Episodes

In this episode, I speak with Dr. Roger Gerard, the owner of Sloan & Gerard Consulting, a private consulting practice serving executives and boards in strategic planning, operational planning, executive coaching, and management development. Roger talks about leadership’s important role in employee engagement – and why hiring for cultural fit is so important. Roger walks us through three types of employees a leader may encounter – the cynic, the apathetic, and the naysayer – and how to lead each...

From now until 12/20/2024, I am offering all my services at 50% off. To take advantage, be sure to mention either the "Gift a Better Career" special or just indicate 50% special. Schedule your consult to get the ball rolling at: https://calendly.com/lesaedwards/zoom-meetings2 I receive a periodic newsletter from Suzie Price of pricelessprofessional.com. Suzie and I were in a mastermind together several years ago; Suzie is a consultant for companies who want to improve their hiring efforts. Sh...

If you’ve been listening to this podcast for a while, you know that I do an annual list of five unusual things to be thankful for each year during Thanksgiving week. In some cases they are my personal things – and in other cases, they are more observations of the world. In either case, I always bring the five things back around to what you can learn from them. Last year, I borrowed from what I was seeing my clients go through. This year, let’s get personal. In no particular order, here we go: ...

Most organizations assume people leave jobs for better pay or benefits. But the reality is that 70% of employees quit for reasons far beyond money. (Source: Gallup) Here’s where it gets interesting. When asked in exit interviews what would make employees STAY, this is what they found: 21% wanted more positive interaction with their manager 13% wanted organizational issues resolved 11% wanted a clear path for career advancement 8% wanted less negative interactions with their boss Employee ...

I talked about the concept of Ikigai back in episode #243. This past week, a colleague posted a graphic about Ikigai and it got me thinking that it was time to re-visit and expand on this concept on the podcast. Here’s the purpose of Ikigai: It is the Japanese answer to a life of purpose. In practice, this concept of Ikigai is a lifestyle, which the Japanese live somewhat instinctively. We here in America can learn from the Japanese in this regard. Here’s a quote from the ikigailiving.com web...

I talked about this topic way back in episode #150, which aired in 2020. I thought it was time to bring it back. The framework I teach my clients for answering behavioral interview questions is CAR(L). C – Challenge A- Action R – Result (L) – Lessons Learned The “L,” when used correctly, can be incredibly powerful in driving home exactly what you want the interviewer to learn about you from your answer. “L” can take two forms: Lessons Learned – “What I learned from this situation was…” ...

My guest this week is Cheryl Fields Tyler, CEO and Founder of Blue Beyond Consulting. We are talking about the challenges – and rewards – of having multiple generations in the workforce (Baby Boomers, Gen X, Millennials, Gen Z). Cheryl tells about the key takeaways from her research – both for younger workers and those who lead them – including the skills you need to work in a multi-generational work environment, the differences and commonalities in workers’ needs and requirements, and how to l...

I could have subtitled this episode “Beating Yourself Up for What Didn’t Get Done vs. Celebrating What Did Get Done.” In other words, when you don’t do it all (and when do we), what do you make it mean? I want to address this topic relative to three issues: Your job search, your work performance, and your life outside work. Here’s a typical scenario: You decide to look for a new job. You tell yourself you are going to consistently devote 10 hours a week towards your efforts. You’re going to n...

So, full disclosure: I wanted to do an episode on networking, covering it from a perspective I haven’t yet addressed. That’s not always easy when you’ve done more than 300 episodes! I’ve done episodes on how to network throughout your career, but today I wanted to focus on networking as a major component of your job search strategy. I ended up deciding to pull pieces from some other episodes I’ve done on networking while also adding fresh, new content. So here goes. Why Should I Network? -As...

This week we are talking about hybrid work – specifically, what it is, why it’s such a hot topic, and where it’s heading. My guest this week is Wayne Turmel, Master Trainer and Coach with The Kevin Eikenberry Group. Wayne Turmel has been writing about how to develop communication and leadership skills for almost 30 years. He has taught and consulted at Fortune 500 companies and startups around the world. For the last 18 years, he’s focused on the growing need to communicate effectively in remot...

To purchase a Power Hour and schedule your coaching session: https://calendly.com/lesaedwards/power-hour Some of my coaching friends and I call it “shoulding” all over yourself. Thinking that things “should” be a certain way. In other words, we argue with reality – and you can never win that argument. How does “shoulding” apply to your job? You might believe: -My job SHOULD pay XXX. -I SHOULD have more ___ in my job. -I SHOULD have gotten a promotion and pay raise by now. -I SHOULD have ...

My guest this week is Hannah Tackett, software design manager turned burnout coach, and we are talking about the success traps that lead to burnout. Hannah describes her personal journey with burnout, what burnout actually IS (and isn’t), and the signs you are on your way to burnout. Having navigated her own career-halting burnout, she helps high-achieving women end the cycle of people-pleasing & perfectionism so they can experience success with energy, focus, and serenity. I found the success...

