The difference between coaching and feedback. — Your boss walks into your office, sits down, cocks his head to one said, and says, “Hey, can I give you some feedback?” How do you feel at that moment? What kind of emotional response does this question elicit for you? Most of us aren’t particularly looking forward to what…

I know it’s hard, and I’m here to help. — I don’t like telling employees they’re not doing a good job any more than I like being told that I am not doing well. Delivering this news is arguably the worst part of being a team leader. Eventually, the time will come when someone on your team isn’t pulling their…

Fractional HR Leadership is quickly gaining popularity — If you’re building a startup or growing a small to mid-sized business, you’ve likely wrestled with how to access the expertise you need to scale smartly without completely blowing your budget on payroll and benefits costs. Rather than hiring full-time executives, companies are increasingly turning to fractional leaders. A fractional…

It’s not because we’re nosey or trying to change your mind. — Well, it happened again. After talking to a strong candidate for a position I’m helping a client recruit for, I was excited to let her know that she was selected to move forward to the next round of the interview process. Until this point, the candidate had been super responsive…

As the needs of your business change, so too should the composition of your team. — We’ve all heard the adage, “people don’t leave jobs or companies; they leave bosses.” And, up until the past year or two, I’ve generally subscribed to this argument. According to Gallup, the manager alone accounts for 70% of the variance in employee engagement globally. As such, who you work for…

Not all stress is bad stress — The internet is a vast and expansive place ripe with well-intentioned advice. We have more information at our fingertips today than we ever have before. And as we’ve seen the accessibility of information increase in recent years, we’ve developed a collective understanding that much of the advice strewn across the…

When a company’s espoused values are at odds with its culture, it creates friction for employees. — Most of us have worked for a company that touted a series of core values at one point or another. "They're not just words on the wall," the leaders of that company will tell you when you come in for your interview. "We live our values every day. …

The “trough of sorrow” is not limited to the startup community. — Last year, I quit my full-time job in the middle of a global pandemic to become an entrepreneur. In some ways, the life of an entrepreneur was exactly what I had expected it to be. …

Make sure the best offer a top-performing employee receives comes from inside your company. — It’s never been harder to find and hire top talent than it is right now. And most organizations seem to be overlooking the one talent pool they should arguably be spending the most time recruiting from — their existing employee base. In early September, The Labor Department shared the results…