Careers: The Workplace

Your Boss Does Not Need Every Detail One of the strongest communication skills you can develop at work is learning how to translate up instead of simply reporting up. Your boss does not need to hear every task you completed or every small decision you made during the week. They need to understand how your

Politics Are Already in the Room Three different kinds of politics now coexist in most organizations, whether people want to admit it or not. The first is constructive politics, the second is destructive politics, and the third is survival politics. They can all exist inside the same company, sometimes on the same floor and inside

Talent Is Not Always Enough After more than thirty-five years in corporate environments, including executive recruiting and coaching, I have seen talented people struggle because of workplace politics they never saw coming. Many were excellent at their jobs but unprepared for the hidden dynamics around them. I have also watched others move through the same

I guess it is my turn. Like so many other people, I was laid off last week, and I am not going to pretend it did not shake me. I had already been thinking about retirement and what the next chapter of my life might look like. But there is a big difference between choosing

Sometimes the Explanation Is Intentionally Short If you have ever been fired and walked away still wondering exactly why, you are not alone. Sometimes the explanation really is vague by design. An employer may say something like “performance,” “policy violation,” “not meeting expectations,” or simply “the company has decided to end your employment.” That can

Staying Is Not Always the Smartest Move People have been told for years that staying with one employer proves loyalty and that moving too often makes you look unstable. Sometimes that is true. But I have also seen people stay in the same job for years, doing more work, taking on more responsibility, and still

Qualified Does Not Always Mean Chosen You can be fully qualified for a job inside your own company and still never get a fair shot at it. That is one of those workplace realities people usually learn after they have been around long enough to see how organizations actually operate. On paper, internal hiring can

The Tradition of Giving Two Weeks’ Notice Most of us grew up hearing that when I decide to leave a job, the professional thing to do is give two weeks’ notice. The idea sounds simple and fair. I give my employer enough time to prepare for my departure. My supervisor can redistribute my responsibilities. The

The Telephone Call Many Employees Fear Leaving one job for another can bring a particular kind of anxiety. I may have completed the application, survived the interviews, and finally received the offer I wanted. Then someone tells me the new employer is going to verify my previous employment. Suddenly I begin wondering what my old

Hard Work and Advancement Are Not Always the Same Thing For much of my working life, I believed that if I worked hard, did a good job, and treated people fairly, my efforts would eventually be recognized. I trusted that doing my best would speak for itself. There is considerable wisdom in that approach, but