Melissa’s Memos
Position Yourself for Promotion
Senior leaders ask me all the time how to position themselves for a promotion. Most of the advice they’ve been given is the wrong advice. It’s:• Make your accomplishments visible.• Build relationships across the org.• Take on stretch assignments. All true. None of it tells them what actually determines whether they get promoted. Here’s what…
Read MoreKeep Going
Don’t give up too soon! She called me on a Wednesday morning. Said she was going to take a contract role she didn’t want, in an industry she wasn’t excited about, because she couldn’t take being in transition anymore. Eight months of searching. Two final-round rejections in the last six weeks. Her savings runway getting…
Read MorePatterns in the Senior Hiring Market
Three patterns I’m watching in the senior hiring market right now that nobody is talking about: 1. The “interview to offer” timeline has stretched. Six months ago, my clients were averaging eight to ten weeks from first interview to offer. Right now it’s closer to 3-4 months. Not because hiring managers are slower but because…
Read MoreCurrent Leadership Strategies
Most leadership advice you read is written for a room you’re not in. It’s written for the leader of a 12-person team in a stable company with a clear strategy and a healthy budget. The advice is: empower your people. Give them autonomy. Trust them with hard problems. Great. Sound. Useful for that room. If…
Read MoreSeasons
A senior leader said something to me this week that I want to give you in case you need it. She’s been in transition for five months. She’s good. She’ll land. But the search has been hard. She said, “I keep trying to find the lesson in this, and I think the lesson is just…
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