As a frequent speaker at conferences and retreats, I am used to having a photographer in the room taking pictures. And for many years, I was also used to making this quip when my photo was being snapped: “I’m glad I put on my Spanx,” referring to the restrictive undergarment that aims to smooth out
Mental health challenges in the workplace are getting worse, not better. Employees' mental well-being took a dramatic dip during the Covid pandemic and is still at risk due to ongoing stressors such as global political unrest, diversity and inclusion challenges, return to office initiatives, and economic uncertainty. Half of the global population will develop a mental
"Today's going to be a great day!" You brush your teeth, start the coffee maker or tea kettle, and check your emails. Then you shower, get dressed, have breakfast, and get yourself to work -- all before 9 a.m. If you're having that great day, all of this can feel like, well, nothing. It's a habit
I take a Mental Health Day (almost) every Friday. It means that my four-day workweek schedule is pretty packed. It means that I run my errands on the weekend. It means that I say "no" a lot. And it also means that I often have to remind my boss that I need this, I want
As Coretta Scott King said, “Struggle is a never-ending process.” And yet, we don’t like to see others struggle, especially when we care about them. It’s particularly hard to see someone struggle when we believe that we can make things easier for them – and when we have the resources (knowledge, skills, time, money, connections,
It was 2013, and I was leading a workshop for a client in Baltimore when I got a call from a TV network asking if I could be interviewed on their show the next morning about how to deal with setbacks at work. I had always dreamed about being on television as a thought leader.
When I started my first job, I worried about disclosing my struggle with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) to my boss. I was almost certain that she wouldn’t understand. Once she knew, I told myself, she’d assume I was unreliable and uncommitted. I imagined she’d deem me unworthy of a promotion, or worse, be entirely dismissive. For
My favorite book growing up was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day by Judith Viorst. It told the highly relatable and true story of the author's young son Alexander, who was having one of the worst days of his young life, suffering frustrations, setbacks, and indignities large and small. As adults, we
Scientist and best-selling author Hans Selye wrote: "Stress is not necessarily bad for you; it is also the spice of life." A certain amount of stress is actually a good motivator. Without stress about deadlines, we would probably procrastinate. Without the stress of maintaining client relationships, we might say everything that was on our minds --
Let's say your colleague shows up for your Zoom meeting crying. When you ask what's wrong, they share that they're having a tough time balancing the demands of work with three young children at home, caregiving for aging parents, and dealing with a spouse who travels constantly for work. So, what does this colleague look like? Did you
Feedback is a daily staple of my work as an executive coach. I am often giving direct feedback to the leaders I work with, sharing 360-degree feedback from the leader’s colleagues, and then helping them process and reflect on the feedback they receive. One piece of feedback that the executives I coach receive over and
Even if you’ve been lucky enough to survive the last year, you’re probably not operating at your peak performance, emotional highpoint, or (as they say) living your best life. And whether you’ve been holed up at home alone or trying to manage a busy family while working full time, you’ve likely noticed that other people
While many of us have worked remotely for years (myself included), for many people, the shift to working while physically distanced from colleagues and managers requires some getting used to. Benefits like wearing pajama bottoms to work and going for a mid-day run can be mitigated by the costs to your motivation, self-confidence, and self-esteem
Several years ago, I was watching a Today Show segment about helping your children and teens create healthy habits. The subject of the piece was a notable nutritionist, whose kids were reluctant to eat their greens and work up a sweat. The most memorable quote came from one of her pre-teens who said, “Walking makes me sad.”
I was recently coaching a leader who asked me, “Is it OK for me to tell someone on my team that they can’t cry at work?” Normally, as a coach, I would respond to her question with a question of my own: “What makes you ask that?” “What about crying feels like it shouldn’t happen
