Working with job seekers and career changers, I discovered one common trait about them. When people transition between companies/industries, or just start out (after university or after a pause to have children or a maternity break), they tend to focus on positions being offered, and not beyond. They usually get so excited about what the … Read More
Employee engagement
Five steps to getting job offers, recommendations and referrals
Networking helps us find new projects, customers, move to new positions and jobs (75 percent of all jobs are not advertised!) and yet networking is not about any of that. Networking is about being kind, helping others and building lasting relationships. We all know that the times when one could expect just do their … Read More
Feeling stressed? Do something different!
When Claire put down the phone, she was hyper-ventilating. Her heart was racing. It was 3pm on the last work day before the Christmas holidays and she just learned that one of the managers had not finished the report that was due by tonight and was leaving early to attend to her sick child. Claire … Read More
Gratitude + Low Expectations = Happiness
We all have challenges and issues in our lives to resolve. A difficult colleague at work, a fight with a significant other, there is often a source of stress and frustration. Thinking about those things adds to our stress levels and makes us feel anxious. What if we focused on what’s going right in our … Read More
Assertiveness: do you speak up?
“I spoke up about the issue!” my client Julie looked radiant. She shared that she had raised her long-standing concerns about how a large-scaled project was being managed to the top management of her company. The issue had bothered her for a long time and she’d been speaking about it to everyone but… her bosses. … Read More
Eight lessons from Deauville
1300 business women gathered earlier this month in Deauville for the ninth Women’s Forum. The sun was shining on the sea, the champagne was glittering in flute glasses, and the participants who came from around the globe exchanged, debated and networked in powerful ways. What did we learn? What beliefs were confirmed? What myths were … Read More
Smart Leadership: how good are your people skills?
A twenty-year old study of leadership effectiveness conducted by Stanford University’s School of Business concluded that about 15 percent of one’s success in leading organizations comes from technical skills and knowledge, while 85 percent comes from the ability to connect with people and engender trust and mutual understanding. Through my coaching and leadership training work, … Read More
Google’s management lessons
People typically leave a company for one of three reasons, or a combination of them. The number one reason is that they have an unpleasant, to put it mildly, boss. The second one is that they don’t feel a connection to the mission of the company, or sense that their work matters. The third reason … Read More
What is blocking the path to your big goal?
Now that you know your number 1 goal (see the post from last week), the next step is to create a strong and clear strategy, a roadmap towards your goal. However an action plan on its own won’t do wonders. It needs to be founded on strong solid self-belief and confidence. If you don’t believe … Read More
Lean into Life, your unique style
Despite the mountain of controversy and publicity around Sheryl Sandberg’s book “Lean In”, I’ll admit that I enjoyed reading it. I liked the author’s accessible style and the generosity with which she shared personal stories and experiences. Many of those stories revealed a different, more human and less perfect, face of Facebook’s Chief Operating Officer. … Read More