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Since I’m a proud September Virgo, you won’t be surprised to learn that I already know exactly what I want for my birthday, and it comes with a Friday deadline. If you’re a longtime reader, you’ve likely heard me call myself a recovering perfectionist, people pleaser, and workaholic. I’ve also been open about living with generalized anxiety disorder, OCD, PTSD, and panic disorder for more than a decade. There have been seasons when those conditions felt manageable and seasons when they...

The executives I coach build products that reach hundreds of millions (or billions) of users and lead teams that span the globe. Yet when I ask who in their life knows they're running on fumes, their answer is usually a very short list of close friends and family members, and sometimes, that list is nonexistent. They feel like their boss doesn't have the time, their peers might judge them, and confiding in direct reports feels off-limits. So they stay silent, sometimes for years (or even...

I have exciting news to share, along with details on the part of the story you don't usually see. My first article as a Built In Expert Contributor went live last week. Before it was accepted, I pitched Built In no fewer than half a dozen times. Every one of those pitches took time to research, strategize, write, and refine, and every one of them was met with silence. Anyone who has pitched editors knows being ignored comes with the territory. I share this because I coach clients through...

I'm back from Madison, Wisconsin! CultureCon brought together hundreds of culture leaders, and roughly 75 of them joined me for my workshop, From Burnout to Boundaries: Protecting Your Peace as a Workplace Culture Leader. Last week, I asked what burnout myths you've heard at work, and a lot of you wrote back. The myth I spent the most time on in that room was the idea that enough self-care will keep burnout from happening to you. The World Health Organization (WHO) classifies burnout as an...

I’m heading to Madison, Wisconsin, today for CultureCon, where hundreds of culture leaders are coming together to make work more meaningful. Fun fact: It’s my first time in Wisconsin, so please send any recommendations for while I’m in the state! I’m also recording a podcast episode in person while I’m there, which is a rare treat. (Look out for that in a future newsletter!) Tomorrow, I’ll be taking the stage to deliver my signature workshop, From Burnout to Boundaries: Protecting Your Peace...

“I keep getting passed over for promotions.” I’m hearing some version of this a lot lately. With mid-year reviews underway at many companies, I imagine promotions might be on your mind, too. Maybe you walked out of your own review with some praise but no promotion, raise, or clear path forward. If so, I want you to know that the problem probably isn’t your performance. In fact, strong performance is rarely enough to secure a promotion, especially at large tech companies and fast-growing...

I’ve been sitting on some news for a few weeks now, and I’m excited to finally share it with you: I’ve officially joined the Fast Company Executive Board! As part of the board, I’ll be contributing articles on careers, leadership, and mental health in the workplace to Fast Company. It’s an honor to write for them alongside my Forbes and Entrepreneur columns, and I can’t wait to share my first piece with you. The piece tackles a challenge I see regularly in my coaching work: the higher you...

Have you ever wanted to be a fly on the wall while a tech leader gets coached live? Here’s your chance! It's rare to see coaching in action, and that's by design, to protect privacy. When done effectively, it's a deeply personal process. But Ben Pearce was brave enough to open the door. Ben, who spent 16 years leading technical teams at Microsoft, invited me onto his podcast, Tech World Human Skills, adding a little twist: he wanted to be coached by me on air. In the episode, I help Ben...

You landed an executive interview. Congratulations! I hope you don’t make the same mistake I see even the most accomplished leaders making, when they prepare the same way they did earlier in their careers. Most people rehearse a few answers, research the company, and show up feeling polished. But that approach breaks down at the executive level and will often cost you an offer. At the executive level, the interview process is typically much longer, the conversations are far more nuanced, and...

When people hear “executive coaching,” they usually picture a struggling leader who got assigned a coach to fix a problem. That’s a myth. The best leaders I work with don’t wait until there’s an emergency. They bring in a coach before there’s a fire to put out. I recently published a new article with the International Coaching Federation (ICF) covering 5 unexpected times it’s a good idea to hire an executive coach. Here’s one: when you lack confidence. Imposter syndrome doesn’t disappear when...