Hey Reader, If you’re like me, you’ve spent a long time building the career you have today. Over the years, we’ve taken on bigger roles, more responsibility, and…more pressure. We’ve built a reputation for being the leader who can handle difficult problems, and we have the title to prove it. That focus on title carries into almost every social setting. When someone asks what we do, we know what to say. Our titles give them most of the answer. We don’t have to explain the 20 or 30 years of...
4 days ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, There’s a decision you’ve been meaning to make. Perhaps it’s been sitting with you for months. Maybe longer. You know you need to make it. And you’ve already thought through every angle imaginable. But every time you get close to making a choice, there’s just one more thing you’d like to know first. One more variable you’d like to resolve. One more reason to wait a little longer. But at work, you could probably make three key decisions before lunch. There’s a huge gap in how...
11 days ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, In my organization, there was this one partner who had become almost infamous. I didn’t work with him closely, but most of us knew one thing about him: he proudly said he was going to retire at 50, years before partners typically retired. Nobody believed him. From the outside, nothing about his situation suggested he should want to leave. He was highly respected, seated at the top of the organization, and his work was excellent. He had everything that most of us work hard for. No...
18 days ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, Your phone lights up at 10pm. It's your work email. Someone on your team has a question about the project. From the small preview of text, you figure it might take 10 minutes to answer. Possibly longer if they reply again that night. You're already tired. You came home late after staying to get more work done at the office. Made it home just in time for the tail end of dinner. Tried to stay present with your family during the evening, but your mind kept going back to work. You're...
25 days ago • 4 min read
Hey Reader, You've made it. The senior role you’ve worked toward for years is finally yours. Everyone rushes over to congratulate you. People you’ve known for years tell you they always knew you could do it. It feels like everything you imagined it would. And then the applause fades, and the work begins. You sit through your first few meetings, and something doesn't feel quite right. No one's being hostile or even particularly difficult. But as the days go by, you start to notice a few...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, A friend of mine reached out recently, someone I’ve known for years. They’ve spent decades building an impressive career and a life that they’re proud of. They’ve always been one of those people who was energized by their work. They had the right attitude, they were engaged with their role, and by every external measure, they had built the life they wanted. What they told me in private was a different story entirely. We were talking one evening about what we hoped the next few...
about 1 month ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, It’s a normal Tuesday afternoon. You’re at your desk, doing something you’ve done a hundred times before: reviewing a document, clearing a backlog of emails, working through something that needs finishing before the day ends. Nothing remarkable about it. Without meaning to, you catch the tail end of a sentence. “I’ll be leaving soon.” It’s that one colleague who’s been talking about leaving for a long time now. They’ve mentioned it to you a few times. They want something more,...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, Imagine you’ve invited a close friend over for dinner. Even though you text most days, you haven’t seen each other for months because they’ve been so busy. You’ve been trying to make this dinner happen for weeks now, wanting a chance to sit down and enjoy each other’s company. You cook (or order) something you both love. You open a bottle of wine. When they walk through the door, you notice the dark circles under their eyes. Their smile seems a little tired. They take a long sip...
about 2 months ago • 3 min read
Hey Reader, You were told you’d be looped in. People would ask for your opinion before they settled on a decision. Then one morning you check your email and realize the decision has already been made. No one was malicious or thoughtless. It just happened. Again. And the reason it stings is that this wasn’t the first time. It was just the latest in a string of moments like this. Nobody announces it. There’s no conversation. One day you look up and realize the room has reorganized itself, and...
about 2 months ago • 2 min read
Hey Reader, Think about the best leader you ever wanted to work with. Someone whose opinion you really cared about, whose projects you wanted to be on, and whom you wanted to impress. Maybe you’d been watching them from a distance for a while, waiting for the moment you’d finally get to work alongside them. And when that moment came, it was different from what you’d expected. They were as sharp as you’d imagined. They moved fast in meetings, spotted gaps in arguments, and set a high standard....
2 months ago • 3 min read