Author: Sarah Hathorn


Faster Promotions Believe it or not, the biggest obstacle to success and faster promotions for most people is not fierce competitors or a tough economy. Granted, those are major factors. But the truth is that it’s oftentimes ourselves who are standing in the way of our own career progress.

I experienced it early in my career when I got passed over for my first gigantic promotion. Luckily I became aware of the issue, overcame it, and was able to go on to enjoy great success as a senior executive with a Fortune 100 company before launching my own successful entrepreneurial business.

For decades I’ve observed that the biggest roadblocks to success and the most commonly experienced pitfalls can be traced back to one’s on self-image or mindset.

  • That’s why I often share a 360-degree assessment tool with my clients when they are trying to figure out how to design and promote a brand or professional image. Most are pleasantly surprised to learn how differently they are perceived by trusted others like family members, friends, and colleagues when compared to how they critically assess themselves.
  • Usually they find out that others see them as a lot


3 Leadership Tips for Developing Top Talent The key to sustainable success in any business or as a high performance leader is to constantly fuel the talent pipeline. But the easiest, most cost effective way to gain more valuable human resources and maintain a roster of top talent is to develop your talent from within the organization.

Here are three tips to help you accomplish that:

1) Invest in the success of your people

Unless you spend some time and money to develop those on your team, they will either never reach their full potential or they will eventually leave for greener pastures. A much more economically viable strategy is to develop your talent with proactive initiatives. Keep in mind that many employees value an investment in career development as much as they do a financial raise.

2) Reward your high achievers

It is much cheaper to fuel the pipeline from within, and investing in your own people generates loyalty and high morale while it simultaneously attracts the most qualified and talented new hires. That combats the expense and disruption caused by high rates of attrition, so investing in your


Executive Coaches According to Fast Company Magazine, more than 40 percent of CEOs polled in a recent survey have worked with an executive coach. Among senior executives who report directly to CEOs the number was nearly twice that many. Ninety percent of all executives surveyed for the report who have used a coach also said they plan to continue doing so, and a large majority of companies surveyed are increasing their hiring of executive coaches.

Proactive Leadership Development

The higher numbers among aspiring CEOs taking advantage of coaching and mentoring may reflect the fact that those in line for the C-suite on succession planning lists recognize the need for accelerated leadership development. Expert one-on-one coaching can give them the skills and executive presence needed to successfully compete for coveted positions.

Coaching can also serve as a proactive preparation or training platform for top level positions. Why suffer the career stress and risk of attempting to learn what you need to know while already on the job? A competent executive mentor can have you fully equipped and confident to accept greater responsibility even before you apply for your promotion.

Getting the Most from an Executive Coach

But not all coaches are

  I hear many doomsday declarations about how promotion is impossible in today’s economy. But that’s not actually true because I see people, including many of my own clients, getting some great promotions. I use the algebra of attitude plus latitude equals magnitude as a simple success...