Melissa’s Memos
Why ‘I Don’t Know Yet’ Builds More Trust Than a Confident Wrong Answer
There’s a version of executive presence that almost nobody on LinkedIn talks about. It isn’t posture. It isn’t voice. It isn’t the way you take up space in the room. It’s how you handle being uncertain in public. The senior leaders I’ve watched build the most durable authority are the ones who’ve gotten comfortable saying…
Read More5 Signs It’s Time to Leave Your Job (Not Just Normal Friction)
One of the most common questions I get from senior leaders is some version of: “How do I know when it’s actually time to leave?” They’ve been restless for a while. They keep talking themselves out of moving. They wonder whether the discomfort is real signal or just the inevitable friction of any job. They…
Read MoreHow Do I Know If Coaching Is Right for Me?
I get one question more than any other in my DMs. It goes some version of: “I’ve been reading your posts for months. I’m thinking about reaching out about coaching. But I don’t know if I’m the right person, or if my situation is the right situation. How do I know?” Here’s my honest answer.…
Read MoreThe Leadership Skill That Gets Harder, Not Easier, With Seniority
There’s a leadership skill that gets harder, not easier, the more senior you become. Almost no one warns you about it. It’s not in the leadership books. It doesn’t show up in the 360 reviews. But in 20+ years of watching senior careers play out, I’ve come to believe it’s the single most important difference…
Read MoreYou Don’t Have a Network. You Have a List of Contacts.
Senior leaders tell me all the time that they have a strong network. Then they start a job search and discover they don’t. What they have is a list of contacts. That’s not the same thing. In 20+ years on the hiring side, here’s the difference I’ve watched play out: A list of contacts is…
Read More