Soft Skills - Ask a Wharton MBA
Develop Soft Skills – Work Smart & Live More
I’ve cried three times a week this past month — and not because I was sad. The tears came from something deeper: the painful realization of how brutal my inner critic has been for years. Not a gentle voice encouraging growth, but a harsh one constantly telling me I am behind, lacking, or still not enough. ...
Of all the five types of wealth, Financial Wealth was the one I avoided writing about the longest. At first, I told myself it was because I didn’t want to sound braggy. Who wants to hear someone talk about financial wealth when so many people are still working hard to build it? But the truth is, I also hesitated because I’m not sure I understand this one as well as I thought I did. ...
What should a manager do when they believe an employee’s performance rating was unfair? This leadership dilemma happens more often than people admit, and how a manager responds can either build trust or quietly weaken their leadership.
“Honestly, I think it was unfair to him.”
That’s how a manager I’ll call Roger started a coaching conversation with me recently. ...
I didn’t expect this.
For 30 years, my life had structure — goals, promotions, deadlines, problems to solve, and a ladder to climb. Even when it was stressful, it was familiar. I knew who I was in that world. Then I stepped away.
Financially, we’re okay. We’ve been frugal. We’ve diversified. Even with market downturns, I’m not lying awake worried about money. And yet… I’m lying awake. At 5:00 a.m., grinding my teeth for the first time in ten years, my body burning like a furnace (thank you, perimenopause), covers on, covers off, sometimes moving to the leather couch just to cool down. ...
For 15+ years, I’ve been writing this blog and coaching people in my free time. I genuinely believed I knew quite a bit about coaching. After all, I had 30 years of executive experience. I had navigated high-stakes corporate environments. I had mentored dozens of professionals. I had given advice that people told me changed their lives. ...
As I step into 2026, I find myself in a season of transition — one that feels unfamiliar, a little disorienting, and surprisingly freeing.
I’m leaving full-time work and entering what I like to call my rewirement phase. It’s not quite retirement, not exactly a second act with a clearly defined script. I don’t yet know what my goals will be for the next five years. And for the first time in a long time, I’m learning to be okay with that. ...
Happy New Year.
I’m sorry I haven’t written for a while.
The last month caught me off guard when a relationship I value deeply became unexpectedly tense—not from anything dramatic, but from a handful of misunderstandings that slowly added up. It wasn’t the kind of conflict with a clear beginning or obvious fault. It was murkier than that, and harder to name. ...