Why are some goals harder than others? Why do certain skills feel forever out of reach? Why do some long-awaited milestones shower only fleeting happiness? Why does not competing for feel liberating at times? How do people reach a level of performance that seems divine? First, The Mind Games Take a few moments to think… Continue reading The Tyranny of Chasing Goals
Category: Career
Why Do Careers Get Stuck in the Middle Management?
Hypothesis Most high-performing careers hit a wall in middle management because practitioners shy away from taking risks to address high-quality problems. The conditioned responses to seek career progression act as traps that make it harder to develop skills required to expand the circle of influence. Let us unpack the hypothesis by solving the following questions:… Continue reading Why Do Careers Get Stuck in the Middle Management?
Nailing the Interview as an Interviewer
A lot has been written about how candidates should approach interviews, not so much on how interviewers should. Candidate experience is a hard problem to solve if you are trying to do it at scale and especially if people helping you in scouting and interviewing already have a day job. However, it is critically important… Continue reading Nailing the Interview as an Interviewer
10 Questions to Ask Interviewers on Work Culture
“There are no stupid questions” is a nice sentiment that may be appropriate in some contexts, however, the art of asking questions is an underrated skill, especially when we look for our next career move. For example, asking “How is the culture at your organization?” to an interviewer is like asking “What kind of a… Continue reading 10 Questions to Ask Interviewers on Work Culture
The Secret Weapon of a Successful Consultant is not to Behave Like One
The popular character forged by movies and TV series for a successful consultant often involves a pompous extrovert, mostly male, sweeping the clients off their feet with his pretentious know-it-all jargon. In reality, successful women and men leaders in consulting from whom I have learned the most have been introverts. They are great at direct… Continue reading The Secret Weapon of a Successful Consultant is not to Behave Like One
Why Is “Do You Have Any Questions?” One of The Most Important Questions In Your Interview
It is far too common to see strong candidates barely being able to keep it together in the final stretch of the interview when presented with the opportunity to ask questions. I have heard everything from “I have no questions” to a barrage of follow-up queries on a narrow topic. Candidates who fare well on… Continue reading Why Is “Do You Have Any Questions?” One of The Most Important Questions In Your Interview
The Three Most Unexplored Aspects of A Job Switch in Early Career Transitions
Assessing a fit for a new job is a two-way street. Getting an intimate understanding of the true north of your future leaders, knowing what about you the company values the most, and a brutally authentic monologue to assess your fit for the role will drive your long term career success in the new environment.… Continue reading The Three Most Unexplored Aspects of A Job Switch in Early Career Transitions
The Enigma of “Executive Presence”
Early in my career, most of my peers along with me received consistent feedback to improve executive presence. Few offered insights on what it actually meant and fewer had actionable inputs to share. Over the years, I have come across countless articles that emphasize on developing communication styles that focus on the “executive” and very… Continue reading The Enigma of “Executive Presence”
