Stir-crazy during the wintry months of the pandemic, I found myself gobbling up two or three episodes of the old Mary Tyler Moore Show every night. When the series originally ran in the 1970s, I was too wrapped up in my own teenage travails to really care. The lead character, Mary Richards, was a “career girl” in her thirties. She belonged to my older sister’s generation, with her perfectly styled hair and matchy-matchy coordinates, her perky smile and good-girl politeness. …

It’s one thing to have a plan for what you’re going to do when your organization’s office reopens. It’s another thing to have a plan that gets all your colleagues on the same page.

That difference is what drives the questions I hear over and over as I speak with employers, industry associations and journalists about the transition to the hybrid workplace.

For the past sixteen months, many professionals have experienced a common reality in which everyone else on their team, organization and industry is full-time remote. …

Companies and boardrooms across America are replete with white people, often white men, terrified of losing their seat at the table to a Black person or a gender minority. I’ve witnessed countless confessions affirming this notion in my work as a justice, equity, diversity and inclusion (JEDI) leader. A recent series of decisions by ESPN left a couple of reporters exposed when a hot mic and recorded video captured white fear of reparations for all to see.

Reparations come in many forms. My favorites include baby bonds, free education, jubilee, and community reinvestment. When people think of reparations, they jump…

“Remember that time Jane got pissed because your relative had cancer?” Jane was a former boss (not her real name), but the cancer was real. An old coworker reminded me of this recently, and as much as I attempted to wipe that experience from my memory, it floods back to me regularly.

I’ve had some transformative, wonderful bosses over the past 20 years, and I’ve also had the opposite. Jane was the opposite, and the experience was notable, and a nod to the struggles that might lay ahead as the workforce considers going hybrid.

Organizational Culture Can Be Attractive

A big part of my interest…

Now that employers are (cautiously) rolling out their reopening plans, professionals are deciding whether or not they want to continue working from home — as well as how to negotiate these arrangements.

The Great Resignation is in full swing, with 4 million Americans quitting their jobs in April 2021 alone. A survey from Monster.com conducted last month found that an astonishing 95% of workers are considering changing jobs. …

Research shows that 41% of the global workforce is likely to consider leaving their current employer within the next year, with 46% planning to make a major pivot or career transition. What can you do to keep your team and your talent?

Here are 3 tips to ensure you keep your talent on your side.

Tip #1 — Communicate Your Future Plans

First and foremost, communicate your plans — and soon! Most executives seem to be holding off on announcing sweeping plans and detailed timelines to bring people back. …

Earlier into my career, it was easy for me to buy into the labels. I was either an “entrepreneur,” or I was an “employee.” The reality of the situation was more amorphous. For example, while I ran my own business and had a team staffed with self-employed and part-time colleagues, I actually worked with clients in all sorts of different ways.

For one, I would go into their office two days a week and work as a fractional marketing lead. For others, I would work remotely as a consultant, or an editorial director with my own writing team or as…

The approach to work has permanently shifted because of COVID-19. Almost 40% of executives expect their employees to work remotely at least twice a week after the pandemic, compared to just 22% of executives surveyed before COVID-19. Some companies plan to allow employees to work 100% remotely, while others will offer a hybrid approach.

While remote work has its benefits, it also comes with disadvantages. I have worked colocated and distributed teams throughout my career and have witnessed that remote workers often feel like second-class citizens. Research shows that those who worked remotely before the pandemic were not treated equally…