Are you stuck for ways to power your career into surge mode? Pretend your company/industry is a patient experiencing mid-life crisis, and they’ve come in to consult with Dr You. You’ve listened to their gripes about stagnating interests and prospects and you figure there are definitely possibilities for this client. Now imagine Dr You is advising […]
Author at SmartCompany
“I’m obsessed”, “we’re obsessed” – don’t you get tired of the way this expression of a genuine condition has been relegated to faddish interests for the perennially attention-challenged? People tend to trivialise obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) on the grounds that they “neurotically” check their inboxes or their Facebook “liked” status, or perhaps see a black […]
Isn’t it refreshing when a company not only professes to value innovative employees, but has instigated practices that demonstrate that they actually do? Alastair Mant pointed out years ago in his book Intelligent Leadership that workplace cultures of innovation are less common than we would think. However, thanks in part to the proliferation of dotcoms and a […]
When emails first became ubiquitous, some people didn’t treat them as they would a hard copy letter. You weren’t always addressed by name, they didn’t necessarily sign off and occasionally you were lucky if you received a one-sentence reply to your inquiry. I’m amazed at the way some people still insist on broadcasting their views […]
We now have mums AND dads who stay at home, mums and dads telecommuting, people juggling toddlers and many managing or mismanaging aged parents. There are Gen Ys bed-hopping back to their parents, Gen X-ers considering the Baby Boomers as selfish, slow and time wasters – and some 70s-80s returning to the workforce. Nothing seems […]
When is it okay to tell your workplace that you’re experiencing mental health problems? This is tough to answer, despite all the recent media stories (and plenty that never make it to the media) concerning suicides, celebrities suffering depression, etc. The majority responding to a recent topic thread on depression emphatically declared “do not disclose” […]
Have you ever faced a very aggressive colleague or customer? It’s bad enough on the phone but very scary face-to-face. Ideally every workplace has some rules, standards or a code of conduct to help. Ideally a code and training before is better than mopping up after damage too late. 1. Recognise early warning signs There […]
Every now and then, I hear from clients and friends who experience a bad case of managers missing in action. This AWOL type is seldom there when needed, arrives late, disappears in moments of crisis (certainly when everyone else is under the pump), they don’t say that they’re going off somewhere, their underlings often cover […]
Are you juggling multiple priorities, faultlessly delivering? Your children are doing well at school; your partner is always there sharing tasks? Are you organised to the hilt? It’s a constant challenge to keep the oil slick of work and achievements under control. Do you really go all out when it comes to fulfilling your KPIs […]
