A client recently shared that the culture at her company is so single-mindedly hustle & grind that her very capable boss recently left for a medical leave of unspecified duration to try to deal with her body- and soul-crushing burnout.

My client observed that the train of work kept chugging along without her boss, and saw that medical leave was the direction she was headed in too if she didn’t make some serious changes to her relationship with this company.

One of the company leaders she most admired died suddenly a few months ago, and though he was the heart and soul of the place, no one talks about him anymore.

Your work is important and caring about doing great work is an essential part of a fulfilling life. But it is not the only (or even the most important) component of a rich and satisfying life.

Running a killer meeting (that people don’t hate, and even look forward to!) is easier than it seems.

It’s definitely a key skill in a leader’s toolbox, so let’s dive in.

Here are the 7 essential ingredients I honed over decades of managing complex real estate development projects, that are guaranteed to improve your meeting culture - immediately. And grow your leadership skills and stature along the way.

I received some thoughtful feedback recently from a few readers, which suggested that further discussion of the “efficiency tax” would be welcome, useful, and warranted, given that it’s a common (and especially tough to smack down) cause of burnout.

This week we’re doing a recap on what the efficiency tax is, and some steps we can take to stop paying it, and start investing in our own well-being instead.

We all get stuck in the weeds of our own problems, and often lack the perspective and clarity to find healthy and empowering pathways toward resolution.

I created the P.O.W.E.R. Framework as a tool we can use to coach ourselves through conflicts, challenges, and change, and to do so in a curious, self-possessed manner.

Have a thorny issue you’ve been wrestling with? Give this a try.

I have multiple friends who took career breaks for family or health reasons, or who were laid off and decided to make somewhat of an adventure out of it. They are now looking to re-enter the workforce and are coming up against suspicion about their “resume gap” from recruiters and employers—it really seems like an impediment. What’s the best way to deal with this?

I recently worked with a client who was having a hard time getting back in the saddle after an excruciatingly painful career setback.

Her role was an elected one, and after losing a fierce reelection battle, complete with an unethical fact-free smear campaign by the opposition, she was devastated both professionally and emotionally, and found herself reeling on her back foot trying to apply and interview for new roles in her field.

When we first met, this highly accomplished woman’s confidence was in tatters, and she was concerned about how her career was going to come back from this.

Read on for all the details

Recently a client shared an “a-ha” she had that made my whole week. She said that she had gotten a glimpse of the meaning of Dear Glinda’s raison d'être: “You’ve always had the power. You’ve had it all along.” And how it applies to her life.

Like most of my clients, she’s super conscientious, reliable, supremely capable, and willing to make sacrifices for the good of others, including her work team.

These are all such lovely qualities in a friend, partner, and coworker.

But when the sacrifices are taken too far, they result in self-neglect, which over time results in profoundly negative impacts to our mental, spiritual, and physical health.

Today we’re doing a deep dive into perhaps the most common challenge I come across with clients, friends, and certainly in my own life, as well as battle-tested, well-worn strategies for dealing with it.

The Challenge: How to actually do the things we know we need to do to take proper care of ourselves, when we're already exhausted and burned out, amid the relentless demands of the world.

Burnout means our brains are too busy to make helpful decisions at each moment of the day to support our own wellbeing. We get stuck in unhelpful coping patterns. We need fewer decisions to make and a helpful structure is just the ticket.

I once received two pieces of advice from a near stranger that have stuck with me ever since: "not everything is a problem to be solved," and "don't postpone joy." In the hustle of American work culture, where everything is indeed a problem to be solved (by hustling hard, sleeping when you’re dead, or buying a magic fix), and joy is always postponed in pursuit of the never-ending to-do list, these statements feel at once obvious and incomprehensible.

This spring I had the pleasure of leading career workshops for students at Cal Berkeley and Cal Poly. We discussed the top 5 essential skills, tools, and strategies for new grads (and people of all ages). No, they are not “technical” or “hard skills” like accounting or computer science. They are, however, universally indispensable skills required for success in any field, and they’re pretty helpful in navigating the stormy seas of life, too. Many of them involve our mindsets around challenges, growth, and resilience. Read on for all the details.

This week's edition features a question from a reader about whether they should leap to take an opportunity that could be controversial, and a few things for them to consider as they ponder the question. If you are an independent consultant, your business is your name, and your personal reputation is everything. If you are working with a company, it’s still essential to think about and care for your personal reputation, which will follow you wherever you go. What do you want yours to be?

Sticking our heads in the sand, believing that the better, “nicer,” thing to do is to avoid conflict, can sometimes make challenging situations worse. Far worse. Doing nothing is as powerful and clear a choice as doing something, and both have consequences. In the absence of capable leadership, the nastiest jerk in the room sets the rules, lets his/her ego take over, tramples over the magic that comes when everyone brings their best to the table, and ultimately poisons the project. In its presence, problems are addressed quickly and directly, views are respectfully shared and discussed, disagreements happen but bigger picture goals keep people aligned and allow for consensus, and everyone rows together toward a shared vision of success for whatever its is they are working on