Stepping into her new role, she couldn't help but feel a twinge of unease.

Working alongside Ph.D.s was uncharted territory for her. Before a single word was exchanged, she filled her mind with doubts. What if they asked her questions she couldn't answer? What if they ignored her completely? The idea of being approached by a team of Ph.D.s, eager to hear her thoughts, was a scenario she never could have fathomed in a different industry.

You see, she worked for the same company for over 25 years.

She held several jobs and moved up, down, and sideways as the company expanded and contracted.

She loved the job until she didn't, yet she still stayed too long.

One day, the fear of staying finally overcame the fear of going.

Once she did the work, she had opportunities she could not have imagined previously.

It was beyond her wildest dreams a year ago; now, it is her life.

What dreams have you not yet dreamed?

Ready to explore what a promotion or job move would mean to your future? Let's...

Everyone is feeling the pressure of inflation, including your company, making it even more critical that you are the leader that gets ahead of the conversation. Depending on when your fiscal year ends, your company may be getting close to budgeting season. This means you need to be planning ahead. If you plan to ask for a raise, a promotion or have an idea for a new role that is literally "built for you" or someone on your team, you need to start developing your strategy to present the case for yourself and the high performers on your team.

The bottom line is there will be a pool of money - some companies divide it equally among every team member. Others divvy it out according to performance. Many hold a portion of the "raise pool" aside to care for those below the range or at risk. 

Keeping the leadership team up to date with employee performance, risks, and expectations ensures you and your team are part of the conversation once the budget is in place and they start meeting...

Do you feel like you are spinning wheels, rolling the dice, and moving backward as much as forward at work? When did work become more complicated than a board game, and what can you do about it? First, identify the issues. For example, which of these board games sounds most like what is happening at work?

TROUBLE: a race around the board.

The goal: move multiple game pieces across the finish line.

Do you feel like you are trying to move so many projects, people, and ideas across the finish line, spreading your attention so thin that you fear you are mediocre at a lot and great at nothing?

You can't move until you roll the die. 

Every move is a role of the dice, a risk you must take to move forward. And no matter how big you want to go, there is still a bubble over you - holding you back from and influencing the outcome.

The only way to win is to knock others back.

No collaboration here; land in the same space, and you send your opponent back to the beginning. There...

Do you know what this is? Don't answer - it will date you!

For those unfamiliar, the Rolodex was once a coveted tool for any good executive. Early in my carer, it was fun to watch a leader who had been asked a question reach for the Rolodex on their desk, give it a spin, and whip a card out with a name and number like they were the only person in the world with the critical information to contact this person! 

Gone are the days of the Rolodex, but the ability quickly locate a name and phone number is still critical to a successful career. I once heard an executive say, you are only as strong as your network, a philosophy I have wholeheartedly subscribed to my entire career! You cannot do it alone. 

While technology has replaced the Rolodex, it is still critical to understand the five groups of leaders who will impact your career (and vice versa) and why you need to have the ability to locate their information and connect in a meaningful way to support their journey....

You've decided you need a coach. Congratulations! This is a major step in taking control of your career and charting a new course for success. But now comes the hard part: how do you choose the right coach? With so many options out there, it can be tough to know where to start.

Here's a helpful guide to finding the coach who's right for you. Look for someone who is competent (credentials and experience), compatible (chemistry), and committed (to your success and to helping you make lasting changes). These are the three C's of choosing a coach.

1. Credentials and Experience
The first thing you'll want to look for in a coach is credentials and experience. What kind of training and experience does this person have? Do they have any relevant certifications? What is their coaching philosophy?

2. Chemistry
It's also important to find a coach with whom you have good chemistry. This is someone you'll be working with closely, so it's important that you feel comfortable with them and that you...

Have you ever heard that your NETWORK is your NET WORTH?

So why do we resist networking? It moves so many out of our comfort zone in different ways, and that's okay. But what if you are overthinking it?

What is keeping you from networking, and what story do you need to tell yourself to get started?

Networking is about BEGINNING, BELIEVING, BUILDING, and LEVERAGING.

BEGINNING
We must network. That is all they tell you in the BEGINNING. Employers spend time setting expectations and training employees, but very few explain why networking is essential, and even fewer model networking or provide successful strategies. Without mentorship, it can feel like an awkward dance of reaching out and struggling to find your way through a conversation without a clearly defined outcome.

BELIEVING
When prioritizing so many things in your career, it is hard to see the long-term benefit of taking time for something that does not have an immediate ROI. However, for success, you need to believe...

Something missing in your career? Feeling stagnant? Need a reboot?

Find your opposite.

So often, we look at our peers and colleagues as our competition, but what if they are there to compliment our style, teach us and learn from us throughout our career journey? Think about it; we become stuck, and instead of looking for new answers, we start to fear uncertainty, which spirals into insecurity. It stalls us out and moves into negative emotions, self-talk, and resistance.

We naturally like to work with people who think and act like us. They are easier to collaborate with, not to mention easier to manage. At work, we know we should collaborate. Still, in reality, we often need to move to consensus quickly to meet the business's demands, robbing us of the mind-expanding exercises we need to facilitate growth.

But what if we found a partner that didn't think like us? When we engage with them, we will begin to expect the unexpected, reducing the emotional reaction (the amygdala...

Who has more demands? You or your employer? If your employer struggles to meet your needs, this is for you.

When it comes to your career, do you struggle to balance your responsibility to yourself and the organization? I talk a lot about this with my clients. The word they often use is GUILT. Many times we have to go back to the beginning of this relationship to remember how it started. 

You and your employer made a mutual agreement. You accepted your employer's offer, and they committed to pay you to perform a job. It was business. 

The longer you are there, the more invested you become in the relationships, the work, and the results. Then, as time passes, you expect more from each other. Your employer watches you build new skills and wants you to take on more responsibility. You feel accomplished and successful. You may expect a raise and promotion in return, but the recognition feels good. 

But then, one partner in this...

Title matters. When I was younger, I was naive to think that the work I did and the people I did it for were what mattered. Then I got promoted. Overnight, everything changed. I was invited to more meetings, asked to weigh in on more situations outside of my department, and had a more significant influence on the organization.

With that being said, some leaders had always treated me with the same respect. Most of the executive team would see me in the hallway and stop for a genuine chat expressing great interest in whatever conversation we had that day - but with others, it was different.

I only bring this up because TITLE should be part of your career strategy. While the title may not change the work you are doing or the satisfaction you get out of your role, it can benefit you in many other ways.

First, sadly, people treat you differently internally and externally. The vendors and consultants you work with externally make initial judgments about you when they see your title....

What are your New Year's traditions?

Resolutions? Goals? A mantra? A bucket list or checklist? What about a word or two? My thought partner and I pick three words each year that we will hold tight to during the highs and lows of the year.

The purpose of these words is to keep us centered, inspired, moving forward, and focused on our goals! However, as I contemplate my words for 2022 (this is a very important and introspective process), I am torn because the word at the top of my list has such a negative connotation.

After a search in the Miriam Webster Dictionary, the Thesaurus, and a little research on the history of this word, I feel an overwhelming need to defend this word. I think it is important for my growth, success, dreams, and maybe yours.

So here it goes, I will say it out loud - at the top of my list, I am choosing UNCOMFORTABLE.

To review, the definition of uncomfortable is: Causing or feeling slight pain or physical discomfort, OR - causing or feeling unease or...