Careers can get old for a lot of reasons: Boredom when the work gets too predictable Declining fulfillment from achievements Disenchantment with a job going no where Curiosity about what's out there Compensation ceilings that won't meet future needs I've experienced all of these at different times. Each one caused significant stress, confusion, and frustration, sometimes all at once. I tried to force my wa...

Bad supervisors are everywhere. Some know they’re bad and don’t care. Some are clueless. But most desperately want to do better. Most of us don’t want to go to work and be known for doing a poor job. Too often, new supervisors were great technical performers inexperienced in how to lead others. Once they’re in the job, they discover that their success is measured by how well others perform under their direction....

You experience them. You may even mention them–things that are done and said at work that aren’t right. We don’t do our jobs in a vacuum. We have to interact with others. The attitudes and behaviors of our bosses, coworkers, and customers contribute to the culture of the workplace. They make it consistently positive, negative, or a bit of both. So what happens when you see and hear insensitive, divisive, or sel...

We just don’t like it. We often fear it, dread it, struggle to avoid it, and sometimes succumb to it. Failure tests us. It makes us face up to what we’re made of. Failure and fear are ominous bedfellows. They feed each other and us too in ways that can be crushing. Embracing failure If we want to succeed, we need to welcome failure. It’s our greatest teacher. If it weren’t, we wouldn’t remember our failu...

"Innovativeness” is one of those performance appraisal categories that often befuddle supervisors and employees. We often don’t know how the term actually applies to us. After all, we’re just doing our jobs. Innovation seems to have more to do with creative work (maybe in marketing) or in science (like in a lab somewhere). Too often we just don’t think of ourselves as being innovative as we go about our daily work.To innova...

Motivating employees should be high on a supervisor’s to-do list. Too often, though, what’s tried falls flat.Not every employee needs or wants:A go-team pep talkArtery-clogging donuts at staff meetingsCertificates for weekly productivity achievementsPublic praise for a job well done (Many dread this)Brown bag lunches with the bossThat said, employees do want and need reasons to stay motivated.No easy formula One-size-fits-a...

Transferable skills get us hired or promoted. They’re our career currency. Without them, there’s no deal.The more transferable skills we have the more valuable we are. Resumes market them. Interviews showcase them. Can you list your top ten, most marketable transferable skills, right now?Bankrupt or flush? Transferable skills are attached to us all the time, not just at work. It’s time to get a handle on your bank of skills...

Pressure tests our self-confidence and mental discipline.Life is good on the job when predictable conditions give us a clear path for showcasing our talents. That’s when we’re convinced we have what it takes for our next step.Unfortunately, the unpredictable is also predicable. Are you ready for it? Do you know how you’ll handle the heat?Rings of fire No job is immune from surprises that test you. On any day and at any time...

High hopes fall hard. We don’t always get what we want even when we: - Work hard - Plan ahead - Get good grades or evaluations - Know the right people - Play by the rules That’s because careers are about competition. Our success comes from meeting our employer’s expectations better than someone else would. Disappointments are about us. We get disappointed when our career expectations aren’t met. Each disappointment is a...

Faults are often easier to see in others than ourselves. As employees we’re daily observers and targets of our supervisor’s style. What we see reflects what our supervisors have become. If we’re lucky, we’ve got a good boss. If not, we’d like to run for the hills. It’s hard to believe that ineffective supervisors used to be regular employees, like us. They had the same expectations from their own bosses for: - Honesty and...