Courage

Fear, lack of confidence, risk aversion are fairly common themes among those feeling “stuck” or worse yet “trapped” in their current career.  I often hear people wanting a change but not knowing where to start.  I also hear individuals falling “victim” to their circumstances.

It’s not so important that you know what your end game is, you know what your goals are or your path is all laid out.  What is important is to take action – no matter how small an action to get yourself moving forward.  Following are some tips to start the process.

Tip 1:  You’re in… Continue reading

Overtime

I just read a CNN article about Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook.  She leaves work every day at 5:30 so she can be home with her children by 6:00 PM to have dinner.  She does admit to reading her work email after her children are in bed.

When I was CEO I left work each day at 5:30 to get home in time to walk my dogs – Annie and Jake.  Also, I didn’t work weekends.

Are you consistently working overtime – more than a 40 to 45 hour week?  If you’re not, then these tips may not be of… Continue reading

Guilty

The definition of guilt is: an experience that occurs when a person believes that they have violated a moral standard.  My working definition is:  the bad feeling a person has when they believe they should be doing something else. So many people seem to carry around guilt as a badge of honor.  When they’re at work, they feel they should be at home, when they’re at home they feel they should devote more time to work.  The operable word here is “should”. Whenever you use “should” you’re not taking responsibility for your own choices.  Somehow you’re giving your power to… Continue reading

Do I have to?

I read a statistic the other day – 57% of men have negotiated their salary – contrast that with 7% of women.  Some of my clients find the art of negotiation a very confusing subject.  They don’t know where to begin.  Following are some tips to the negotiation process.  See what might work for you.

1. The Mars/Venus relationship needs to be top of mind in business negotiations.  Communication styles between men and women are different and as a result, negotiations can be complex. Keep your communication style direct by sharing plans, not concepts. Think collaboration not confrontation.

2. Use… Continue reading

To be or not to be….

Whether you’re interviewing for a new job, or enjoying your current job, employers are interested that you’re doing something rather than being something.  Many people I work with want to “be” the boss, “be” a manager or “be” the next [fill in the blank].

To keep on track you may consider some of these tips:

Tip 1:  Why?  Ask yourself why do you want to “be” the [fill in the blank].  What about the position appeals to you?  It may be a position that helps you grow and challenges you.  The position may use your strengths.  If your answer is… Continue reading