THE CAREER CATAPULT

Can you think of a single company that isn't undergoing massive restructuring right now? Changes in executive leadership, Significant amounts of new team members joining the organization, Divestitures, and Business Unit realignment, etc. And yet, if you think deeply about your career journey so far... You may realize that this is par for the course. Change has always been inevitable. Why then do m...

When in doubt, go back to the simple things. In the last several days, I had coaching conversations with 4 different SVPs in 4 different companies. As we tackled some of their major business challenges, we uncovered some incredibly simple solutions that they had been neglecting. As we get older, and more seasoned, in our careers, we tend to ignore or overlook some simple practices that make such a...

Executive Presentations - most working professionals dread them.   The additional, often unpredicted workload that comes from... - Hours of research and data gathering from multiple team members - Creating and reviewing slide decks with 1000 slides and 30 different versions - Countless dry run - Not to mention the anxiety and nerves from actually delivering the presentation itself   Here's what I...

Check out this week's podcast on cultivating strength, discipline and resilience. 

Recently, one of the ladies inside our Catapult Executive Coaching Program was asked to take on more in her organization. She was stretched thin already. Unprecedented levels of attrition at a rapid pace. Compressed deadlines. More demands. She was furious. Why were they doing this to her? Why were they trying to take advantage of her? Why was she being punished for staying and being loyal? How di...

Recently, I was on a flight and found myself in a conversation with the passenger next to me.   Now generally, I don't love these airplane conversations as I tend to prefer solitude and stillness to inauthentic small talk while flying.   He asked me what I did and that led to a whole conversation on how young I appeared to have done so much in my career.   As the conversation began to dwindle, I p...

In this replay episode, I share with you my perspective on Impostor Syndrome as a Senior Leader. An article about Impostor Syndrome in the Harvard Business Review expressed that companies are responsible for causing and therefore, eliminating impostor syndrome in their employees. An interesting perspective. What exactly is impostor syndrome? Where does it come from? What to do about it? Who is res...

Join me for this powerful Replay Epsiode. A while ago, we decided to enroll our daughter in private swim lessons. We did the research, identified a couple of options, and made a final selection. After a couple of months, however, we began to notice a few things that were less than ideal for us. Last-minute cancellations, double booking, a general sense of confusion each time we showed up, among ot...

Have you ever wondered if the grass was greener in Entrepreneurship? Have you ever blamed your Corporate career for your level of dissatisfaction? Have you thought to yourself ... "If only I can leave my corporate job and start my business, I would make millions, call my own shots, work 10 hours and lay on the beach not needing to answer to anyone? This episode is for you. In this succinct episode...

Women Empowerment! A term you've no doubt heard. But what exactly does it mean? Like most cliche terms of its kind, it has long lost its meaning and has been relegated to IG memes and feel good posts. But no seriously... What does it mean to you? And who is responsible for it? And what does it look like in practice? In this episode, I share a conversation / survey with 15 executive leaders in whic...

At the age of 16, I left Nigeria to attend Bradley University, Peoria, IL.   One year before, this was a virtual impossibility as our family did not have the means to pay for four years of schooling in the US.   Through divine intervention and lots of hard work, we were able to piece together several scholarships to cover Year 1.   I remember the feeling of trepidation when every semester, I wonde...

You know what I've noticed? Sometimes when people see a woman accomplishing her career and life goals... they instantly assume she had nothing else going on. No challenges. No setbacks. But I have to tell you; the women closest to me achieve their goals in spite of some of the most difficult situations life brings. Here's the thing. No one ever promised that this would be smooth sailing. In fact,...

At some point in your career, you will need to make a very important shift. The shift from focusing on cultivating expertise to cultivating relationships with people. This means that somewhere on your calendar should dedicated time and focus to initiating, nurturing and leveraging relationships with people at multiple levels.   Often, we relegate relationship building to something we have an immed...

Episode 78: Are You Missing The Forest For The Trees?

Director.   A role in most organizations that signifies an increased level of leadership and responsibility.   Often comes with leading and managing seasoned Managers and experts.   And approximately $200K base salary; and in some industries even more.     Unfortunately, many talented team members never quite make in to that stage in their career before burning out.   Yes, there are fewer of these...

A few nights ago, like most nights, I was getting my daughter ready for bed time. Our routine includes: bath time, read a book, sing one song (her absolute favorite part), and then it's lights out So I said "ok time for your one song." To which she replied, "Twenty." (Bear in mind, she has just learned to count that high.) I said, "Twenty what?" She said, "I want twenty songs." I sat there, equal...

If you spent a single day in any business school or leadership development course, you likely learned at least 1 of the 50,000 models for evaluating strengths. Using one of these models, you probably identified a list of attributes at which you defined yourself as innately good. Your strengths. "I am naturally a people person." "I am really good at thinking big picture." "I am a great collaborator...

Being a leader can be hard.   - Ambitious targets - Market fluctuations - Attrition - Demanding CEOs - Peer competition and politics   Not to mention the personal side of life!   What happens when we reach our limit? And - Does it ever get easier?   Tune in now as we explore this and more.

I realized something recently.   There is one thing that has never been in short supply in our lifetimes. Statistics. Trends. Patterns. Throughout our career and lives, we continuously bombarded with these. X% of people were laid off during the pandemic. Y% of people are quitting their jobs in the Great Resignation. Women make Z% of what men make. Let me ask you...   What do you do with these? Do...

Most people do the exact same thing day after day, week after week. - Get up same time. - Get yourself and everyone ready for work / school. - Drive the exact same routes. - Maybe eat the same thing. - Attend the same work meetings and repeat the same discussions. And on and on. We are creatures of habit. Now, there isn't anything inherently wrong with this. Habits are after all necessary and effi...

What does it mean to be fulfilled by your career?   Fulfillment can be so hard to pinpoint, and so we tell ourselves, we'll know it when we feel it.   But will we? And how can we get more of it?   Listen now to today's podcast as I share my thoughts on fulfillment, in career and in life.

In this replay episode, we discuss the importance of being intentional about creating the corporate career you want. What's the difference between an expert and a leader? What does that mean for your career trajectory? And, How do you get clear on which track to focus on? Tune in to this episode to explore.

Happy New Year and welcome to 2022!! Over my vacation, I reflected about what I wanted to share with you in week 1 of the year. Here's what landed in my spirit. It's time to Stop. Stop the yearly cycle of setting New Year resolutions, only to completely ignore them by Feb because life got busy. Stop mentally beating yourself up because you may have already messed up on some of your "goals". Stop w...

If I asked you to sound off on your company's culture, what words would come to mind?   Over the years, so many women have described their company culture in less than flattering ways. To name a few... - Toxic - Cut throat - Slow - Set in their ways - Lack of focus on family / work life balance - Induces impostor syndrome - Not conducive for introverts   Listen in to this week's episode to learn w...

Have you been so focused on putting all your energy into your company's goals and your team's goals, that you've ignored your own? Neglecting your own personal and professional development can lead to frustration as we come to the end of the year. Career development will not just naturally happen as a result of you being excellent at your job at your current level. You need a development roadmap t...