When 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 MoreWhat experiences are you allowing that rewire your brain to make you less than you could be? Your brain can’t tell the difference between a blessing in disguise and a poisoned chalice. It just adapts. Last month, I shared with you my conviction that Relationship Friction shapes us into who we can grow into. Its […]
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 MoreYou are being let down by a ghost 👻 Not by your manager. Or your colleague. Or your team member. Rather: you are being let down by the version of people that exists ONLY in your head. When I was in Australia recently, everyone called us “you guys.” Waiters, guides… everyone. At first I found […]
Read MoreNow you know AI is an ineffective coach, be careful you don’t hire its human equivalent 🤖 I am concerned the coaching industry is increasingly defaulting to a standard of polite validation over rigorous challenge — unwittingly mimicking the AI sycophancy I deplored the other week. There is a dangerous misconception that high-impact coaching is […]
Read More“Alexandra, you’re already out of a job,” an AI creator warned me recently. AI has several PhDs in psychology. As such, it can give you well-meaning advice. It will list relationship skills, explain active listening, and offer tips to resolve conflict. It will write you a long recipe about how to influence. It knows all […]
Read MoreWould you like to know why you’re abandoning your New Year’s resolutions? Did you wince when you read that? If so, it wasn’t the first time, was it? There is no shortage of research and analysis on how quickly we drop our New Year resolutions. Psychologists call it “self-sabotage”: doing what’s harmful and suffering about […]
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 MoreWhy the perfect candidate becomes your biggest headache three months later You validated their technical abilities. You got strong references. You enthusiastically welcomed them. And yet, bringing in new talent too often feels like playing ‘Hit or Miss’. Though you’ve recruited time and again, you still can’t predict who will last. By all means, validate […]
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 MoreYou think apologizing will make it better? Think again! Just recently, a client asked me to review an email to their manager. Two phrases stood out: “I hope you won’t think me forward.” And: “I trust this email won’t anger you.” At first glance? Respectful and even empathic. In reality… Those two sentences would damage […]
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 […]
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