
Is “Authenticity” Backfiring On You? Here Is Why
Theresa, a senior developer in a tech firm, said that their management encouraged them to be authentic. It prompted her to be passionately sharing some of her opinions. There was ...
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Feeling Stuck and Unmotivated? Invest in Your Emotional Vitality First
Feeling stuck and unmotivated in your job? Not getting enough recognition or the upward mobility you deserve? Getting feedback that you are not doing enough? A software engineer in the ...
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Applying Software Engineering Concepts in Professional Growth
Last week, I talked to a client who has a Ph.D. in Computer Science and works on a cutting-edge research project for one of the topmost tech companies. He has ...
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A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution
Conflict is a common issue my clients face in their workplace. I found this talk, A Zen Approach to Conflict Resolution by Diane Musho Hamilton, insightful to manage such situations. ...
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Brainstorming? Focus On 10% Right
As engineers and tech professionals, we are rewarded for our analytical skills in finding code defects and design issues early on. Often we keep on applying this same trait with ...
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Want To Be Productive? Start With Doing Nothing (Guest post)
"I am busy all day, trying to complete my to-do list before calling it a day. Yet, some things always remain undone, and, worse still, new things pop up. I ...
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Reactivity To Thoughtfulness – A Corporate Leader’s Journey
"He doesn’t work well with others.” “He has issues dealing with bad news.” “He is a star performer, but he is lacking executive presence.” These are some of the typical ...
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“Why Does It Bother Me?” Why We React So Much By Other’s Opinions
It was the Spring of 2011, I was volunteering as a treasurer for a non-profit organization. My motivation was to hone my accounting skills while expanding my network. It was going ...
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What Gets in the Way of Guilt Free Self-Care?
“Finish your homework before you play “ - Our parents’ well-meaning advice worked well in our early days, but as adults, it is backfiring. These days, most of our work ...
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The Myth of Multitasking
Too many times, I hear that you can’t survive without multitasking. Checking emails during a meeting, responding to a door knock while trying to focus on your work seems to ...
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The Story Behind “Q&A With Sharmin” Series
I was answering the audience questions during a recent speaking engagement when the host said, "pay attention, Sharmin is coaching.” Even though I was pleasantly surprised that he saw it ...
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Struggling with Time Management? Look into the Root Causes
Time management is one of the topmost challenges for almost every functional human being. When my clients come with this question, I tell them that time is a fixed resource ...
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Managing up/Self-promotion : What To Do About It
In my recent survey, an amazing 79% of people said that Managing-up/Self-promotion is the most challenging aspect of their work. I didn't expect it at all! I then started thinking about it ...
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Know your Strengths, Capitalize on Them
Too often, we send employees to training to fix the areas of weaknesses. We expect people to be well-rounded to be successful. The fact is, excellent performers, are rarely “well rounded”; ...
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Use Emotions As Your Ally
Do anxiety, outrage, frustration, or sadness often grip you? Do they get in the way in high stake situations? Do you wonder why you are not getting what you want? ...
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Courage From Within – Conviction And Trust Can Help
Growing up, I didn’t think I was very courageous. One day I saw this quote saying: Courage is not the absence of fear. It is acting despite -- because something ...
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Time Is Fixed But Energy Is Not
“There’s not enough time.” “Time is running out.” “I wish I had more time.” These are some complaints we hear frequently. High-performing, high-achieving professionals often ask for time-management strategies. After ...
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What A Car Can Teach Us About A Successful Career
I was talking to Andrea, a leader in a big corporate here in the Seattle area. Brilliant and hardworking she was; her resume spoke for itself. As a senior director ...
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Beat Your Zoom Fatigue With These Three Tips
A few weeks ago, I had a headache almost every time I was in a Zoom video call. This phenomenon has become a common issue these days as so many ...
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My DYI Project – A Video Introduction
Last year, when everything went virtual, I had to create videos for a couple of online events. It allowed me to hone my video shooting and editing skills. Recently, we ...
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Job Searching for a Career Path Change? Act Like a Farmer
A job change is usually a daunting task. It becomes even more challenging when it involves a discipline, industry, or a role change. People often see it as continuously submitting ...
