I’ve seen it many times. After wrapping up one of my presentations, I’m approached by a Baby Boomer or Gen X manager who says, “My young employees just don’t have any common sense! How can I understand them?” Other times I hear more extreme responses like, “My Millennial employees are lazy and entitled. I regret hiring anyone under 35.” I am strongly against generational shami...

WE ALL HAVE THE POWER TO MINDFULLY AND INTENTIONALLY PUT A NAME TO THE THEME FOR OUR 2020. One of the cultural touchstones that make the end of one year and the beginning of the next fun and interesting is the giving out of prizes for “[Whatever] of the Year.” Car and Driver picks the year’s 10 Best Cars, Time names Person of the Year, annual Nobel prizes are handed out, and the Merriam-Webster dictiona...

Gone are the days when working hard was enough to earn recognition or a promotion in the career world. Take control of your career trajectory and design your unique path. In addition to mapping out your career future, be sure to tap the wisdom of those who can empower you to achieve your goals. Keeping your professional ambitions a well-kept secret will not move you forward. Your Boss is Not Your Career Coach Many pro...

The Duke and Duchess Offer Job Search Strategy to We Commoners You may feel that you don’t have much in common with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – those crazy kids, Harry and Meghan, who’ve decided to “step back” from their roles as “senior members” of Britain’s royal family – but it’s entirely possible that we can learn some career lessons from the carryings-...

Procrastination may be one of the most self-sabotaging and all too common behaviors leading to someone’s failure to achieve their career/work-related goals. All too often people wait until they are actually laid off before they start investigating new options, or they put off preparing for an interview for their dream job until the last minute. You might say, “It’s human nature.” Perhaps. Just Google...

If you commit yourself to lifelong learning, you’ll always be seeing the world through new eyes. You know the traditional cartoon showing a tired old man, usually bent over a cane, with a sash reading the number of the outgoing year. Next to him is a chubby-cheeked, smiling infant with a sash bearing the new year on it. Good riddance to the worn-out, moribund old year! Welcome to the fresh new one, with all its pos...

After a great response to my recent post on saying thanks to employees, I began thinking about small actions that lead to big results. For example, knowing a junior employee’s name can be more impactful on that person’s motivation than a $1,000 bonus. Then I came across this Harvard Business Review article on tips to cultivate more inclusive meetings. How simple! I understand that diversity is a complicat...

What do perfectionism, chronic busyness, and a refusal to delegate have in common? They’re all counter-productive habits driven by an underlying need for control. Having high expectations and knowing what you want can be a great thing. However, if taken too far, it can leave you feeling constantly disappointed. Trying to control everything all the time is not only impossible, but it can also alienate you from other...

The great majority of people tend to focus downward. they are occupied with efforts rather than results. They worry over what the organization and their superiors ‘owe’ them and should do for them. and they are conscious above all of the authority they ‘should have’. As a result, they render themselves ineffectual.” – Peter Drucker Peter Drucker has written extensively about the impact...

We spend half of our waking hours at work, yet we rarely stop to consider how work affects us mentally or emotionally. For many people, the office can feel like a second home. You probably spend more time with your team than you do your family or friends. If you’re not happy with your work environment, that dissatisfaction can carry over into your other parts of your life, damaging your self-esteem, confidence...