Feeling pigeonholed and underestimated professionally? You’re not alone.
Recently, I was talking to a young client, who was eager to find work outside of her usual role. Ever since middle school she had been groomed by her parents and grandparents to run the family business – a store that was literally attached to their house. She had been...
Failure to launch because of workplace obstacles or resistance? How to take off in your career.
I’ve been on countless flights over the years but somehow, I’d never really thought about the fact that planes take off facing into the wind. Sure, I’ve felt some pressure during a forceful lift-off but I thought it was all due to speed — not...
You and Work: Are You Thriving or Just Surviving?
A D I G I T A L N E W S L E T T E R F R O M A Message From Dr. Helen For me, September feels like back-to-school, only better since it’s on my terms and there’s much less assigned homework that’s “due tomorrow.” As summer comes to an end and fall approaches, it...
Q&A with Dr. Helen – Helping others improve their Careers and HR through an ‘AudioBlog’
Q1. What is an AudioBlog? A1. My ‘AudioBlog’ is like a normal blog, but there are two key differences. First, my articles are not opinion pieces. Rather, they are grounded in Work and Business Psychology (officially known as Industrial and Organizational Psychology...
Back to life, back to reality … when we return to work without a smile
Each day countless people will return to work after taking some much-needed time off for a summer ‘staycation’ or holiday. But with the arrival of September and the shedding of summer leaves, most of us have now returned to our routines. This means students all over...
High Stake Situations – Why do some people stumble while others shine?
The 2019 US Open tennis finals have me thinking about high stake scenarios. The other night, my partner was talking about the upcoming rematch between Canadian tennis player Bianca Andreescu and Serena Williams, the most accomplished (male or female) tennis player of...
Golden handcuffs – when is it worth taking them off?
Many people, including some of my clients, feel as if they are stepping into an invisible cage when they arrive at work. Years ago, I had the same feeling. Sure, there are no physical bars on the windows, (if they are fortunate enough to have an office window) but the...
Are you a workaholic … or is your job just too demanding?
I’ve worked with many clients who have wondered if they’re already a workaholic or if they’re becoming one. This blog article is a summary of some of those Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) and my answers on this topic. Q1. These days, many people...
What You Need to Know About Psychometric Testing
Over the years I have heard many people refer to themselves and/or others as a specific personality type – as defined after doing some ‘psychometric testing.’ I won’t argue or debate whether anyone should be neatly packed into a box labelled Type A (i.e.,...
Resilience – If You Don’t Think You Have It, You Can Get It
Obviously, I consider resilience to be an essential ingredient for career development, career management, and human resources (HR). My tagline ‘Building Resilient Careers and Organizations.™” is all over my website, business cards, etc. I believe that if we’re...
Summer burnout – what is it and how can it affect your job?
Summer … we all know to get the sunblock and hats out to shield us from the intense and dangerous rays. But, what about protecting ourselves from other, less obvious burns … like summer burnout? No, I’m not just talking about feeling rundown and exhausted from one too...
Are You Ready for the Big Leagues? You Heard it Here! Summer 2019
A D I G I T A L N E W S L E T T E R F R O M Are you Ready for the Big Leagues? I’m really excited to give subscribers a sneak preview of my new e-book, “Ready for the Big Leagues?” I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting it together....
What We Can Learn About Hiring from Viral Posts and Basketball
You may have read the viral post from LinkedIn by Natasha Bowman that described hiring people who “didn’t shake my hand firmly during the interview … had four kids … or was over 60 years old” – and how those people were fantastic on the job. Her LinkedIn post...
How Leaky Time Management Can Sink Your Ship
There’s no shortage of general articles about time management, but there’s far less advice around “time leakage,” especially as it applies to professionals who bill clients for their time. Time leakage is the unbilled time spent by IT, digital & creative,...
In the Past There was Moonlighting, Now it’s the Side Hustle
As I’ve noted in a previous article, self-employment is becoming more common as new technology makes self-employment easier than ever before — and changes in the economy makes entrepreneurship a necessity. A 2017 survey conducted by Bankrate reports that 44...
Scapegoats and the Glass Cliff: When Careers Get Derailed
Scapegoating and the glass cliff may sound like something made up or exaggerated. Unfortunately, for the victims and those who value fairness, they are real phenomena. Scapegoating and glass cliff scenarios slyly work their destructive magic within a workplace. In...
The Times, They Are a Changing … But is Our Time Management?
Indeed, the times, they are a changing … Bob Dylan sang it during a pivotal moment in political history back in 1964, and it seems that message is still current and relevant. We live in an era of rapid change, where each day it’s out with the old and in with the new....
Where Human Rights Meets Human Resources (Part 2)
Last week’s blog Where Human Rights Meets Human Resources (Part 1) was an insightful Q&A. I asked Alayna Miller, an Employment and Human Rights Lawyer (formerly) with Mann Lawyers about the interconnected topic of human rights and human resources, particularly as...