What if I say, "Do not think about an elephant?" - I bet all you will think of is an elephant or several elephants in your mind. Well, it turns ...

Imagine you shared an idea with a co-worker, and they said, "That's a terrible idea." How would you feel? Most of us would feel discouragement and react with either active ...

A tech leader, let's call him Jason, said, "I can't relax; I always have to do something useful. Nobody makes me do so; it's me. This is how I am" ...

Are you dreading a challenging conversation, particularly in a work setting? Do you fear that it might not go as planned? You're certainly not alone; many of us share this ...

“I don’t have the time to pause and think; my days are filled with back-to-back meetings. When someone asks me a question, I tell them what I know and go ...

The other day, a senior leader contacted me to hire me as his coach. His LinkedIn profile was immaculate - multiple graduate degrees from top-notch schools and a strong track ...

A job change is a daunting task. It becomes even more challenging when it involves a discipline, industry, or role change. A common misconception is one can do it by ...

During a recent coaching session, my client Francis had an eye-opening moment. Despite consistently positive performance reviews, he no longer found satisfaction in his current role. When I asked what ...

It is the season of job promotions. I've been getting several such news through LinkedIn posts from my clients. However, these celebratory posts only scratch the surface of their entire ...

Meet Nick, a talented young professional in his mid-thirties who holds a managerial position in a corporate. One challenging aspect of his job is that his team members, older than ...

"I like doing my job, but I hate politics. Almost everyone says that they hate politics. If no one likes it, then who creates it in the first place"? My ...

Carol, a Vice President at a communication company, wanted to up her leadership presence. But she didn't know how to create that learning space as she felt overwhelmed by her ...

Myriam is a product manager at a multinational company whose job is to understand current industry trends, anticipate customer needs, design product road maps, and get buy-in from upper management ...

The other day, I had a conversation with a woman grappling with her career satisfaction. Despite her impressive credentials, which included a Ph.D. and valuable job experiences, she was not ...

During the early days of my coaching career, when I said, "I am a coach," my facial expression didn't match it. The truth was, I didn't feel confident about my ...

A recent Harvard Business Review article said, "The benefits of small-group coaching come from powerful learning interactions among leaders who aren't on the same team but are roughly equal in ...

Vlad (not his real name), a seasoned tech leader, received feedback that some team members found him intimidating - hindering them from seeking his guidance. His management urged him to ...

The current economic crisis and the layoffs by major companies created anxiety among workers, even those who have not been directly affected. Unsurprisingly, Microsoft's HR Chief wrote about a global ...

Stuart, a mid-level leader at a corporate, came to me as he wanted to be more approachable. "I am very direct, but people take it negatively." I want to influence ...

[I originally wrote this after the Oscars last year (March 2022).] Since the Oscars, my newsfeed has been flooded with the news and commentary about Will Smith slapping Chris Rock ...

Simone Biles, Jacinda Ardern, and Naomi Osaka share a common trait - they all made a courageous decision to quit, to say "no" despite the societal pressure to keep pushing ...

Giving feedback is a regular part of a manager's job responsibility, but most are uncomfortable. David Rock and his colleagues from the NeuroLeadership Institute wrote in this article, “Typical feedback ...

I recently had a coaching session with a tech leader who expressed a strong desire to enhance his approachability. While he was committed to delivering high-quality products, he was aware ...

My January was quite busy with returning from vacation (an international trip) and giving back-to-back corporate workshops. So the schedule was a bit tight, but the process of designing and ...

It's the season. Despite the job losses, economic downturns, and everything else, holidays are in the air. This season reminds us to connect with what is important that we often ...

Recently, a friend and I talked about something she was anxious about. Ultimately, she felt much more relaxed and confident and said, "Thank you, Sharmin, you are so good." I ...

Earlier this month, a fellow leadership coach, Nina Simonds invited me to her podcast, Let's Get Real. Nina started this series in 2020 because, as she wrote, "I love having ...

A senior leader at a big tech, Tim, spent a week at a meditation retreat. When I asked how he was applying it, he said he didn’t have time. As ...

Stephan was a VP of a Fortune 200 company. He was one of the top performers and indispensable for high stake projects. As a result, he was stretched thin; and ...

Are you feeling stuck in your job? Are you having a lack of motivation? Are you feeling like quiet quitting? It must be hard to carry on like that. On ...

Have you ever heard of extroverts having to develop to become quieter? Probably not too often. But if you are an introvert, there are tons of feedback for you to ...

A couple of years ago, I ran a survey among tech professionals, and it came out that "Managing up/Self-promotion" was the top concern. I was not too surprised. Talking about ourselves seems opposite ...

The other day I talked to an engineer from a big brand-name company. I asked her what is that she liked most about her job. She said when she knows ...

In corporate, coaching means helping someone do their job by giving them advice. Some examples are "have you considered XYZ?" and "If I were you, I would do it this ...

"Success consists of going from failure to failure without loss of enthusiasm." Author and Harvard professor Sarah Lewis mentioned this famous Churchill quote in her book The Rise: Creativity, the ...

Even five years ago, calling into a meeting was not very encouraged. But this Covid19 pandemic suddenly turned the culture upside down. Nowadays, organizations are having difficulty bringing people back ...

On my way to walk this morning, I saw my neighbor Katherine in her signature pink sweatshirt. Both of us were glad to have company for the walk. The weather ...

Recently this post by an organizational psychologist at Wharton, Adam Grant, went viral on LinkedIn. He said: The clearest sign of intellectual chemistry isn't agreeing with someone. It's enjoying your ...

Result and efficiency-driven high-performing individuals often have a blindspot when relating to others. It can create unintended harm to team morale and trust. Others tolerate such "jerk" behavior as subject ...

As we grow in leadership roles, having a vision and communicating that to our teams becomes essential. Senior leaders often bring it to me as their challenge. Even though they ...