Tag Archives: Self-Awareness

Leaving with the best foot

June 7, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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You’re more apt to be remembered for how you conclude an engagement, then how you begin one. Your reputation is established by the sum of your days, not by the start of them. Like it or not, it’s your proactive response to bad times, not good times, that defines your contribution. Consider that when you step into a project, a professional relationship, or a company. Take Tom (Dick, or Harry) as a case in point: Continue reading →

All Ears…But Not Hearing a Thing

May 24, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Screaming toddlers are banging on pots, demanding attention while their harried mothers and frazzled fathers yell in their phones and hunch over their desks, desperate to complete what looks like their job. Distraction controls. Chaos reigns. Nothing of value gets done. The banging gets louder and no one can listen because no one can hear. This manager is done. “I am so over it, I just don’t care.” She’s so tired of the back biting, Continue reading →

Anything Can Take You Off Course

May 10, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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A client  shared this childhood experience with me and described the  impact that it’s had on her life and career. She said I could share it with you. The only thing I’ve changed are the names… “Momma loved to get into her car and drive wide open. Only problem was she’d fall asleep at the wheel. She’d sleep anywhere she’d put herself and she was more apt to put herself at the wheel than anywhere Continue reading →

I Didn’t Tell You Because I Thought You Knew

April 26, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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A recent letter writer suggested that employees, the newly hired and the barely there,  would benefit from understanding that employers have some very basic expectations of them. I heartily agree. In fact, here’s one boss’s secret copy of Here’s What I Didn’t Tell You Because I Thought You Knew. This place is called “Work” Get to work earlier than on time (and that’s based on my watch, not yours). Get to work earlier than on time every day Continue reading →

Caring for the Caretakers

April 5, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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This April 10 – 16 is National Volunteer Week. Individuals who choose careers in the non profit world of human services are a particularly hearty lot. They do more with much less and  try harder because giving up isn’t an option. They lead, follow, direct and manage kindred spirits who join them in believing that what they do makes a difference, and those who benefit, deserve the chance it gives them. Continue reading →

Riding the Career Roller Coaster

February 15, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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Ellie (not her name) needs a mountain to climb and she doesn’t have one. What’s her story? She gets her kicks from challenges. The bigger the stretch, the greater the risk, the more exhilarated she feels.  Right now she’s feeling as empty as her horizon is flat. She doesn’t have a mountain to climb. She joined her company over 20 years ago, fresh out of college with a degree no one wanted. She was part Continue reading →

What can you learn from these seven snapshots?

January 25, 2011 by Joyce Richman
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#1 – I’ve been turned down by an employer who obviously doesn’t know talent when he sees it. For example, he asked me technical questions that I couldn’t answer. So I made up stuff that sounded pretty good, considering I didn’t know what I was talking about. He didn’t seem to appreciate my answers, or my jokes. Instead, he peered at me from over his glasses and read his questions off a long sheet of Continue reading →

Outside the Box Isn’t Easy

December 21, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Would all the do-ers, please, please, sit down? Stop fixing. Stop lifting. Stop starting. We’re tired of watching you do our work for us. And we let you get away with it, because you insist that it has to be done your way. Where’s the creativity in that? You thought we were lazy, procrastinatin’, good-fer-nuthin’s. No, we’re smart, somewhat lazy (unless really inspired, then we’ll drill through steel to get what we want), procrastinating on Continue reading →

Too Little…Too Late

November 23, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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In the last few weeks I’ve had questions from four people, each from a different part of the country, all having an identical complaint: No one  is willing to say you’re in trouble until they’re ready to fire you. Four people are on the termination bubble: A senior vice president of a heavy machinery manufacturer; a manager of a retail outlet; a marketing director of a technology company; the head of housekeeping for a large hotel chain. 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 →

Career Warnings

October 12, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Warning to Workaholics on Vacation No beach is warm enough, no pool deep enough, no book long enough to keep you from the next call, the next report, the next conquest. No companion is fun enough, no escapade strange enough, no catacomb deep enough, to keep you from the next deal and the next plane that gets you to where the heat is hot enough, the mountain high enough, the trial tribulation enough, to make Continue reading →

Heads Up – The Future Has Landed

October 5, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Frank needs some help and no one here seems to be able to get through to him. I asked Frank’s boss to describe the problem. His response told me more about what it wasn’t than what it was.“Frank’s not rude or withdrawn; he’s not outspoken or overbearing. He never gets angry. The guy is very intelligent. He understands how our business works and does what it takes to get his job done. We could let Continue reading →

Too Much Aggressiveness Eventually Catches Up to You

September 28, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Frank strode into the room like he owned it. He was tall, imposing, and downright charming. As soon as we sat down, it was another matter.  He cut to the chase: his direct reports were all wrong and his peers were all stupid. He had managed  to the bottom line, had pushed his people hard. He made money and that was what stakeholders expected of him. He didn’t have a problem, the employees did. And Continue reading →

Try a Day of Trust

September 21, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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She’s too smart, she makes you feel stupid. He’s too quiet; you don’t know what he’s thinking. She won’t shut up; she won’t let you think. He thinks so much; he doesn’t care. She cares so much she doesn’t think. It’s just never good enough, is it? You’re either too much of this or too little of that and you want to just be left alone to do your job. I hear you. I really Continue reading →

Women and Retirement

August 24, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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We were taking our weekly Sunday walk when my friend mentioned a column that I had written a few weeks earlier. “The retirement column you wrote was definitely about men. Women retire too. Why aren’t  you writing about us?” I didn’t have an answer and realized that I was uncharacteristically without words, which is probably why I hadn’t written any. So I’ve done some asking, and thinking, and asking some more. Here’s some of  what Continue reading →

Dedicated to Teachers Everywhere

August 3, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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By the time we arrived at our old family home we were bone tired. It was good to get off the road and open the door to a safe place of summer reflection. It was the perfect occasion to reminisce… I was entering elementary school and I still didn’t talk. I was born into a family that was extroverted, emotional, musical, and exhausting. There was so much commotion in our house I had no desire Continue reading →

Keeping Your Balance with Reorganization

July 13, 2010 by Joyce Richman
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Heads up, friends and neighbors. Companies are reorganizing and if you’re working for them you know what that means: the earth is going to move under your feet. If you want to keep your balance even as those around you might be losing theirs, think about what you want to do, what you say and who you to say it to. Let’s begin with the “Don’ts”: Don’t engage in a whisper campaign against management. In Continue reading →