Okay, try not to judge me too harshly as I admit to something I’m not proud of. But first, let me tell you why it happened… A couple of weeks ago, I got a nasty bug, something that knocked me out for over a week. I had so little energy, I just lay on the […]
Maybe you’ve seen this happen… After a long and comprehensive search, Person X is hired into a senior leadership role. They have all the necessary skills and experience, and they aced the interview process — everyone loved them! But once on board, it doesn’t take long for the wheels to start coming off. They are […]
I began my professional career in the 80s. It was a time when people genuinely believed the workplace was evolving for the better. I started in sales, selling large-ticket capital equipment. It was very much a male-dominated space and I was the only woman on the team. Not that that scared me. I grew up […]
I was at JPM last month. Over six days, I probably had 50 one-on-one conversations and meetings in a variety of settings: restaurants, bars, conference rooms, coffee shops, and several hikes and long walks between events. Every one of those conversations included some discussion of the human factors involved in the workplace. Maybe that’s not […]
I had a call last week from Claire (not her real name), an executive in a midsize, Boston biopharma. The call was a surprise. Even though I placed her in a previous role about six years ago, and despite having checked in with her regularly over the years since then, she has never been open […]
Rappelling 30 stories down the side of a Philadelphia skyscraper is a good way to learn how fast your heart can beat — and where, exactly, it is located in your chest. Looking down as I prepared to exit the window, was terrifying. I couldn’t breathe, I couldn’t scream, and my legs felt like Jello. […]
A few years ago, I did a six-month leadership class with one of my heroes, Lynne Twist. One of her (many) pursuits is working with indigenous people to help protect the Amazon rainforest. As part of our program, we went to Ecuador and lived with a tribe for five days, deep in the forest. It […]
I was in Berlin for a few days at the end of the summer, visiting my son and his girlfriend who live there. We came back through Copenhagen, where we stayed for another five days. It was a terrific trip all around, I may be moving! JK!… The only travel snag happened as we arrived […]