When I was in university, I worked at a retail store selling jeans. It was a great job, for the most part. My friends would come in and shop, and we always had awesome music playing. Besides that, I really enjoyed helping customers find the perfect pair. The only downside…

I struggled in Grade 9 Algebra. It was the first time I ever had trouble at school, and I was stressed! Because I’d never struggled before, the only thing I knew to do was put my head down and work extra hard, but that didn’t work either. One day my…

I’ve long spoken (and written) about the role of managers in easing employee burnout. In every case. I’ve also mentioned managers need help and support too. But are they getting the support they need? Studies show us they probably aren’t. The Great Resignation rages on in the US. It’s maybe…

Prior to this week, I’ve had mixed success with posting on LinkedIn. Some posts get lots of views and reactions, others go quietly away with little notice. But this week, the astounding happened! One of my posts has gone viral. I honestly had to look up what “viral” meant, because…

There are now more job openings than ever that are going unfilled. In the US, in September alone, there were more than double the usual average of job vacancies. This is a big deal, and it looks like it’s not going to change any time soon. Companies are finding creative…

Today I attended a webinar about Performance Management. During this webinar, they touted the integral role of the manager in employee performance. I heartily agree, but couldn’t help but think, throughout, that most managers really don’t have the chops to handle performance management conversations well. One of the attendees asked…

The performance of managers and their teams is measured all the time. Companies look for revenue growth, cost reductions, productivity, output, customer satisfaction… There really are so many data points that are measured. However, there are other equally important metrics that go unmeasured in almost all organizations. …

I love this picture! It makes me smile every time I see it. This is a photo of my dogs, Doug and Murray, at the beach. The beach is Doug’s happy place. Doug is a scrappy little terrier with 5" long legs. In spite of that, he chases sticks and…

Layoffs are a cold, hard fact for many of us in Learning and Development. We don’t turn wrenches or build buildings. We don’t pull in new customers or upsell existing ones. L and D is viewed as a cost center and, therefore, is something that is always put under the…