As part of my continuing experience as the “new girl” after my recent career change, I am grateful to have an opportunity to look at my work environment through a fresh lens. I’m in an open concept workspace, which is brand new for me. I will admit that the spacious cubicle, even with an automated standing desk feature, at first threw me for a loop. I have always had an office with a door that closed....

My speaking engagements frequently take me to college campuses, where I have the opportunity to connect with professors and administrators about the hot topics on their campuses. For the past few years, I’ve been struck by the number of times leaders at a wide variety of colleges and universities have talked to me about the overwhelming mental health needs of today’s Generation Z students. Recent statistics...

If there’s ever been a time with such a politically and socially polarized mood among Americans, it wasn’t in my lifetime, and I wouldn’t want to go back there. It’s gotten to the point where people are “de-Friending” their closest relatives, friends, and co-workers on social media, and friendly clubs and book groups are setting ground rules about what things can’t be talked about o...

For many years during my 18-year corporate career, I remained in a number of roles I disliked, and a few of them were a terrible fit. Now I see that there were some critical factors that influenced my strong resistance to make the changes I needed to, including worries about money, self-esteem issues, confusion as to what I really wanted, reluctance to start over in a new job, and just plain fear. Now, after two reinvent...

But if you want to do anything important in the world, you’ll inevitably get negative feedback or criticism. When I asked my client Jessica how her relationship with her manager was going since we last spoke, there was a long pause. “Jessica, what happened?” I asked. “She ripped apart a presentation I put together. She said I needed to start over from scratch because it totally missed the mark....

No matter the type of company, there are certain fundamental things you need to get right in the workplace to ensure success: 1) Show up. As writer Regina Brett once said, “Most of life is showing up.” You can argue with the how much of life is showing up, but you can’t argue with the saying’s corollary: “Failure to show up is 100 percent guaranteed to be bad for your career.” It&rsquo...

You’re stressed beyond measure at work – toiling away on the umpteenth iteration of a new campaign; racing the clock to get a grant proposal in; or working overtime to iron out a distribution snafu – then a colleague sets aside their own project to pitch in on yours, or a friend, who’s been through something similar, picks up the phone to share advice…and everything changes for the better. A k...

Failing to commit has sometimes been recognized as a West Coast issue, but I haven’t seen hard statistics about it. I don’t really know if this trend is limited to one area or not, but from what I observe, the reluctance to commit to just about anything is an increasing phenomenon in the Pacific Northwest. There’s a huge difference between evaluating and weighing out options to see what works best and j...

Busy-ness is a dangerous trap that relinquishes our control to find meaning and fulfillment in life and career when we are stuck in the quicksand of being busy. I am on a mission to disrupt the busy culture and focus on a life that is measured by meaning, value, fulfillment and other factors we can customize to celebrate our unique happiness and satisfaction. Busy Doesn’t Mean Important – as a recovering work...

When I was in my most unhappy period at the end of my 18-year corporate career, I was the definition of “stuck.” At age 40, I had spent all those years slogging through jobs and promotions, trying so hard to finally land a senior role that I could love and feel I was great at, working with people I respected, engaging in tasks I enjoyed. And I desperately wanted to be a part of a company that was delivering prod...