Make the Connection: Companies, Colleagues and Customers

February 22, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Companies have more turnover than they’d like and are working hard to slow down outbound traffic. Many are discovering the potential of Mentor Programs and want to know how to get started. If you’re one of them and would like some basic information, read on. Mentor Programs serve the needs of three primary constituencies: companies, colleagues and customers. The company benefits from employees improving their individual and team performance, knowledge sharing, leadership potential, employee satisfaction, and continuity Continue reading →

Public Speaking and Remaining True to Yourself

January 18, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Do you love public speaking as much as public stoning? Do you enjoy giving a presentation as much as getting a root canal? Do you shut down when you’re asked questions, and avoid asking questions when you need information? If so, you’re in some scared but good company. Let’s face it. You don’t have to speak up if you don’t want to. You don’t have to ask for what you believe is rightfully yours. Just Continue reading →

A New Year: Planning for Success

December 28, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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You’ve unwrapped your gifts, returned from an airport where you probably spent more time than at your intended destination and are ready to begin the New Year. You’re filled with a resolve to… to do what? Why? And how differently will you do it? If you’ve had a little breathing space during the holidays you may have given serious thought to how you’d like to be in the coming year. Perhaps you’ve made a list Continue reading →

Between a Rock and….

December 7, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Sometimes you feel like you’re stuck between a rock and another rock. You don’t have room to breathe or move. You desperately need air and space and don’t have the energy to push the rocks apart to get it. If you’re one of those people stuck in a merger that just can’t  seem to resolve itself, that may be how you’re feeling. If you’re in a job that is a bad match and you have Continue reading →

What Me Worry?

November 9, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Are you into lists? How about Ten Gonna Getchas for Managers: You’re always the boss. You’re an “in charge kind of person.”  Everyone comes to you with work site problems because you can fix anything. You wear your tool belt at work, home, and in public gatherings. No matter who has the problem, you have the answer. What can go wrong? Your colleagues pass their work off to you and then get offended when you do Continue reading →

Unexpected Challenges

October 26, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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“Am I out of sync with today’s workforce? What’s wrong with expecting a day’s work for a day’s pay?” The caller said he had an idea for a blog post, was I interested? “Always”, I said. “What is it?” Here’s what he told me: “My boss asked me not to work so hard. “Lighten up”, he said. Can you believe that? ‘Lighten up!’ He told me I was passed up for promotion because I expected too much Continue reading →

Own Your Mistakes: Actions Bring Consequences

April 20, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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If you’re like many hard drivers, you can be more than a little defensive when criticized for something you’ve said or done. “What do you mean, I’m defensive? I’m just explaining what happened and why I did what I did!” “That’s what I mean, you’re acting defensive. Just admit that you were rude this morning. I was in the middle of an important presentation and you cut me off.” “Rude? How was I rude? You Continue reading →

Take Time, Take Charge: Do Circumstances Block Your Way?

March 16, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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The answer lies somewhere in the pause. How many situations have you made worse because you stepped in where you weren’t needed, said more when less was enough, and offered opinions when none were requested? How many times do you wish you’d said more, because less wasn’t enough? When you wish you’d offered a kind word or a statement of support? There is nothing heroic about speaking first if speaking last is the wiser choice. Continue reading →

Professional Maturity vs. Social Sophistication

February 16, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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He said that he was impatient, hard driving, focused, bottom-line. That he had trouble with people who wanted to think aloud, taking everyone’s time, noodling about what ought to have been immediately clear to everyone present. That his idea was good, it was the right thing to do and the right time to do it. So, he did what any clear thinking person would have done, he blew up. Well, not totally. But he did Continue reading →

Stop Looking in the Rearview Mirror and Focus Ahead

December 22, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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If you only focus on where you’ve been and what you’ve left behind, you won’t see what lies ahead. All she could talk about was how stuck she was; how she and her business, both successful, had slowed, then ground to a stop. “My customers once had money to throw around and they loved to throw it my way,” she wailed. I had a high end business and my clients didn’t have to worry about Continue reading →

Take Charge of Your Career

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Hugh Dooit is a personable, intelligent fellow who by all conventional standards should be enjoying a reasonably successful career. He isn’t. He’s blocked by an outdated expectation that others will guide his career and provide the criterion and access he needs to reach his goals. Hugh, there was a time that your boss, your human resources rep, and if you’re lucky, an internal mentor would work with you, charting your course as you worked your Continue reading →

Are You a Greater Risk Than a Reward?

