I Got It September 18, 2013“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 I needed to do to get this before we worked together.” Next time I see him, I’ll ask him what he means. I’ve been thinking…
Wild Girl August 20, 2013“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 the window. “What if you were wild today?” I asked her. I want my girl to be wild, to run like a crazy thing, to…
Networking Primer June 17, 2013I 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 expert” to coach him on networking, and specifically LinkedIn, to develop his career. The following is an executive summary I prepared for the journalist writing…
Foop Foop, Part 1 June 17, 2013A 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 big. “What does that mean that anybody could do what you do?” I asked. “I don’t want to seem conceited,” she said. “I don’t want…
Training for the STP April 3, 2013Note: This is a blog series I’m writing for the Cascade Bicycle Club blog. Week #1 of CTS Training: 28 Miles, 1160’ Elevation Week #2: 35 Miles, 1200’ Elevation Week #3: 43 Miles, 2000’ Elevation Week #4: 55 Miles, 2387’ Elevation Week #5: 67 Miles, 1849’ Elevation Week #6: Skipped It to Go Running Week #7: 76 Miles, 3500′ Elevation Week #8: 82 Miles, 3500′ Elevation Week #9: 92 Miles, 4700′ Elevation Week #10: 65-Mile Loop of Flying Wheels Week #11:…
The Chilly Willy February 25, 2013I can now ride a bike further than I can run. I can say this because I rode the Chilly Hilly, a 33-mile ride around Bainbridge Island, this weekend, which is further than I have ever run. Or ever biked. Seven-year-old Z calls the ride the Chilly Willy, which seemed apt as we were waiting to disembark from the Seattle-Bainbridge ferry at 8:30 on a cold, gray Sunday morning. I expect there were lots of them around me. Before the…
The Art of Bragging February 23, 2013I 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 on the table. “I don’t think I will ever stop worrying about the other shoe dropping,” my client said. “I undermine myself with doubt.” One…
Interview Hypocrite February 12, 2013I 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 I paused and stumbled over my personal narrative. I even have it written out, a coherent explanation of how a professional coach with an MBA…
Blues Antidote February 8, 2013A friend teased me, saying dismissively, “You think going for a run is the answer to everything.” It’s bugged me ever since, because, well, it’s true. Yesterday I woke up blue. Maybe it was the weather, maybe I was fighting a bug, but I woke up despondent. I had a headache. I wanted to curl up on the couch and watch TV and eat cake. The last thing I wanted to do was go for a run. So I did.…
Chicken Brain February 6, 2013We have a new chicken. It’s complicated being the new chicken. We had a flock of five happy chickens until a raccoon came for a visit one evening. I arrived just in time to see my favorite brown hen, a smart, spry girl, disappear over the back fence in a raccoon’s mouth. I guess she wasn’t smart or spry enough. We lost two more chickens over the course of that bloody weekend. The raccoon enjoyed the intellectual puzzle of the…
