Vivian Blade 
Women are not only missing critical relationships such as allies, mentors, and sponsors in their careers. You also are not managing those relationships so that you get the most benefit from them. A mentor is one of the most important strategic assets in your career advancement toolkit. Yet, you don’t treat your mentoring relationships that … Read more
The Mistake: You don’t manage the mentoring relationship and fail to get the outcomes you’re looking to achieve. A good mentoring experience doesn’t just happen without planning and care throughout the process. There are four stages of a mentoring relationship that define your progress: Selecting Engaging Progressing Closing Each stage has its own set of … Read more
Lisa was one of the hardest-working people on her team. She would come into the office early most days and stay late to get the job done. Then, she’d head home for the evening. She got a lot of pats on the back; plenty of attaboys, and ’thanks for being so committed.’ But, she found herself … Read more
“Women get less access to the people and opportunities that advance careers and are disadvantaged in many of their daily interactions.” LeanIn.Org and McKinsey & Company, 2016 Women in the Workplace Report Why has this situation not improved for women? Both sides contribute to this challenge. Company leaders tend to have rose-colored glasses. They don’t realize or … Read more
In my coaching practice, I run across a number of female professionals who are frustrated with their career progression. They feel like they’ve been committed to the company, working endless hours and doing what it takes to get the job done and then some. A big part of the problem is, they feel like they’re … Read more
Your employer has announced layoffs and extended early retirement to a number of employees. You’re among the employees who are not leaving and, at least for now, will remain employed. We often consider the colleagues who are staying the lucky ones, yet, don’t realize that this is an emotional and challenging time for them, too. … Read more
“Fortune 100 Company Lays Off Employees” “Corporate Restructuring Offers Early Retirement to Hundreds of Employees.” You see these headlines all too often. You may have been personally impacted or know someone who has by announcements like these. My family has been personally impacted by both. An unexpected layoff or early retirement brings with it a … Read more
Even though unemployment is low, companies are still restructuring. Companies are facing uncertainty in healthcare, new business models in grocery retail, and new competition in other industries. In order to remain competitive and take out cost, companies turn to restructuring their workforce with approaches such as layoffs or early retirement offers. My husband’s employer offered … Read more
What usually happens when you leave something to the last minute? It never turns out as good as it could. The same goes for your leadership talent readiness. Leave it to the last minute, and your company’s leadership talent is not as good as it needs to be. The problem is that companies wait to … Read more
One of the biggest challenges for professionals is gaining the experience needed to land the next position in their career. This mirrors one of the biggest challenges for companies – a pipeline of experienced professionals ready for the leadership positions they are hired into. A recent Deloitte study* confirms this ‘readiness gap’, with twenty-eight percent … Read more
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