AND
A coaching client is moving to Myanmar. (Which is not what usually happens with my clients.) This client is an adventurer. If he’d been born in the 19th century, he’d have set off with Shackleton. If he’d been born in the 24th century, he’d be off colonizing new planets. Since he was born in the 20th century, […]
I’ll Show You
The Colman Pool swim test loomed large all winter. If you’re a little kid, you can’t go down the slide or the diving board unless you pass the swim test. And it’s a long way. You have to swim the crawl stroke all the way across the pool and back, without stopping. My 7-year-old daughter […]
I Got It
“I got it.” That’s a nice email to see in my inbox. A coaching client has just landed a job doing work that matters to him at an organization you’ve heard of and respect. (It can be done.) “Thanks for everything you’ve done for me,” my client emailed. “I would have never have done what […]
Wild Girl
“I’m tired of being good at camp,” my 7-year-old daughter said. That got my undivided attention. “What do you mean?” I asked her. We were driving to the kids’ first day of wilderness camp, one of a string of camps this summer. “I always stay by the counselor, do what they say,” she mumbled, looking out […]
Networking Primer
I don’t know what they teach kids in college these days, but it sure isn’t the basic professional survival skill of networking. The Seattle Times selected Trevor, an out-of-work Millennial, as a “career makeover” candidate for a feature in the NWJobs section of the Sunday paper. And the Seattle Times selected me as a “networking […]
Foop Foop, Part 1
A favorite coaching client is playing small. She’s a top performer, professionally driven, highly capable – “But anybody could do what I do,” she says. This is a manager who gets top performance reviews, has a staff that would follow her anywhere, is widely respected and admired and liked – and who wants to play […]
The Art of Bragging
I like it when my coaching clients brag. In fact, I make my clients brag. I recently asked a client to brag about his work. He squirmed in his chair. “Well, I think I’m okay at…” I jumped down his throat, the poor man. “That’s bragging?” I cried. “Try harder!” He put his head down […]
Interview Hypocrite
I was coaching a client recently on prepping for an interview. I asked him to practice his personal narrative, to answer the question, “So tell me about yourself and why you’re interested in this position.” I drifted for a moment as I listened to his answer. I recently interviewed for an executive coaching gig. And […]
Do Not Disterb
On the first day of soccer practice, one of my little charges stubbornly sat on the sideline and wrote across her white T-shirt, with my sharpie: Do Not Disterb She’s seven years old, and I don’t mess with seven-year-olds who write Do Not Disterb across their fronts. I let her be. I’ve been thinking about […]
The Meeting
A favorite coaching client sat down and began talking about a meeting he was scheduled for later that afternoon. “It’s all executives at that meeting,” he said. “I guess they just need me there to actually do the work.” I went all coach-y on him. “Is there anyone else with your expertise in [xyz] at […]