Want to schedule a Power Hour with me? Here's the link to sign up through September: https://calendly.com/lesaedwards/power-hour A buzz word I’m hearing and seeing a lot these days is “Growth Mindset.” I even mentioned in a recent episode. Full disclosure: While I have an idea of what a Growth Mindset is, I didn’t really know until I did the research for this episode. As I’ve said before, sometimes my topics come from what clients and prospective clients are asking me, sometimes from what I’...

This week, I have a guest to talk about workplace health and wellbeing benefits. Heather Fuselier is a National Board-Certified Health and Wellness Coach, author, trainer, and employee wellbeing consultant. We talk about the evolution of workplace health-related benefits and where they are now (this is really interesting!), how to ask about these types of benefits during a job interview (and who to direct your questions to), and how to take advantage of the right benefits for you once you’re on...

There are two basic types of leadership: Positional and Influential. The first is a leadership role where it is in your job description to lead others; the second is leading by influence rather than by any type of formal authority to do so. What exactly is influence? Merriam-Webster defines it as “the capacity to have an effect on the character, development, or behavior of someone or something, or the effect itself.” Note that the definition of influence is neutral: your influence could be pos...

I touched on all aspects of the job interview as an internal candidate in episode #202: https://exclusivecareercoaching.com/posts/2021-11-10-202-how-to-prepare-for-the-interview-as-an-internal-candidate In that episode, I spoke briefly about how to approach your questions for the interviewer – today I want to dive more deeply into this. 1. You CANNOT be canned or generic. One of the things I work with my interview coaching clients on is how to develop well-thought-out, unique questions that ...

Today, I want to talk about online job scams – as in, scammers that are posting fake jobs to get your personal information. I got a lot of the information for this episode from a LinkedIn article by Muhammed Imran Khan. According to the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), Americans lost $490M to job scams in 2023. Types of Job Scams Phishing Scams – Scammers pose as legitimate recruiters or employers. They request personal information or redirect job seekers to a fake website, where they ask for ...

The first thing I want to say about Imposter Syndrome, two things actually, are these: 1) Imposter Syndrome is not a one-and-done thing; it can crop up throughout your career as you take on new responsibilities and rise to new levels; and 2) Imposter Syndrome can be situational. You can be fully confident in one area of your work and feel like a complete fake in another. Definition of Imposter Syndrome The Oxford English Dictionary defines Imposter Syndrome as follows: The persistent inabilit...

In a perfect world, your boss is supportive, encouraging, wise, and has all the time in the world to mentor and coach you. He gives you full credit for your wins and shares the blame for your missteps. She spends time helping you plan your next career steps and advocates for you to get those opportunities. If you related to that fairy tale – congratulations! I’m sure many, if not most, of the listeners can’t relate. Today, we’re talking about ways for you to succeed as a manager despite having...

There is A LOT of information out there about the benefits of AI in your job search – and not all of it is actually beneficial for you as a job seeker. In this episode, I want to dive into five ways to use AI in your job search, as well as a few ways I don’t recommend using AI. I’m not diving into the AI that is being used by companies like LinkedIn, other job boards, etc. – rather, how YOU can leverage AI in your job search. What are the AI options? There are many, and giving too many specif...

Increasingly, I’m getting questions from my clients about whether they should apply to a position they see on LinkedIn – or go directly to the company’s website. I want to start by saying loud and clear: I DO NOT recommend putting your resume on your LI profile. When a recruiter accesses your LI resume, it has not been customized to a specific job. In fact, your “generic” resume may not speak to the position the recruiter is offering at all. While that may be because the job they are offering i...

I want to start this episode with a clarification: When I am talking about cultivating a relationship with recruiters, I am coming at this from the perspective of a long-term, mutually beneficial relationship – NOT trying to do so just because you are in a job search, only to forget about them afterwards. That is not to say that these relationships don’t start with a job search…many times, that’s exactly how they will begin. The challenge then becomes cultivating that new relationship into some...

This week’s episode features my guest, Bob Tiede. Bob is a 20-year of the U.S. Leadership Development Team of Cru (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ). He has written six books including “Great Leaders Ask Questions” and “Now That’s a Great Question.” We talk about the importance of asking great questions as a leader. If you aren’t yet in a leadership role, he also offers great questions to ask of your leader. Bob gives you his favorite leadership questions and why they are so effecti...

A concept that I think about A LOT as a small business owner is that a person has to know, like, and trust me in order to buy from me. How does this play out in my world? As the person selling a service to someone, people need to know who I am and what I’m about, they have to like what they know about me, and they have to trust that I will deliver exactly what I say I will. As a person who is sold to on a daily basis by various vendors, I am infuriated by people who simultaneously try to conne...