AAron Jones is the paralegal/office manager/accounting guru for a private defense attorney in West Berkeley. For a long time I thought he was our neighbor because we saw him so often, but then one day I realized that his office is on our block and he’s there so often because he works really, really hard.…
Plucky turned 3 years old this month! To celebrate, I’ll be publishing 3 interviews with workers in very different industries. I like thinking about overlap across jobs, the way we approach our work, our challenges and our high points. Crossing the border to talk about other industries is a great way to reflect on our…
I had a baby in July and in the last weeks of being pregnant I used to hear this song on the radio all the time. It’s called You’ll Be Okay by a band called A Great Big World. Since I spent many hours each week this spring coaching leaders and to-be-leaders, I thought about…
I am starting to seriously doubt my future with the company I currently work for. How do you know it’s time to leave? If it’s not time to leave, how do you make staying seem like a better option? Boy, this is a popular question. I want to start by saying that work and life…
Reflections on Year 2 of coaching, consulting and empowering humans in the workplace Recently I had a long conversation with my Dad about how religious institutions and other community-based groups are hurting these days. He asked me where people find what they used to get out of church or scouts or local communities. I suggested…
Dear Plucky, I’ve been waiting for a promotion for a long time and keep getting passed up, but my manager says I’m doing great. Should I just ask directly for the promotion? Is this seen as too self-centered? Thank you, Stuck but Ambitious ———– Heya Stuck, I’m picturing you in a holding pattern, like planes…
Dear Plucky, What’s a good approach to doing performance reviews at a very small company? There is a sense among all of us that we want performance reviews, because we want to improve. But also that it’s awkward at best and dangerous at worst. Dangerous, meaning, changing the nature of a friendship or uncovering something…
Dear Plucky, I’m managing a new team, and they’re not exactly getting along well. We’ve had some tense meetings lately with lots of passive aggressive remarks. How can I help them trust each other and communicate better together? They’re all pretty different and don’t have a lot in common. I’m worried that we won’t be successful…
At an industry conference two weeks ago I told a few colleagues that I never would have started my business if I hadn’t gone through postpartum depression. It’s true. The work I did to get myself out of depression fundamentally changed how I viewed myself, my purpose and my potential on the planet. Have you…
Reflections on my first year consulting, coaching and helping people find their way. I never thought of myself as someone who would start and run her own business. I’m a good student; I wait for the bar to get set by someone else and then I throw every ounce of energy I have into leaping…
My husband and I recently took a two night trip to Lake Tahoe, leaving our toddler home with my parents. I was doubtful that two nights would really feel like a getaway, but it was the best we could organize and in the end, we both felt closer and refreshed – some kind of Lake…
A few weeks ago I took a 3 mile hike alone on a trail in the middle of Tilden Park in Berkeley. You can see by the photo above that we’re in a pretty severe drought in California these days; instead of lots of greenery, much of the surrounding scenery was a dull yellow. I…