Before we shut down for a few weeks to enjoy the holidays, I decided to write you a little poem, Reader. Here goes: To my beloved readers, my clients, and friends,Here's a heartfelt message as this season ends.The challenges you've faced; the victories won 🏆,Together, we've grown--great work is now done. You’ve led with courage, you’ve stretched and tried,Navigating storms, taken in stride.In the moments of doubt, you’ve found your own ways,Turning dark, cloudy skies into much brighter...
19 days ago • 1 min read
Every December, Reader, millions of professionals around the world agonize over one simple question: Should I give gifts to my coworkers? It's tricky to answer. But I'll try anyway. Here's my mental model for giving gifts at work. First of all, everybody appreciates appreciation. If you've had a great experience working with someone this year--or even if it's been a little bumpy but you've welcomed how they've shown up--consider some form of appreciation. I'm not a fan of giving food or drink...
26 days ago • 2 min read
Y'know, Reader, I've always said "readers are leaders and leaders are readers." And I try hard to live up to that saying by reading (or listening to) a LOT of books. As the holidays draw near, I like giving books, too. To me, a book isn't just about the content--it's a symbol that you're thinking about the person and who they are or what they might need. If you'd like some ideas for the folks on your list, here are a few books I read (or re-read) this year. Note: links are Amazon affiliate...
about 1 month ago • 2 min read
Y'know, Reader, of the hundreds of articles I've written on RedCapeRevolution.com, I'm always surprised to see which one consistently ranks as the 2nd most popular ever. It's called "6 Things to Be Thankful for at Work (And 3 May Surprise You)." You can read it HERE. I'm grateful people keep finding and reading this post. But sometimes wish I was sitting next to that person who's googling "things to be thankful for at work." 'Cause I worry about them. 📿 I worry that they may be thinking "Oh,...
about 2 months ago • 1 min read
So Reader, if you're like most of my clients and colleagues, you're probably in the OMG-the-year's-almost-over scramble. The SVP needs your budget submitted before the 31st--and you're won't have the data until the 15th. The client wants to squeeze in one more meeting since their business is "slower"—forgetting that yours is not. Plus, if you're a leader of people, you may have performance reviews or salary & bonus conversations that need to be complete before your people see different $$$ in...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
It happened in an instant, Reader. The email arrived. Reading it, Alan's blood pressure spiked. 🔥 He started to pound out a flamethrower response . . .but did something else instead (more on that in a minute . ..) I'm betting big money that this has happened to you. Little things like emails, texts, social media posts, and even loosely tossed words—can create big conflicts. We interpret them through our personal lens, with a healthy dose of our own insecurities and worries thrown in. Our big...
2 months ago • 2 min read
If you've been here in our Insider Community for a while, Reader, you probably can tell I'm not a person to dwell on the scaries. I mean, the world's doing a pretty good job of putting those in front of us all the time, anyway. So I'd rather create a safe place here for more optimistic ideas and action when it comes to our lives at work, instead of chiming in with the gloom & doomers. 🫤 But if there's one spine-tingling realization that emerges every day in my coaching and speaking, it's...
2 months ago • 1 min read
(psst: join me Wednesday, Oct. 30 at 12:30 pm Eastern for my next Ask Me Anything on LinkedIn Live. I'm calling it the Halloween Edition 🎃 , where we'll talk about the spooky things happening in the world of work--and what to do if you're getting scared. Click here to add it to your calendar.) *** A few weeks ago Reader, I started taking tap lessons at our local arts center. 🕺🏽 I thought it'd be easy and fun. After all, how hard could it be? A few classes in, and my toes and thighs know...
2 months ago • 2 min read
So Reader, another one of my coaching clients got a raise this week. Love it when that happens—well deserved and well earned. But her company just had layoffs. Her industry is under stress. How the heck did she get a raise?? Well, she finally asked. WAIT -- what?? Yes, she asked. She'd been musing about it for a while (I think I'm worth more). Those thoughts soon morphed into frustration (why am I not worth more??) which then mutated into worry (what if I'm NOT worth more? )😉 (Anyone relate?)...
3 months ago • 2 min read
