Category: Executive Coaching

Posted on

[Life Back West] June 2010: “Never Can Say Goodbye”

My 96-year old mother died last week after a 12-month bout with dementia, and a much briefer tussle with pneumonia.

While I had been fortunate to spend good time with her in Portland earlier this year while she mostly remembered who I was, I missed her passing by an hour Thursday. The flight that I had scrambled to move up a day from Friday due to a steep decline in her health the previous afternoon was landing at the PDX airport when she passed away peacefully in the presence of my sister and my younger niece.… Read the rest

Posted on

How to Juggle Multiple Job Offers: “Jessica’s Dilemma”

The current job market is generally a seller’s market: qualified applicants significantly outnumber available openings. Unlike the early part of the decade – a buyer’s market – it means that employers can be (and usually are) very selective in whom they hire, and buyers – job applicants – don’t have the ability to be very highly selective due to the undersupply of job openings.… Read the rest

Posted on

Your Career: How to Make a Comeback

Comebacks, from Carly Fiorina (and Jerry Brown), to Mickey Drexler, Henry Blodget, Martha Stewart, and even Steve Jobs, are in full form and fashion these days. What do all these people tell us? They tell us that you can make mistakes, get sacked, and like the nine-lived cat still return to center stage another day.

Hit a career bump (or mountain) or two?… Read the rest

Posted on

One-Off Date or Relationship?

There are at least two ways to view the people with whom you work, live, and associate. One end of that spectrum is to think that every engagement point with somebody is a transaction, which may, or more likely may not, be repeated. Think of it as the one-off date mindset.  The other end of the spectrum is to think that each engagement is merely one step of many, and that how things work at Step A informs and influences what happens at Step B – the relationship mindset.… Read the rest

Posted on

Managing Your Career: Sometimes a Job is Just a Job

Chris Guillebau’s recent retweet – “never take a job you’re already qualified for” – combined with playdate with a mom with two small kids yesterday –  reminded me (once again) that sometimes you take a job because it is just a job. And a job for which you’re well qualified.

The fantasy among some career counselors is that career planning is strategic planning with precision tactical implementation.… Read the rest

Posted on

How to Avoid the Interview Trap

There are a lot of ways for hiring managers to foul up their interview process, and the easiest one is to fall into what I call “the interview trap.” It doesn’t have to be that way, and with a little thought, and a little modesty to offset any natural hubris you carry, you can miss that trap and get more accurate data when you interview.… Read the rest