimensions of life -...
Leadership Matters
Career Conversations: It’s All About Becoming Unbalanced
Supporting employee development. Learning about others. Exploring options and possibilities for growth. What do all of these conversations have in common? To be effective, they require you to become completely unbalanced. I’m not suggesting developing vertigo or...
Building the Organizational Habit of Career Development
Let’s be honest. Engaging in career conversations is not that hard. It’s inherently simple to talk with other people about what they’re good at, what they’re interested in, and where they see themselves going. It’s good for business to understand and leverage the...
Reflections from a Reluctant Receiver
I have totally internalized those early messages about how ‘it’s always better to give than to receive.’ Perhaps too much. My anxiety starts creeping up when I realize that I’ve been to someone’s house for dinner twice in a row without reciprocating in between. I...
Make Sure to Learn from Your…. Successes
“Learn from your mistakes.” How frequently do we hear that - or something similar? Failure is touted as one of the most powerful teachers we’ll ever meet. It’s been elevated in some cases to a magical status that can produce outcomes of legendary proportions. (Think...
Cultures that Support Career Development
Career development is all about the conversation and the culture. Leaders who understand and promote a culture of growth are serious about career development.
Rediscover Your Natural Ability to Connect
Today's guest blog post is written by my friend, Sonia Di Maulo and celebrates the launch of the hard-copy edition of her book, The Apple in the Orchard: A story about finding the courage to emerge. The story provides a vision for the new world of work and was...
The Fallacy of Focus
Focus is held in high esteem in our culture and in business. We medicate, caffeinate, and meditate to summon it. It’s celebrated on billboards and taught through thousands of books and workshops. Those who possess the holy grail of focus are considered successes and...
Fish Bowls and Talent Pools
When I was a kid, our community hosted a carnival each fall. Every year, either my brother or I won a goldfish by sinking a ping pong ball into a tiny cup. (In retrospect, it must have been traumatic for the fish swimming around in the cups; but for us, it was...
Career Development: It’s All About Becoming Dispensable
We’ve seen it play out time and again in the workplace. An employee works diligently to carve out a niche. She becomes an expert in a field, a real ‘go-to’ person around critical issues. She heeds the advice she’s heard about how getting ahead boils down to making...
