Professional Development Blog
One on One 101
If you are new to the corporate world, you will likely start hearing the term one on one, often spelt in the shorthand 1:1. For most people, their idea of what these interactions should look like is limited to their own experience, which then leads to some people reinforcing the poor habits of those that came before them. The only way to break this chain when you become a manager is to do a little research; whether you had a poor experience or a great one with those that have managed you, it is always great to expand your horizons and see if there are some other 1:1 tools you can add to your manager toolbox. Even those that have been excellent at 1:1s in the past may be struggling with how to lead them in our current hybrid world. This article will look at the what, why and how of this type of meeting in the modern workplace.
The One-Woman Effect
How to Support Women in Your Network
I remember sitting in the company-wide meeting and chuckling at the super-hero theme. Every presenter that came up had their opening title slide accompanied by someone from the Marvel or DC universe. I know the presenters themselves didn’t choose the imagery, because I also was a speaker that week and had to give my slides to the marketing team. As someone who likes cohesion, I appreciated this attention to detail. Unfortunately, as the week went on, I started to notice a frustrating pattern. Every image, on nearly every slide, was a man.
Brilliance Bias and The Myth of Meritocracy
Why Just Hiring the Right Person is More Complicated Than We Think
Have you ever heard someone say something like - it shouldn’t matter what gender someone is, let’s just hire the best person for the job. Or maybe it was something like - we're trying to be more diverse and inclusive, but we just don’t have enough qualified candidates. These are statements that I used to say too because it seems perfect. All that should matter is getting the most qualified person. Period. This idea is called meritocracy: “the holding of power by people selected on the basis of their ability.” Over the years, as I learned more, I started to realize that line of thinking was reductive because unconscious bias makes true meritocracy a lot harder to achieve than we realize…
So, you’ve been promoted to manager… now what?
6 Things Every Manager Should Be Doing (and some extra stuff to consider)
Over the Winter holidays I had the pleasure of catching up with many friends. We shared pleasantries and asked the common question adults ask each other: how's work? Fortunately, I got to celebrate with several people as they told me they had recently been promoted. Yes! Congrats! Unfortunately, every person that experienced a promotion also told me the same story: I don't know how to be a manager, and my company isn't helping…
How To Help Your Friend After a Layoff
Life is not about what you do, it's about who you do it with. It's about the connections you make, the friendships you form, and the community you build. Unfortunately, when someone in your community experiences a loss, it can be difficult to know what to do. We'll have the thought, I should do something, but then the fear of saying or doing the wrong thing sets in and we don't act…
5 Lessons I Learned From a Mass Layoff
The threat of recession is upon us and the number of layoff announcements across LinkedIn are growing. While I hope for the best, I wanted to share a few things I learned from my experience that might help prepare others. These are things that I wish I had done and will make sure I do going forward. I never imagined I would ever be let go, but here we are. If you are in the same boat, I am sorry you experienced this and know that this is not your fault. We may not be able to change what happens to us, but we can at least learn from it.
Prepare To Be Phished
4 Tips To Keep Your Family Safe From Scammers
For the second time in just two days, a friend of mine had their Facebook account hacked. Now, as soon as I said the word hacked, you probably picture someone in their basement somewhere with the lights dark and a green tint coming off their computer monitor as they use advanced coding and trickery to make their way into your account. But most of the time, that's not how it actually works…
The Big Burnout Misunderstanding
5 Things I Had Wrong About Burnout and What I Learned to Combat it
So I don't know if you've noticed, but it seems like there is a lot of turn around happening. And yes, that was a little sarcastic, because it's impossible not to notice. All across LinkedIn I can see announcements of new positions, good-byes to old positions, and more We're Hiring posts in the last few months than I've seen in the last few years combined.
The Subtle Art of Saving Time
How to Shift From Multitasking to Multipurposing
I used to take pride in the fact that I was very good at multitasking. I would listen to a podcast, while cooking dinner, cleaning the kitchen, and answering work messages. What's funny is that I can’t even sing in the shower and remember if I already conditioned or not, so why would I ever think I can successfully multi-task and still be on top of my game? This way of working has become a source of pride among the busy. As it turns out though, they are probably getting less done than someone with a more balanced, focused schedule because what we think is multitasking is actually just diluted, less focused and therefore less productive work.
The Power of Imperfect
Why I Love Scrum
When I first heard this quote from Voltaire, it was during the application process of my current job. Well, maybe it wasn't the first time I heard it, but it was the first time I really thought about it - "Don't let perfect become the enemy of the good" - I don't recall what the question was, but it was some form of what do you think about this statement. I remember googling it, thinking about it for a while, and coming up with some answer that I'm sure was about not being a perfectionist. I had saved that kind of statement for the Monica Geller's of the world, the type A's, the neurotic control freaks. What I didn't realize, is that this statement is more applicable to the general population than I ever realized.