Apr 30 2013

4 Tips to Landing Your First Management Role

QUESTION: My manager announced she’s retiring this fall and feels I’m ready to step into her job. She encouraged me to apply for her job. So far, the initial interviewing process has gone well.  I have a second round of interviews coming up and I anticipate that one of their concerns may be that I’ve never managed people before.

   

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Jan 25 2013

It's Not Just CEOs Who Need a Succession Plan

Sometimes you can be too good at your job. Take for example my friend Kelly.  Kelly was a very successful market leader in the south. She was well known and respected by her employees, her peers, her clients and her boss. So why when she kept raising her hand for a promotion, was she overlooked?

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Dec 03 2012

3 Ways Women Hold Themselves Back

The Washington Business Journal recently honored their Power 100, “The region’s most influential business leaders”.  It’s a solid list with several people I know and respect. But what struck me was that only 17 of the 100 are women.  Where women make up almost 46% of the workforce and over 40% of management roles, why did only 17% make the list?

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Oct 23 2012

Fixing These 3 Mistakes Can Help Accelerate Your Career

I made many mistakes in my 40-year career, but while you learn something from almost every mistake, some mistakes can transform you. These are the 3 that changed my career path and may hopefully help yours:

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Jul 20 2012

Want to Get Ahead? Get a Mentor

When I first started my career, the term “mentor” didn’t exist in the business world. Sure, there were leaders you respected and of course they had their favorites, but mentor, what does that even mean? According to Webster, it’s “ a trusted counselor or guide”. I thought you stopped having counselors in College.

 

 

 

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May 29 2012

Can You Manage Up and Still be a Great Manager?

How many times have you heard someone say, “I can’t believe xxx got promoted. I couldn’t stand working for him. He spent all his time managing up”.   Is it possible to be a great boss and still shine in the eyes of the powers that be?

 

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Oct 19 2011

5 Keys to Managing Up

For the first several years of my career, I never even knew what it meant to manage up. Focusing on results, coaching, and leading my team occupied all of my time and were the only things I really cared about it. But it was very frustrating watching peers with less success and less experience get promoted ahead of me. Clearly, they had learned the fine art of managing up way before me, but better late than never.

These 5 keys to managing up successfully are based as much on what I did wrong as ...

 

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