Boundaries, limitations, and the power of supportive accountability When I was a very new professional, back before fire or the Internet was invented and chai latte wasn’t yet in fashion, I had a student come to me for some help planning a conversation she hoped to have with her supervisor, Read more
Want to grow in your leadership? Practice. I frequently have new clients who share that their number one goal is to improve their leadership skills – and they are hopeful that together that I will impart lessons they can apply – sort of like a recipe they can follow. That Read more
Share Your Expectations There is a conversation your staff wish you’d have with them. (Actually, there are a few, but let’s just take it one at a time!) I’m sure about it because I hear about it from them. They wish they knew your expectations for success. If you just Read more
Conference Season Conference season is here! As reliable as the leaves turning colors, invitations to professional development meetings are in our inboxes: regional and national conferences, in-state seminars and professional development meetings are upon us! These gatherings are a hallmark of people-serving industries and since so many of us find Read more
Unintended Consequences My local gym has a new key checkout policy. It seems that some members (and maybe kids bored between basketball games) had become a bit lax in how the equipment in a particular room was being treated and there was some ongoing damage. Hoping to solve the problem, Read more
You Can’t Win Without a Hit I love an old ballpark, the kind that looks like something out of a movie set, where you half expect a baseball player in balloon pants to come out of nowhere. An afternoon at an old ballpark is time well spent indeed! Over 20 Read more
Giving Feedback to Your Team I have a client who is in the process of significant culture change in their team. He routinely onboards new professionals who bring inconsistent workplace behavior expectations from part-time or grad school positions. One of the elements of his current role is giving feedback to Read more
Partnering with your Leader-Boss I have a terrific client who is gifted at solving problems. She has a talented employee who has issues in her unit, but believes that a director should come to their leader with “solutions, not new problems.” At first look, it feels like these two should Read more
Transitions and Hiring I talk with a number of clients about career transitions – some are hiring agents, some are in a search, and a few are strategizing about their long-term career plans. As a result, I talk about hiring processes frequently. No matter the perspective of my client, we Read more
How hard is it to run a good meeting? Actually, harder than it looks! Ever had a “stand-up meeting”? How about a “walking meeting”? How about a “daily scrum”? The other day, a client pointed out that she loses hours in her week to badly-run meetings, and I asked about Read more