A Sensitive Striver is a high achiever who is also more sensitive to their emotions, the world, and the behavior of those around them than most people. Sensitive Strivers are innately predisposed to process information more deeply than their less-sensitive peers. Because of this, they have a heightened stress response. They are highly attuned to their own emotions and the emotions of others. They can pick up on subtle chang...

What good is performance feedback if it occurs in isolation? It's just like the saying: 'If a tree falls in the woods...' “This is where it’s important to have a system that enables a company to join up performance feedback simply and in one place, where they can get a quick view of everything,” says Cheryl Johnson, chief human resources offer at payroll company Paylocity. Paylocity uses a propri...

A significant trend that is picking up speed is the number of times commitments are forgotten, appointments are ghosted and reminders or offers of help are ignored. You’re busy. I’m busy. We’re all busy. That doesn’t excuse a lack of courtesy. Not responding to communications, showing up late (if at all) for appointments or failing to pay bills on time are disrespectful and irresponsible. Stop wastin...

When you’re the person who makes the seating chart, you have a lot of power and also a serious responsibility to optimize a functioning workplace. There’s a whole Myers-Briggs personality chart of different needs to consider when deciding who sits where and in what kind of working environment. You’ve got your introverts who suffer in an open area with no control over chatty co-workers; then there are th...

In the movie, 'Star Wars,' Obi Wan-Kenobi gave Luke Skywalker a sword that seemed to have magical powers. The sword was useless to Luke when he lacked confidence in his abilities. But when Luke realized that he had the magical powers within to create his own perception of reality, he wielded the sword with confidence and accuracy. Do you have control over your life career? Indicate yes or no: I didn't get t...

Almost 10% of white-collar workers in the US now work from home on a full-time basis, and more than 40% of all white-collar workers work from home at least once per week. This flexible work arrangement is one that costs employers nothing but engenders high engagement from employees. While many people report that they are more productive when they work from home, many also struggle with the blurred line between home and wor...

The Class of 2019 Commencement speakers included celebrities like Glenn Close at the College of William & Mary, Fareed Zakaria at The Ohio State University, Laverne Cox at Pitzer College and Apple CEO, Tim Cook at Tulane University, to name only a few. While the style and wisdom shared by the myriad of commencement speakers around the world varied, the common denominator indicated that the Class of 2019 is the succession...

As some of you may know, I’ve been studiously writing a multi-part essay on “Capturing and Captivating a Mostly Distance-Learning Audience.” The platforms are webinar and teleconferencing and the unprecedented program success (in terms of “spin-off gigs”) has been surprising. I've been trying to understand how the setting and structure of these two recent programs has affected my presentati...

You know what to do with an underperforming employee, but what about an efficient but difficult one? I’m a strong believer that you can’t be too positive or too empathetic in the business world. Yes, a lot of places of business are far from that ideal, but that’s exactly why you should distinguish yourself from the dog-eat-dog norm and try to make your work life a place of caring and sensitivity. Why...

For many of us, weekends are a time for relaxation. Counting down to Friday becomes routine because it means you can finally recover after five days of beating yourself up at work. However, this is a toxic cycle that tells us we should put self-care on hold for most of the week, when it should actually be something we think about all the time. Like all things, moderation and balance is key. It’s completely possible...