Category: Management

Communication ·

Onboarding vs.Waterboarding: How Not to Drown at the Outset

‘Onboarding? More like waterboarding,’ said a friend when I asked if his new company was onboarding him at all. I later met up with someone else who said the new company’s onboarding strategy was to go around the office and introduce the COO, CMO, CIO (who essentially said ‘don’t bother me if you have questions,…

Management ·

Don’t Ignore Me

I was coaching an AsiaPac President whose company had been bought by a larger organisation. He’d negotiated his exit and was weighing options. Over dinner, he showed me a spreadsheet he’d made with five options, and we went through each scenario. One option was with a large MNC. He’d been in an off-on dialogue for…

Communication ·

Cross-cultural tête-à-tête over noodles

I recently had lunch with a Hong Kong Chinese friend, a seasoned executive who’s worked in MNC’s for a number of years, we caught up on a new job he’d recently taken. He’s settled into the role well enough, and I asked how he and his new [Western] boss get along. He said it was…

Communication ·

Ill Repute

A lunch conversation the other week, and we turned our talk to a mutual friend. My lunch partner (who does not work with him, but partners with others in the company) had recently spoken with him about his challenges inside the organisation. “I told him-very indirectly-that his boss has been asking around about him. Nothing…

Communication ·

Tell Me You Love Me–A Tale of Talent Loss and Retention

I recently spoke with a friend, a very accomplished professional in her field, working for a well-known MNC. She’d considered leaving them for another company (not a competitor), and they had just increased her overall package, so she was staying put. I asked her what had happened. She told me that she really enjoyed the…

Communication ·

How some companies interview badly; 5 suggestions to raise the bar

I once had a corporate client with bad interviewing habits. It wasn’t just one person; the slowness to hire seemed to be part of their culture, a rather sclerotic interviewing process. The visible damage was often good candidates, initially interested in joining but lost interest after a few months, and later spoke disparagingly about them,…

Communication ·

Tell Me What You Think, Seriously…

Early in my career, I had an interview with the MD of a competitor. It was scheduled for late afternoon in their office, and the earlier part of the day had been awful. I’d misplaced my wallet and phone in the gym during lunch, and spent unneeded energy looking for them, panicking about not being…

Hints & Tips ·

Win the Boss Over–5 Points

I recently had coffee with a friend, reminiscing about his previous company and one of the co-CEO’s there who has since moved on. “Smart guy,” my friend said, “although we never got along very well.” “Why?” “You were either with him or against him, not a lot of grey. I wasn’t part of his inner…

Communication ·

The authentic voice when interviewing

The authentic voice. Companies want to hear it from candidates when interviewing, and candidates always need to think about finding their cadence in an interview. But what does an “authentic voice” really mean within in a corporate setting, whether interviewing or maneuvering through the organisation? Authenticity often radiates from comfort–borne by repetition; confidence in knowing…

Communication ·

I’m Outta Here

I recently wrote this sentence in one of my blogs: “Companies talk about their own unique war on talent, how they are best suited to attract the best there is, and spare no effort to do so.“ A friend of mine, a highly regarded specialist in her field outside her company, sent me her comments…

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