Even though my kids left school years ago, I’ve always been impacted by the back to school vibe. Just like in school, it’s a great opportunity to use this symbolic period to take some refresher classes.  I decided I needed to go back to school and focus on some time management tips. Why? My goal is to work smarter not longer. Click…

interview (n.) 1510s, “face-to-face meeting, formal conference,” from Middle French entrevue, verbal noun from s’entrevoir “to see each other, visit each other briefly, have a glimpse of,” from entre- “between” (see inter-) + Old French voir “to see” (from Latin videre;). After six years of deep recession and demand driven hiring processes, interviews have been…

Career disruption comes in many forms:  mergers, takeovers, bad bosses, new bosses, downsizing, up-scaling,  marriage, parenthood, re-location, health issues, transfers,  job loss to name some. As a career coach, who is a strong advocate for both men and women to create strategic plans for their careers, I listened attentively to Whitney Johnson. Author of Dare, Dream Do  at a recent 3Plus Mini-Coaching session Whitney shared her tips from…

What is executive presence? Do you have it? What are the intangibles, the “je ne sais quoi” or X Factors that make the difference between being the person who stands out and commands a room, or who disappears and becomes invisible in the crowd?  How is a person able to inspire confidence and trust of those around him or her, to become a respected…

Are you at risk for burnout? Bain and Company carried out a study in 2010 “Flexible Work Models: How to bring sustainability in a 24/7 world”) which researched 3,300 professional men and women on the adoption and effectiveness of flexible work models. It found that a lack of availability of these  type of programmes, as well as their poor utilization,…

Many people assume that “whistle blowing” is associated with high level governmental and corporate corruption. Images appear in our Hollywood fuelled imaginations of dubious, clandestine meetings held in underground car parks in the dead of night, with individuals wearing Dick Tracy style trench coats and fedoras.>How does someone cope when the organisation they work for…

One of the key messages across the board at the JUMP forum in Paris was gender communication differences and the impact this has on workplace mis-communication. Not one, but multiple speakers raised this issue, with a particular emphasis on over communication.  Hmmm.. I thought I need to listen this. Although for a woman I am reasonably direct and brief,…

Indra Nooyi is one of the world’s most successful CEOs heading up PepsiCo and comes in at number 10 on the Forbes Power Women list. She has recently astounded me (and some others) by sharing her involvement with the parents of some of her employees, admitting to writing  to them about the success of their children. At the same time she has…

Brush up your networking etiquette. It’s not about you!  Make one person feel comfortable at every event Do you ever wonder which sadist put eating, drinking, standing up and networking in the same sentence? At networking events, do you feel genetically challenged and your fine motor movements suddenly seize up?  Does securely balancing your glass, clutching a cocktail napkin and finger-food plate in your sticky fingers become an…

DIY recruitment is short sighted and lazy Two people apparently join LinkedIn every second  of every day. This platform and others like it have changed forever the way organisations identify and recruit talent. Some aspects are improvements. Others are not. These platforms should potentially reduce the need for external recruiters and change the way they are managed by corporations.  Historically the…