Leading in the Advent of AI
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has become a common buzzword as digital transformation reshapes our world. AI is permeating every industry and starting to change the way businesses operate. As leaders in this modern technological revolution, it is essential to understand the potential effect AI will have in our professions and within the workforce. How can AI […]
Wars, Battles, and Skirmishes
A mantra I live by as a leader is prioritizing winning the war for my teams, knowing it means losing some battles and skirmishes along the way. Distractions can easily veer one off course, but I make it a point to stay focused on my ultimate goal and embrace obstacles. Doing this has taken time […]
Do you say “yes” too often?
How many times do you say “yes” to a request only to find yourself stressed or in a time crunch? Are you the person everyone knows will say “yes” when asked to do something? What do you think motivates this type of behavior? While saying “yes” and sorting out details later can be effective in […]
Network much?
What is the most effective way to find a job? How can you have a positive impact on your career? How can you build more meaningful relationships professionally? The answer to these three questions is by building your network! So, why is it that in a recent study by Marketing Expertus, only 25% of professionals […]
Do you fall in and out of love with your job?
For the past twenty-three years, I have worked at the same organization, and I am frequently asked what has kept me engaged for such a long time. Oh, my goodness, there are so very many things, the research, the faculty, the constituents, the staff, and last but not least, my fantastic leadership team. Not too […]
Just eat the last doughnut!
Over my spring break with my daughter, I was unwinding on the beach and noticing those patterns in life that I am often too busy to see because I am constantly moving at warp speed. What struck me was all the serving I do without asking or expecting to be served. As a child, I […]
A different type of resolution: What is your “mission-critical” statement?
The tradition of making resolutions goes back to Babylonian times, and research on why we make New Year’s resolutions suggests that using temporal landmarks, dates of significance that provide a frame for a new beginning, are helpful in physiologically providing us with a sense of renewal. As we roll into a new year, many of […]
Managing emotions in the workplace.
Throughout my professional career, I have never seen or taken a managerial course about managing my emotions or the emotions of others in the workplace. Yet, during the course of my career, I have found that emotions are at the root of most of the behavior I have had to navigate. For many of us, […]
The art and science of asking questions.
As a child, I asked a lot of questions, and many times, my mother would recite the proverb, “curiosity killed the cat,” then, with a big smile, would state, “but satisfaction brought it back.” She always had great patience with all my questions and never tired of my curious mind. Asking questions has always been […]
Our words matter.
Many of us struggle with language and the use or perceived misuse of words. In recent years, our word choices in certain areas have come to communicate much more than the plain meaning of a word. Words like diversity, privilege, and ally have taken on meanings based on the cultural and social context of the […]
Power and Influence.
When I used to drive my daughter to school, I had what I call my “chauffeur lesson of the day.” Words of wisdom that I impart during our five-minute car ride. At the age of fifteen, the age of innocence in her world was beginning to fade as she was in the midst of her […]
What is your EVP?
As managers and hiring managers, we need to sharpen our pencils when it comes to attracting, engaging, and retaining talent in our organizations. One way to start is by clearly and capably articulating our organizational employee value proposition (EVP). This is the sum of the benefits that are unique to our organization that drive the […]
Take that meeting outdoors!
The idea of taking a meeting outdoors was introduced to me by a dean with whom I work. We had a problem we were trying to solve and needed to do some strategic thinking. When deciding where to meet, he suggested that we could meet in his office or my office or could take a […]
Out of office???
As managers and leaders, many of our employees look to us to either signal or give explicit permission to take time away from work. Therefore, it is essential to foster a culture where stepping away undisturbed to recharge is okay and encouraged. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace 2022 Report states that employee stress is […]
How to be a guppy again.
For any profession, there are different levels of mastery. The conscious competence learning model suggests four levels of learning, from incompetence to competence. The four levels follow with my fish analogies in parenthesis. They are unconscious incompetence (guppy), conscious incompetence (minnow), conscious competence (shark), and unconscious competence (orca). Throughout our careers, we become different types […]
