Last up in this month’s “Career Boot Camp” blog series (read my previous entries here, here, and here) are my tips on becoming a better presenter, essential if you want to be seen as a good leader, build your workplace credibility, or catch the attention of upper management. Here are five steps to help you utilize every presentation as an opportunity to demonstrate your capabilities and leadership attributes: Read the rest of this entry »

If you’ve been following my “Career Boot Camp” blog series this month, you’ll know that last week I covered how to lead effective in-person meetings. Let’s build on that knowledge by focusing on leading conference calls.

When the recession hit, many companies cut costs by greatly reducing the number of in-person meetings. This forced employees into using conference calls as an alternative means of communication. Unfortunately, most people have never received training on how to lead conference calls and tend to take a lackadaisical approach. To ensure colleagues and management aren’t disengaged and multi-tasking on other things during your conference call, follow these five tips… Read the rest of this entry »

This month, I’m taking it back to the basics with my “Career Boot Camp” blog series. Next up in the series is leading effective in-person meetings, which is a requirement if you want to climb the career ladder. Why? Because meetings occur in every business, in every industry, and in every country in the world – there’s no way to avoid them. Use these seven steps to dazzle colleagues and management with your leadership skills and watch the level of your credibility soar: Read the rest of this entry »

Yes, it’s that time of year again — when the groans of managers can be heard over the mere mention of the words, “Annual Performance Reviews.” Many managers see performance appraisals as nothing more than an empty, bureaucratic exercise forced on them by HR. And simply search the Internet on the words, performance appraisal, and you’ll find various polls revealing the high percentage of employees who feel appraisals are pointless. Hmmm…see the link here? Read the rest of this entry »

For many, spring symbolizes a time for cleaning out clutter, simplifying stuff and prepping their lives for a new season. For us this year, we decided it was time for a professional dusting and the unveiling of an updated and refreshed professional brand for our readers, fans and clients.

We are excited and proud to debut our new Website and blog that feature a more modern look and feel, easier navigation, an enhanced resources section, increased visuals, and a new recommended reading list.

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Ever dreamed of being a writer? Not sure how to get started or make the transition from working 9 to 5 in an office to becoming a published author? Meet Pam Binder, an award-winning and New York Times best-selling author, instructor for the Popular Fiction course at the University of Washington Extension, and president of the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association (PNWA). Pam made the transition from working full-time as an office manager for a middle school while raising three children to fulfill her dream of becoming a writer. Find out how! Read the rest of this entry »

I just heard one of my most hated workplace sayings. I hate this comment so much that I’m dedicating this blog to a discussion on it to see if anyone else gets as angry as I do when someone says, “it’s not personal, it’s business” – a phrase often spoken just before or after something offensive or inconsiderate is said or done in the workplace. Read the rest of this entry »

Do you ever feel like you’re missing something from your life? You might enjoy your job, love being a mom, and adore your husband – but still feel like something isn’t right in your life? That’s the way both Jennifer Pate and Barbara Machen were feeling…angry, sad, confused; knowing they needed a change but not knowing what change to make. Read the rest of this entry »

Someone I was coaching recently wrote in their development plan that one of their goals was to “earn the respect of more people at work.” I thought that was an interesting goal and asked her to tell me more about her comment. She said, “I just don’t feel like people respect me so I want to earn more respect.” When I asked her specifically what behaviors she thought she needed to exhibit in order to earn respect, there was a long pause and she gave me a blank stare. Read the rest of this entry »

With the on-going difficult economy, I’ve been receiving a lot of questions from women on how to improve their job security. The more valuable you become to the company for which you work, the less likely they’ll want to let you go if they’re forced to downsize. So, how do increase your value? Read the rest of this entry »