Selling Yourself: Your Job Search as Sales Cycle

A job search is often uncomfortable because we’re suddenly put into a sales role, and the product we’re selling is us. For those not naturally inclined to sales, particularly those of an introverted persuasion, this can be sheer torture.   I often refer to this analogy in my coaching. Here, I break it down in hopes that the clarity allows for a bit more comfort... Keep Reading »

Boundaries, Energy Vampires and Hungry Ghosts

I was all in, trying to identify a workable solution for a friend who was, quite literally, fighting for her life. I’ll call her Tracy. Over a few weeks last spring, I had quickly become Tracy’s “person,” providing hours of emotional support and jumping in with logistical help to manage the complexities of her life following a complicated medical diagnosis (where... Keep Reading »

I’m Shouting, You Hear Whispers: 5 Keys to Assertive Communication

Too often we believe we’re being assertive and direct, yet the person we’re addressing doesn’t seem to be getting the message. We feel as if we’re shouting, yet they appear to hear only whispers. We drop hints and think we’re being obvious with our needs, but the message isn’t landing. Most importantly, they’re not taking the action we need them to take.   When... Keep Reading »

Do You Know Your “Why”?

At this month’s Zoom happy hour with my networking group, Inner Circle, we were asked to share what we feel is our mission: What is the “why” behind why we do what we do? The concept of finding our “why” was popularized by Simon Sinek in his book and TED Talk “Start With Why.” I highly recommend both the book and the talk, but the essence is that people don’t buy... Keep Reading »

Nothing Is Worth It

This blog started as a brief post on LinkedIn and then I realized I wanted to say a bit more. Let’s talk for a moment about stress and its impact on the body. A toxic work environment isn’t just “stressing you out.” Toxic work environments slowly sabotage your soul and often cause literal physical damage to your health. On the soul level, when we are in an... Keep Reading »