Karen’s Articles
Zoomed Out!
At the beginning of the pandemic I wrote an article about leading virtually. There are lots of tips about setting up your home office, finding a suitable backdrop and keeping a routine. What I did not address is video conferencing fatigue. Few of us imagined in...
To Tell or Not to Tell?
Recently a manager revealed a hiring experience to me. She was interviewing candidates for a new position, and the job description for the position didn’t list the salary range. The rationale was, “We don’t want to miss out on hiring someone good.” That said, the...
Thankfully the New Employee Isn’t Drinking Your Espresso
Can you imagine coming home from the gym one day and there sitting at your regular spot at the kitchen table is someone you don’t even know enjoying an espresso, having just ground your best beans to make it? Only later do you find out that your roommate had...
Beach or Office, That is the Question
While there hasn't been much that was great about Covid, there were some silver linings. One silver lining is that some employees and some companies discovered that work could be done in places other than a brick and mortar building. Clearly, there are many...
You Don’t Need to Be a Man to Mansplain
Last week I was asked to review a report with Simon, a senior leader in an organization where I consult. I have met with Simon before and I appreciate his thoroughness, his concern for the organization, and his analytical brain. Simon and I started out the video...
The Nine-to-One Ratio
One of the managers with whom I work regularly, Steve, reminds me that he does compliment his employees. He does! It’s true and I hear him. The problem is, when he does compliment them, his employees are so downtrodden that they barely hear him. They are so...
A Corporate Moment of Silence
Last week, victims were shot and killed in Atlanta, Georgia. This week, more innocent victims were killed in a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado. The perpetrator in Atlanta identified sex addiction as a factor in his crime. Some believe that the incident was a...
Diversity and Inclusion Isn’t a Thunderstorm
Instead, think of it more as a weather system that stays forever. I attended an excellent Diversity and Inclusion certificate program last week, and one of the participants asked, “What can we do to create an inclusive culture?” I loved the facilitator's answer,...
Hello, My Name is Karen
Hello! My name is Karen. If you had asked me 10 years ago if I would be apologizing for my name, I would have said,“...What?” When my parents, mostly my mother, named me Karen, it was after my grandmother Karoline. It was a very popular name at the time, and in...
Sign up for Karen’s Newsletter
You will also get notified when Karen releases new content like articles, and more!