This question is the topic of a recent article in Harvard Business Review, “Are You The Victim of An Invisible Promotion?” by Ron Ashkenas. The post poses some direct questions to the reader about whether or not your role has changed significantly in the past six months and whether you have been given new responsibilities with no formal promotion or pay raise. Ashkenas … [Read more...]
Can You Be Too Independent?
I have received comments over the years from family and friends who say to me that I’m independent to a fault. Is there such a thing as being too independent? After a 20 year career in corporate America, I left about six years ago to start my coaching business and I’ve never looked back. Sure, there have been challenges; plenty of challenges. I would be dishonest if I … [Read more...]
Celebrating Women’s Friendships
Years ago at a small women's college in New England, thirteen girls from all over the country met and became good friends. At the time, those thirteen girls had no idea how strong their friendship was to become and how it would last and, in fact, strengthen through the years. We called ourselves “The Dynasty” which gives you a clue as to how impressed we were with … [Read more...]
You Need to Raise Your Hand
If you don’t raise your hand, you won’t be called on and maybe that’s a good thing; a good thing, that is, if you want to remain invisible and safe. After all, when you raise your hand, you are risking public failure. When you raise your hand, you are sending a signal to everyone that you have the confidence to publicly state your opinion, volunteer for something, or ask … [Read more...]
How Do You React When Someone Upsets You?
Last week I attended a Board meeting for a local non profit organization and before the meeting officially started, we were having a casual conversation when a colleague of mine made the comment that someone’s “nose was out of joint” because of a certain interaction that had occurred earlier in the week. That got me thinking. What was the origin of this idiom and what … [Read more...]
Do You Ever Get Stuck?
A couple of weeks ago, I interviewed Libby Gill on my Head over Heels Radio show about her book, You Unstuck: Mastering the Rules of Risk Taking in Work and Life. Reflecting on that discussion this week, I realized that there are so many ways we get stuck in our personal lives and in our businesses. I guess it’s part of the human condition to get “stuck in our ways”, … [Read more...]
Customize Your Pitch
Why do we hate those nagging telephone calls from strangers telling us to buy something? Why do car salesmen have a bad reputation? The reason, I believe, is that the sales techniques they use are impersonal and we often feel that something is being forced on us that we do not want or need. The fact of the matter is that even if we do need the product or service that’s … [Read more...]
Taking a Much Needed Break
Last weekend I took a whole day off! I have been consistently working seven days a week for months without a break and my coach strongly suggested that I try to take one full day off each week. Well, if my coach told me to do this and it was part of my assignment, I could not refuse. I have to admit I was very anxious about this. If I do indeed take Sunday off, what … [Read more...]
Are You Considering Becoming an Entrepreneur? Here’s a Test.
The Harvard Business Review posted a test this week, “Should You Be an Entrepreneur?” The test of 20 questions was created by the author of the article, Daniel Isenberg, who is a professor of management practice at Babson College. I thought it would be fun to pose these questions to those of you who are entrepreneurs, like myself, or to those of you who are … [Read more...]
The Velcro/Teflon Syndrome
How do you handle compliments? Someone at work approaches you after a meeting and tells you that you did a really great job on a project. What do you say? Are you more likely to say, “Thank you. I worked very hard on that project and I am proud of how it all came together”? Or do you say, “Oh, it was nothing”? Why can’t we take credit for our accomplishments and … [Read more...]