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What life stage are you in – Survival, Success or Significance?
I have been feeling highly spirited all day watching US Presidential inauguration ceremony. This topic I found from Pastor Rick Warren on the Oprah show seemed appropriate for this week's post ...
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Having A Hard Time Getting Your Voice Heard In Meetings?
Tim is an engineering leader at a hi-tech company in Seattle. He is very good at his trade, has a profound understanding of the technology stack, and has decent ideas ...
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Challenge Responding To Senior Leaders During Meetings? Quality Listening Is Key
Two Leaders, Similar Challenge Tory, a senior director was in charge of a critical customer-facing component of the business. During big meetings, he had to answer the senior leaders about ...
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Why New Year’s Resolutions Fail and How to Make it Work
Almost half of the Americans make New Year’s resolutions, but fewer than 10% successfully achieve them(source)! The most popular resolutions are staying fit, work-life balance, and personal enrichment. All these ...
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What Intrinsically Motivates Us (Hint: It’s not money)
David, a tech leader and a father of two, was in a big dilemma about a job offer. The money was higher than what he was making in his current ...
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How is Your Emotional Tire Pressure?
“I am just busy,” “I could use a nap,” “I am so tired.” Does any of these sound familiar to you? If yes, you belong to a very large group ...
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Empower Your Teams With 4 Coaching Questions
Six-skills are in demand in the post-pandemic workplaces, said Gwen Moran in her fast company article. Five of those six, self-direction, adaptability, empathy, communication skills, and motivational skills can be cultivated ...
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Cultivate Resilience For Challenging Times : 3C Model
Today (Nov 4, 2020), Americans are anxiously watching TV, browsing news sites and social media feeds, following the result of this historic election. A few days ago, The American Psychology ...
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The Fuel of a Good Goal Is a Compelling Vision: 4 Ways to Craft
All of us are familiar with setting goals and achieving them. Goals are our vehicle to success. But often, we have a hard time making headways in our goals. The ...
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Are Disagreements Hard For You? EQ Analysis Can Help
A very passionate, competent, and committed gentleman, Nathan was a Product leader at a medium-size cutting edge tech company. Disagreements, differences in opinions, were a regular part of his job, ...
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Overcome Setbacks Using 3A’s : Acknowledge, Analyze and Act
Theresa has been feeling very down the last few days. Her manager informed her that she didn’t get the promotion this time. He was quite compassionate while giving her the ...
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Reconnect With Self – A Leadership Lesson from CBS’s Madam Secretary
In an episode of CBS's Madam Secretary (Meaning of Life, May 13th, 2018), there is a side story where Russell Jackson was prescribed by his doctor to find a relaxing activity ...
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Are You a Mom, Thinking of Going Back to Work?
Rebecca was a 39-year-old woman and a mother of two (8 and 10). She had a college degree and a 10-year of corporate experience. Rebecca was happily married to her husband ...
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What Makes Seahawks’ Pete Carroll A Great Leader
The Seahawks began the 2020 season with a good all-around showing in a 38-25 win over the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday (source). Amid the Covid-19 pandemic and the more recent ...
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A Happiness Model For the Graph Lovers
Have you ever wondered if there is a mathematical representation of Happiness? The answer is Yes! Tal Ben-Shahar, a renowned researcher in positive psychology and a popular lecturer at Harvard, ...
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Why Hire a Coach When There Are So Many Books, Podcasts?
It will be almost impossible to find someone who hasn't read a self-help book, listened to a podcast, watched a TED talk, or any other YouTube videos that tell you ...
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Stressed About a Situation? Either-Or Thinking Could Be The Cause
Case Study 1 Helen, a mid-level leader, was frustrated with her boss. He told her one thing, but his behavior during meetings was saying something else. She was confused, and ...
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My Interview with The International Voice
A few weeks back, Japnit Sethi from The International Voice, reached out to me to be a guest in his new show on YouTube. Japnit, a Computer Science graduate student ...
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Curb Your Anxieties Using This 3C Model – How to make good choices during the home quarantine time
We are living through an episode of world history. The way we know life has come to a halt. The leaders, scientists, the medical community, and all the essential service ...
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