Career Coach « Vivid Epiphany

For the Managewhich and Business Owner: Who’s a Team Player?

Nov 10

Carolann Jacobs on November 10th, 2009

Team Player is one of those phrases that we all assume we have the same definition for. It’s one of the performance management buzz-phrases that shows on reviews and on job descriptions. And, we all think we know what it means, but do we?
I was watching a video the other day of Pat Heim talking [...]

Managewhich? What to do With Complete and Utter Incompetence

Oct 27

Carolann Jacobs on October 27th, 2009

Her name is Oblivia. She’s nice. People like her. And, she can’t get anything done.
Have you ever worked with someone who is Unconsciously Incompetent? That is to say, that they are so incompetent that they don’t even know that they are incompetent?
It’s rare. Most of us know when we really, truly suck at something. However, [...]

The Omniscient Managewich

Sep 10

Carolann Jacobs on September 10th, 2009

I have a question for the sandwich generation of managers, middle managers or owner managers, stuck in the middle of competing priorities and agendas:
Why is it so hard to know what someone else really wants or believes, and yet, how is it that we know others’ intentions just by looking at their body language or [...]

Managewich Tips: Tired of Participating in the 80% of Change Initiatives That Fail?

Sep 8

Carolann Jacobs on September 8th, 2009

Change is hard… or is it?
Think about a time when change was easy. What made it easy?
For me, a good example to illustrate how change does and doesn’t work is recycling.
At first, to recycle, we had to separate cans, glass and paper, and we had to sort through the plastics for the ones that could [...]

Tips For the Managewich: Don’t Kick the Dog

Sep 1

Carolann Jacobs on September 1st, 2009

Ever had that experience where your manager got reamed by a customer, peer or her manager and then turned around and took it out on you? It gets the expression “kicking the dog” because it’s basically taking out frustration on the defenseless.
Those of us who aren’t that resilient have known for a while that [...]

Solving the Middle Manager’s Constant Dilemma: More To Do’s Than Time

Jun 23

Carolann Jacobs on June 23rd, 2009

Ugh, it’s been longer than I wanted it to be since my last post.
Notice that?
I’m beating myself up over something that didn’t get done.
Not very helpful, is it? True statement, but not helpful.
It also trains the brain to focus on what’s not happening. We tend to get more of what we focus on. If you [...]

Kicking Myself – 6 Missed Opportunities

Jun 5

Carolann Jacobs on June 5th, 2009

Ever had one of those moments when someone told you something that you aleady know, but you’ve let it slide or you’ve never implemented it?
I hate to admit it in public, but I had one of those moments this week.
I pride myself on my business networking savvy. Mind you, my friends Jeff Klein, Jim Penny, [...]

How to Keep the Feedback Conversation Out of the Ditch (Part 4 of The Fact & the Fundamental Lie)

Jun 3

Carolann Jacobs on June 3rd, 2009

Recapping parts 1-3…
Janice* runs the governance group for her company, and Rhonda* works for Janice in that group. Over the course of time, Janice has developed a healthty distrust of Rhonda, although she’s never addressed it directly with Rhonda. Anyone with two eyes and half an ear can observe that something isn’t right in that [...]

The Fact and The Fundamental Lie (Part 3)

Jun 1

Carolann Jacobs on June 1st, 2009

Where we left off in part two, Janice*, the manager of her company’s governance group, has provided Rhonda*, a program manager who works for Janice, with some feedback about her performance.
…which started with “You are always trying to undermine me.”
The conversation degenerated into Janice trying to tell Rhonda all the ways that her circumventing the [...]

The Fact is Also the Fundamental Lie (Part Two)

May 29

Carolann Jacobs on May 29th, 2009

In part one of this post, we left Janice* and Rhonda* in Janice’s office. Janice, the manager of her company’s governance group, is furious that Rhonda, who works for her, has been circumventing the process that the PMO is supposed to be enforcing. Furthermore, I’d learned in out initial complimentary consultation that Janice has built [...]

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