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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How’s this for a cautionary tale? “He is so blatant in his demands it’s just breathtaking. That’s his style; impolite, self centered, arrogant, dismissive. I’m not alone in this opinion but I may be the only one willing to take what he dishes out. I’ve been working here ten years, the last five, for him. I’m one of the few still standing. He intimidates everyone, including our company’s President. We’ve had constant churn since he Continue reading →

Presentation Counts; Count on It

November 4, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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When getting a job is job one, presentation counts. If you’d like an example of how important that is, read what Linda Stanton, President of Selective Staffing, Inc. writes on the subject: “Ms. Richman, I am the owner of a local staffing service here in the city. I am amazed at the people who come to us seeking employment who do not see us as an employer. We are, in a lot of cases, the Continue reading →

Be A Team Player

September 21, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Most people consider themselves team players. Many of their team-mates disagree. Patrick Lencioni, in his book The Five Dysfunctions of a Team, does a deep dive into what produces highly functional teams as well as what creates dysfunction.  He lists behaviors that derail the best of intentions as 1. Absence of trust. 2. Fear of conflict. 3. Lack of commitment 4. Avoidance of accountability and 5. Inattention to results. In For Your Improvement, A Guide Continue reading →

Do’s and Don’ts in Your Career

September 7, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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If you like self-help articles that give you five ways to do this and five ways to do that, today’s column doubles your pleasure or diminishes your fun: Ten ways to get derailed and ten ways to stay on track. 1. If you expect your workmates to understand your bad moods, tolerate foul language, and ignore big blunders, you’re in for a bumpy ride: they can’t, they don’t and they won’t. Instead, clean up your Continue reading →

Get Out There With the Right Foot Forward

August 31, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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It’s competitive out there, the market is tight, and you want to be at your best when you interview. Attitude counts.  If you mentally argue with interviewers or imagine them as barriers to the job you want you’ll undermine whatever you say or do. Instead, think partnership. Think together you can make this happen, for the company and for your career. Put your best foot forward: Lead with your strengths. Match your strengths to opportunities. Continue reading →

Sharpen Your Writing and Speaking Skills

August 20, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Sharpen your writing and speaking skills folks, because the lights are on and they’re shining on you. With every resume, cover letter, telephone call, networking meeting and interview, you’re presenting your skills and abilities in the two ways most of us have learned to communicate; you’re either writing or talking. You better be good at both. A worried reader comments that, “introverts like me don’t have a chance against extraverted competition.” Instead of focusing on Continue reading →

Never Drop the Ball in Your Job Search

August 17, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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This caller wanted to be sure that other job seekers didn’t make the same mistakes he did so he shared his story… “I’d been looking for work for several months, first staying local, then extending my search well beyond the Triad, all in an effort to snag something, anything that would work. I had just about run out of hope when I got a call, then another, one interview, two interviews, two companies then three! Continue reading →

Always Have a Plan B

August 13, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Today’s job market requires a great deal from employees: patience, drive, self-awareness, cultural sensitivity, business acumen, flexibility, adaptability, versatility, resiliency, and that’s just for starters. Today’s workforce has become increasingly aware of and responsive to what employers want and they do their best to deliver it. What many need and don’t have is a good, reliable Plan B. “It’s tough enough having Plan A, why do we need a Plan B?” Circumstances change, people change, Continue reading →

Don’t Burn Bridges Better Left Standing

August 10, 2009 by Joyce Richman
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Three employees are headed toward what’s next and appear to be having some trouble leaving behind what was. They’re stuck at a prickly juncture on route to an unfamiliar place. Each wants to even a score: “I was recently let go from my job and I’m still reeling from the experience. I feel like I was set up to fail. I want to write a letter to the plant manager letting him know just what Continue reading →