The company you keep has taken on a second meaning in recent years. It's no longer just about your circle of friends and their effect on your personality. It's also the place you chose to work. What they stand for is also a representation of what you stand for. Their reputation is your reputation, and yes a handful of bad apples will very much ruin the bunch. This article is not about the effects of Gen Z in the workplace, cancel culture and its negative effects on open dialo

Helping Hands and Handouts are differentiated by who's doing what percentage of the work, as well as the desired outcome of the interaction. Most high achievers I know are looking for a helping hand. They have the mentality that you can point them in the right direction and they'll make the most of their resources. They enjoy the drive to learn and earn all they receive. Most people looking for handouts are looking for the easy way. They usually want to know what corners can

What made you successful in your past or current jobs, may not be the skills required to succeed at the next level. The only way to really know what it takes, is to do the job. And there, my friends, lies the catch 22. Is it the job (the chicken) or the skills to succeed (the egg) that comes first. Imposter syndrome is real, and can be very detrimental to leading your career. Most of you have probably felt this at some point in your career, since it's estimated that 70% of pe

This past year has really changed the relationship I have with my kids, as I'm sure it did with most parents. We were simply around each other much more than in previous years, and due to the birth of my daughter last April, I had an extra opportunity to be home with my family. Over the past year I have taken almost 14 weeks off of work, between FMLA leave and PTO, to be with my family. The relationship I believe this affected the most, was the one with my now, 1 year old dau

Believing something is "tactful" depends on our point of view, your upbringing, and probably your belief system. Social norms and the makeup of a group also influence what is considered "tactful" or not. However, just because you don't think something is tactful, does not make it so. How you position your career, regardless of your level of tact, will always be seen by someone as excessive or lacking "tact". You can't base how you position yourself off of naysayers. There are

There's blood in the water, and head hunters are circling. As companies struggle to figure out how to balance working from the office safely, while modifying the work-from-home policy, and deciding how all of it impacts the bottom line, head hunters are out there trying to capitalize on that vulnerability. Some of you may have already been reached out to via a flattering LinkedIn message on how perfect of a fit you are for their great opportunity. They usually try to expedit

One of the worst things you can do as a company, is to make a bad hire. The investment it takes to get them up to speed as a highly functional member of the team goes down the drain. As does the amount of time you'll need to micromanage performance issues and handle the toxicity they bring to their team and the culture. Depending on how well or poorly you handle this individual, will directly impact the way your top performers view you or their desire to stay at a company tha

Many of us feel too old for new school and too new for old school. Just that happy medium of being equally disconnected from the latest trend and the most time tested practices. In the workplace, companies reward efficiency. The push for innovation has everyone racking their brain about how to be the first and the best at whatever is next. It's trimming the fat until you're as lean as you can get. Unfortunately, within some of that fat we've trimmed, were some great old schoo

Well, it's been a year. Literally it's a been a year since we all went home to wait out the virus. Schools were closed, businesses became restricted, DoorDash became a lifeline, and the term "essential worker" took on a new and sometimes contentious meaning. When I first heard the term social distancing I thought they were referring to giving up Facebook or Instagram for lent. It has been some year. COVID has redefined the work-life struggle for nearly everyone. If you would

The status quo. It's where we are today. It's a snapshot of how far we've made it. It's a culmination of so many people's ideas and hard fought battles. The status quo isn’t always better than it used to be, and nowhere near where it could be. I believe the status quo is to be understood, respected and then built upon. Social norms are established by people, laws are created by people, situations and facts change, circumstances change and people make mistakes. So though you

"Feedback can make us bitter or better" - Robin Sharma I often hear feedback that elicits a negative response called "constructive feedback". That's a hopeful name. We hope that we'll be constructive with this feedback and not just be negative about it. But even the most well trained feedback receiver still feels that initial burst of negative feelings. It's ok. It's not self hate. I mean it could be for some, but often it's a smaller negative feeling. Maybe you feel that you

While the focus of my every day is more on supporting and creating initiatives that help drive others to lead their career, my wife's primary focus is on our 4 kids who are all under 8 years old. I'm not saying that they're not a focus of mine, but my wife has chosen to stay home with them, and homeschool, even before COVID forced the hand of many parents. So while I'm at the office brainstorming new ways to empower and develop our teams, my wife is brainstorming more product

I feel like I can't see a rut coming on and I'm not sure what triggers them. When I realize it, it's similar to jumping in on the third season of a Netflix series. I know something is going on, I just don't know what. I used to think it was linked to complacency and that somehow my comfort level evolved into apathy. I'm still not convinced I have it pegged, and I'll continue to wrap my brain around a cause for the foreseeable future. In the mean time, my "rut game" is pretty

Everyone loves a fresh start. A fresh start forgets about all of your unkept promises, your well intentioned to-do list, and offers hope that this time can be different. This time you will make the most out of the opportunity before you. For few, that is exactly what a fresh start is. For most, me included, it often serves as a temporary reset. Too often, our suppressed character flaws, bad habits and ungratefulness resurface even after our most well intentioned attempt to em

There are many things that bind teams beyond dictated structure or the pursuit of a common goal. Two of the most powerful binding agents I've been part of are shared experiences and simply getting to know your team beyond the day to day grind of work. Shared experiences run deep. It's the reasons you're still close with some of your childhood friends that you probably otherwise would have severed ties with. The most blatant example of this in my life was in the military. Whet

You can ask anyone who has been fortunate enough to have a great mentoring relationship, "why was it great?", and you'll find common themes. "They listened and cared", "they gave advice", "they were honest", "they were dependable", and "they were respectful". Often the protégé doesn't speak on behalf of the time and effort they themselves put in to make it work. It could be because they were fortunate enough to have a Mindful Mentor leading the relationship, or they're just t

Whether it's a new year's resolution, a work goal, or a personal mission, the new year often brings with it, hope and a chance to do something better or new. So why are we so damn bad at the follow through? Studies show that less than 1 in 10 people actually complete their new year's resolution. As a mater of fact only 1 in 4 are still going strong after only 30 days past the new year. Why are we all so miserable at achieving what we want to achieve? We're the ones setting th

As a country we're currently undergoing a changing of the guard in our nations highest office. The eyes of the world are on the United States as we transition leaders. There is plenty on the line, so I understand the attention it warrants. There is far less fan fare when our leadership in the workplace changes, however the effects on your day to day life are arguably more impacted by those leaders, and the way we approach supporting them has even more of an impact. Followersh

For many of us, it's holiday time! The time of the year you get around your cousins and you're the same little kids that were mixing pop like you were a bunch of little Brian Flanigan's (80's reference…but a solid one) and sneaking treats to go with. It doesn't matter what college you ended up going to, how many promotions you have or haven't received, or if you're waiting tables at the local restaurant. Family is that equalizer. The much needed and perfect dose of humility v

Are you feeling stagnant in your career? Are the "next level" opportunities looking more and more out of reach each day? Are you unsure what you can even do to position yourself for an opportunity if and when it arises? Here's a crash course in what's need to progress your career: Be sure to do your current job SUPER well and work to build your reputation as such. Train someone else on how to do your current job better than you. Learn the knowledge, skills and abilities to su