People Skills

The Power of Networking

Guest Author: Colleen Denston Have you ever had the “AH HA” moment when you finally get it? Well, I am here to tell you that your “AH HA” moment may be just around the corner. For a few years I had been looking for my dream job. Something that took me to the next career level and challenged my...

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How to Avoid Death-by-Meeting: What’s Our Intention?

The bigger the organization you work in, the greater the likelihood that you’ll meet your demise in death-by-meeting. What a horrible way to go! And the worst part? All that pain and suffering – and it’s usually a crap shoot as to whether you’ll get through all the items on the agenda.

No. Actually, the worst part is when you end up running those meetings yourself!

Agendas are often useful for thinking through what you want to cover. But – having an agenda does not mean having a meeting worth everyone’s time to attend. How to avoid death-by-meeting when you’re in charge? Agenda or not, take the time to think through your intended outcome for the meeting.

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Lessons from a Power Breakfast – What’s at STAKE?

To everyone but us, we were a power breakfast. Meeting early at the Mayflower Hotel in downtown Washington DC, we were strategists behind an international organization representing 160 of the biggest companies and Non Governmental Organization (NGO) nonprofits in the world. The Director, on a trip...

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Captain Obvious Gets A Lesson in Empathy

There have been a number of projects where I observed a client not following industry best practices. It was weird. The client company had many smart employees, so for them not to follow best practices, to not do what was obvious, seemed strange. Why not do what every other company does? I learned...

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INSIGHT: The Subtlety of Emotional Intelligence

I gave an interview last night and as soon as the subject of success came up I jumped in with my favorite bit of advice. Interviewer: What's the most important thing an aspiring leader can do to improve their chances of career success? Me: Work on your emotional intelligence skills. Interviewer:...

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3 Things I Wish I’d Known in My First Management Job

My first management job was a disaster. I was one of four analysts working on a client account. My boss was getting annoyed dealing with all of us and our silly just-out-of-grad-school questions. He didn't like editing our client memos because he had more important things to do. He liked me and...

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Personality Assessments and Beginner’s Mind

I recently had one of those moments that caused me to take myself down a notch. I took one of the personality assessments I’ve used with clients (one designed especially for women on the leadership track) and didn’t like some of the results. When Valerie was coaching me on my results I got grumpy...

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Live Your Own Fairy Tale by Negotiating Your Own Value

My dirty little secret: I love Disney princess stories. My favorite princess was Aurora of Sleeping Beauty. When I was four, I would convince my uncle to play-act the story with me - from the initial curse to the 16 year-old pricking her finger, falling asleep, and being rescued by the prince. My...

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Three Ways to Ask For A Favor and Why You Should Do It

“Umm…I have a favor to ask”. Believe it or not, these are some of the hardest words for me. As much as helping others makes me feel good, I have a hard time asking others for help.  Yet I also recognize that being willing to ask people for favors is a key enabler for us to meet our goals. Here are...

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