Email. Did your blood pressure just go up reading that word?

One of the most common complaints I hear is about the inordinate amount of time people spend on emails.

Before the pandemic, there was debate in some corners of the corporate world about the value of working from home versus being in the office full-time. As the pandemic gained momentum, many of us, including me, moved to full-time work from home because of our companies’ COVID work location policies.

“You’re going to lose him”, the recruiter complained. She had worked hard to find Jim, whom she believed was a great fit for the EVP of operations role for a mid-sized retailer. The company liked Jim, but asked him to complete a rigorous assessment and interview process to determine if he was the RIGHT candidate for the role.

Today, we remember those who lost their lives or were injured 20 years ago on 9/11.

Like most people, I remember exactly where I was as events unfolded. I was at the headquarters of a large company based in Atlanta preparing for dreaded project reviews with our CHRO.

We all want to be seen and known for who we are. We want to know that we make an impact, and that we are valued by our managers and coworkers.

As managers, we often fall short in making people feel special and valued.

A mid-level professional in a large company wanted a career change. He had established himself as a sales leader and climbed the corporate ladder over the years, but did not find the work fulfilling. Interested in IT, he went back to school at night, completed a related degree, and began aggressively seeking a new job.

How many team meetings have you participated in, where the leader shares a perspective, and everyone else is either silent or piles on in agreement?

We see this happen even in meetings where the leader’s point-of-view clearly needs to be challenged.

Many of you are “people pleasers”. You like to make people happy, and don’t really like conflict. Unfortunately, people pleasers are susceptible to a specific type of “freedom thief”. You can be imprisoned by trying to live up to others’ expectations of you.

It’s Labor Day, today, in the United States. Like many holidays, we tend to take some time off and enjoy the day, but we don’t think much about the meaning and history of the day.

Labor Day was created to celebrate

I believe in the value of coaching. So much so that I’ve paid, out of my own pocket, to work with several coaches. I’ve respected and admired each coach both for their coaching skills and who they are as people.

The most important factor in the success of these coaching relationships, however,