Have you ever discovered that a peer of yours is making more money than you? This is often a tough realization. I know – I’ve been there. It is also an incredibly powerful piece of data. It’s important to note right off the bat that compensation is much more than base salary. Yet, it is often base salary that we use for comparison. This is an important but incomplete data point, especially for more senior leadership positions. For example, my base salary as an executive is le

In thinking about the role motivation plays in goal achievement, I’ve come to the conclusion that motivation is often misunderstood, misused and overrated. It definitely has a role to play in our goals, especially if we learn to use it wisely. Commitment, on the other hand, is a must-have and it's time we started giving it more attention. Here is why… All of our actions are fueled by emotions. Emotions are the energy we bring to those actions. If you think of how one might st

You know the saying – people don’t leave bad jobs; they leave bad bosses? I hate that saying. Admittedly, I am slightly offended by it, having managed people for over 20 years, many of whom chose to move onto other roles in part because I was a good boss. Mostly, I hate the saying because it isn’t useful. It tries to simplify a decision that is both deeply personal and highly nuanced. Do people leave jobs because they think their boss is terrible – of course! Your relationshi

I vividly remember my daughter Anna’s kindergarten graduation celebration. Her class was on stage and the school gym was packed with family members. (Clearly this wasn’t 2020.) We had our camcorder ready because each child was about to share what they’d like to be when they grow up. Anna was always one of the smallest kids in her class, so we had to be sure we were positioned to see her perfectly. When her name was called, she walked up to the microphone with purpose and said

According to the Oxford dictionary a career is “an occupation undertaken for a significant period of a person’s life and with opportunities for progress”. I prefer to think of a career as “a set of experiences we gain that allow us to learn, grow and contribute over time”. These experiences may or may not span different roles, companies or industries. You may have a stuck career when you feel you have stopped learning, growing and/or contributing in the way you want, and you