Coaching

Last month, you asked “Kevin” to take notes during the meeting. Big mistake. You watched him sit there, pen dangling like a decorative accessory, while key decisions flew past unrecorded. You slipped him a note: “Please capture those comments.” He blinked at you with bewildered innocence as if you’d just asked him to split the

Question: I like my coworkers just fine at 2 p.m. on Tuesday when I’m caffeinated and paid to be at work. I just don’t want to spend my Friday night racing around with a pool noodle or pasting a smile on my face in role-play games when I could be eating nachos in sweatpants. Here’s

She still parks in the same spot, still carries her laptop bag like a shield, still slides into her project meetings with a tight smile. On paper, she’s a survivor—three rounds of layoffs, still standing. Others admire her. She shows up, keeps it together, and only falls apart in private. She doesn’t disengage by choice,

handling TikTok fame when it crashes into your workplace. Caitlin turned her lunch break into a TikTok performance. She danced, filing it in the open office, using her monitor as a backdrop. The video was harmless—except that a client’s confidential policy documents were visible on her desk. Devon, a barista at a downtown coffee shop,

Mike’s a pressure sponge. He cracks jokes when tension spikes. He smooths things over between colleagues who treat collaboration like a contact sport. When others flail and unravel, he stays focused. Last week, his boss smiled as she dropped two projects in his lap mid-meeting. “You’re the only one I don’t worry about.” He smiled

Question: Three hours after my red-eye landed, I arrived at the office Monday morning and booted up my computer. Unfortunately, my brain didn’t boot up with it. I’m just not ready for my inbox to glare at me with 247 unread messages and a calendar packed tighter than a TSA line. Ten days ago, I

When Learned Helplessness Takes Over Your Workplace—Or Worse, You Somewhere along the way, working hard became… quaint. Effort? Cringe. Optimism? Please. In some workplaces, skepticism trumps enthusiasm, sarcasm wins more respect than passion, and it’s safer to sigh than suggest an idea that might get shot down. An HR generalist shrugs when her new assistant

Question: When I started working for my new, now ex-employer, my manager greeted me warmly and encouraged me to let him know what I found interesting and what I struggled with. “If you don’t tell me your challenges, I can’t help you overcome stumbling blocks.” At the end of the first month, he again told

At 2:38 a.m., Dave lies in bed, wide-eyed and wired. His inbox scrolls across his brain like a breaking news ticker: the half-baked budget draft, the client who’s ghosting, the slap-down from his boss in Monday’s staff meeting. He’s tried everything to fix his workday-fueled insomnia—melatonin, chamomile tea, melatonin, sleep podcasts, magnesium, and even a

Left Behind and Sidelined Question: I’ve spent my whole life in construction—residential, commercial, and public-sector infrastructure. I started as a framer, worked my way up to foreman, then site superintendent. I know how to run a job site: how to read people, juggle subs, stick to spec, and bring a project in clean. I’ve always

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Question: We thought we’d hit the jackpot when we hired “Sonali.” She possessed all the right skills, and her interview dazzled. My manager said, “I love her fresh thinking. Keep her happy; we need her.” The trouble surfaced in week three. Sonali pinged me on Slack. “FYI—our ticket system’s outdated. I built a new one

Question: I showed up to work early on a Monday after pulling a weekend sprint to meet a client deadline. Before I even made it to my desk, the front office coordinator told me HR wanted to see me. I figured it could wait until I hit send on the project I’d just wrapped. Ten

Does your manager preach “work/life balance” while slapping a 5 p.m. “quick sync” on your calendar? Do you scarf protein bars between meetings and drag yourself home after seven too tired to walk your dog—because your workdays keep slipping out from under you? If you say you want work/life balance, but don’t haveit, or work

Question: I work for a manager who’s brilliant with code and clueless about people. He bristles at feedback, shuts down suggestions, and appears threatened I managed a team with my prior employer. He ices me out in meetings and sidelines me every chance he gets. I like my job, but I’m considering quitting. Why do

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A coaching client collapsed into the chair across from my desk, her face telegraphing defeat. “I barely survived a lunch break with ‘Paula from Payroll.’” “‘Lexy,’ what happened?” I asked. “Paula looked at my quinoa bowl and said, ‘So, you’re dieting—Is it working?’ Then she asked, ‘Are you still doing the dating apps? What’s it