Planned parenthood is commonplace for professional men and women today. Yet organisations seem to have contingency plans in place for anthing from a terroist threat to natural disasters, but not maternity leave. Why is that?

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Something’s got to give Earlier this year, somewhat bewildered by our leaders and their actions (or lack thereof) over the previous few years, I wrote a post “Playing without the Queens“. In it I expressed surprise at the notable lack of public reaction as bankers and financial service leaders decimatad our global economies, while the…

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Does the feminisation of HR have a downside? The feminisation of HR has been creeping up on us for years. I was recently involved in an executive search for an upper level middle management HR position. The European VP asked me to try to produce a gender balanced short list. Now, this is not what…

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Career ladder or lattice? Our society is evolving at a phenomenal pace. Technology has brought about changes that even 15 years ago we could only have dreamed about. New trends Think tanks are predicting labour shortages in key sectors, pension plans and a default retirement age are likely to be pipedreams for the next generation.…

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I recently found myself, somewhat unexpectedly spending rather more time than I would have liked, in the departure lounge of Fiumicino Airport, Rome. It’s a long story, one that doesn’t even matter and with everything going on in Syria, Libya and Japan, I’m not even going to make the mildest protest. But I have actually…

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Bringing down the wall of rejection. Is the end of candidate cloning my pipedream? As a coach I insist that all candidates fully understand their transferable skills and can share their success stories in any situation whether it's on a CV , in an online professional profile, in a formal interview, at a networking event…

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It’s quite common to think of Plan B as a compromise. But nothing could be further from the truth. In reality it’s about keeping our options open and not confining ourselves to a narrow set of specific goals. Times change I tell anyone who I coach and both my daughter and son, to always have…

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Women an untapped resource for our male dominated think tanks The World Economic Forum, one of the world’s most recognised think tanks, issued a report indicating long-term talent management issues were actually being concealed by high levels of unemployment. “In today’s global and fast-changing business environment, access to highly skilled people – not just top talent,…

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Transplanting biz strategies into the home The gender split of household duties and child care as well as a general work/ life balance, is one of the most talked about issues in any group of working women whether on-line or IRL. In a women’s online professional forum I have recently joined as a mentor, the…

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Why do we get job profiles so wrong? Lost in translation As both an executive search professional and a career coach, I am frequently bemused how hiring managers and job seekers fail to communicate with each other and misunderstand or even misrepresent themselves in the process. I’m very mindful there is a strong sales role…

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