I keep hearing people complaining that they don't have time for themselves, they don't have the money to spend on themselves, they can't do this and they shouldn't do that. But that internal rhetoric is not helpful - I know because it has been a big part of my internal dialogue in the past. I know what it looks like from my perspective. But there is power in looking at this from other people's perspectives. What do your bosses, prospective bosses, colleagues, clients, men

In the business of being you, are you in the CEO’s office, or some back office taking orders? I don’t think it’s a novel idea to say that if we think about our careers as our business, then we are all the CEO’s of our careers. And yet, so many of us tend to treat our careers as if we are a passive stakeholder in the business, taking direction from others on where to go in our careers, rather than determining our direction.

Last year sometime after attending a Women in Mining event intended to connect mentees with mentors, I wrote a blog about how surprised I was at the lack of follow up from prospective mentees after the event. The blog was titled "Everyone needs a mentor - here are 5 reasons why". I knew at the time that the mentee-mentor relationship is filled with complexity. But what really opened my eyes, was an e-mail exchange with a young woman, Eva Masemola, who took the time to c

No one likes giving negative feedback. I hate giving it, and I struggle to receive it. I don't think I am different from many of you on that score. If you are struggling to have candid conversations with those around you, as a manager or leader, as a parent, a friend, a client or as an employee, it might be worth asking yourself two questions: What am I intending to achieve with my approach to this conversation? How will my approach contribute to strengthening this relati

Someone told me a while ago that my "about me" section of my website was a little sterile, and that I hadn't really done much to tell anyone who I am. Given that I write so many blogs and am constantly on social media, that was somewhat of a wake up call as I just assumed that I was making myself known through these platforms. But I have taken the feedback and decided to write a blog all about me. Uggghhhh not easy. I would far rather be asking others about themselves.