The day I imagined my client’s results singing. “My results should speak for themselves”, he said crossly. And then it happened: I suddenly visualised his results like dancing peanut M&Ms. These dancing peanut M&Ms were also singing. Singing his praises. In Dolby stereo. To this day, I pray this lasted only seconds. What a lovely […]
Read MoreThe biggest mistake professionals make is confusing office politics with political behaviour In this article series, I explore how Relationship Friction (RF) and Relationship Wisdom (RW) shape career satisfaction and progression through apparently innocuous, yet critical, workplace moments. Last month, we sidestepped to delve into recognisable signs that RF is slowly wreaking your career. As […]
Read MoreHow beating cancer got me thinking 🤔 I was diagnosed with cancer on 5 June 2020. Just out of the first COVID confinement. Two cancers, by the way. Not to brag but to show how scary it was. In-between surgeries, I resolved: “If I beat this, I’ll examine my life for meaning and purpose.” When […]
Read More5 Signs Relationship Friction is Stalling Your Career In this article series, I explore how Relationship Friction (RF) and Relationship Wisdom (RW) shape career satisfaction and progression through apparently innocuous, yet critical, workplace moments. A number of you have reached out to discuss how to more precisely recognise RF. This article is therefore a brief […]
Read MoreAligned, Never Compliant: Handling Workplace Requests That Don’t Feel Right In this article series, I explore how Relationship Friction (RF) and Relationship Wisdom (RW) shape career satisfaction and progression through apparently innocuous, yet critical, workplace moments. We began with the Direct Contributor, whose RF risk was misreading their task. The First-Time Manager’s RF risk was […]
Read MoreWhen You Drive a Cross-Functional Initiative, You’re Putting Your Organizational Credibility on the Line In this article series, I explore how Relationship Friction and Relationship Wisdom shape career progression through apparently innocuous and yet critical, often recurring workplace moments. We began with the Direct Contributor, examining what happens when a task is assigned and misunderstood. […]
Read MoreWhen You Delegate a Task as a First Time Manager, No Less Than the Future of Your Entire Team Is at Stake Last month, we looked at a defining moment in the career of a Direct Contributor: the moment when a manager entrusts them with a task or project. For the employee receiving the […]
Read MoreNo Less Than the Rest of Your Career Is at Stake When Your Manager Entrusts You with a New Project In previous articles, we explored two ideas that sit at the heart of how careers really unfold: Relationship Friction and Relationship Wisdom. The first describes those subtle interpersonal tensions that quietly erode trust, confidence, and […]
Read MoreRelationship Wisdom: The Antidote that Transforms Relationship Friction into Career Momentum There’s a particular kind of professional exhaustion that has nothing to do with workload. It shows up as dread before certain meetings, the weight of unresolved tensions, or that persistent sense that you’re working twice as hard for half the recognition. You deliver excellent […]
Read MoreRelationship Friction: The Hidden Force That Breaks Careers ‘Relationship Friction’ (RF) is one of those concepts people recognize immediately when it is named yet struggle to describe while they are living inside it. Among other things, it shows up as tension in meetings, second-guessing after conversations, resentment that quietly accumulates, or a persistent sense that […]
Read More“The thoughts in our minds are not facts.” This is a quote from Joseph Nguyen’s “Don’t Believe Everything You Think”. When I was studying psychology, I was asked to keep a thought diary and capture as many of my thoughts as possible. I discovered that our thoughts are both fleeting and largely conjectural. I remember […]
Read More“The readiness is all”, Hamlet said to Horatio. What does it mean to be ready? In my line of work, it’s frequently about overcoming fear. I meet people who are ready to change. They can imagine themselves being more assertive. They dream of their promotion. They visualise themselves in a new role. They can almost […]
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