Late last summer, I received one of the most lovely emails I've ever gotten—and it was from someone I didn't even know. Jessica didn't expect a reply. But she wrote so wholeheartedly that I knew I needed to meet her. Now, I'm so proud and excited to introduce you to her as the newest member of the Penney Leadership team. That's right—Penney Leadership is shifting from a "me" to a "we"—a coaching practice with two Certified Professional Coaches.

A few weeks ago, I submitted an audition video for a TEDx event.

Speaking at TEDx has been calling to me for a few years now. The idea of getting the opportunity (and the public speaking coaching) to share a powerful, resonant idea with a room full of people sounds scary to me in a good way—the kind of scary that calls me into a greater version of myself.

In the end, I didn't get it…and here’s what that made me realize.

What's your unique leadership style?

There are hundreds of (often expensive) assessments available to “discover” your leadership style. But my approach is built on the belief that YOU are the expert on you.

I believe that taking the time to capture how you uniquely show up as a leader should be a generative process.

I've got Leadership on the mind this President's Day.

The presidency is, in some ways, the ultimate leadership position.

I heard somewhere that there is an equation for confidence:

Confidence = Time + Experience

Like Whyte's piece of paper metaphor, there is no shortcut or blast to get there—instead, it's about steadily building the work, one piece of paper at a time, until one day you look and it's a solid stack with heft and weight.
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I can point to it now and say: I've built a track record with my audience, but I've also built a track record with myself.
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Here's what I've realized about professional confidence:
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​1) There is an element missing from the equation.
​I propose a change:

Confidence = (Time + Experience) + Permission

Today I'm spilling on why I'm obsessed with Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos.

A lot of it boils down to this: I was inspired by her at first, but once she fell from grace, I realized there was a lot to learn from her and similar "unicorn leaders" like Adam Neumann of WeWork.

I believe there is an important lesson to be learned about visionary leadership here:

Visionary leaders invite us into a picture of possibility—what the future could be if we work together to make it real. Visionary leadership is literally about something that doesn't yet exist. It's essential to any cause worth fighting for—a sense of what we're moving towards that is inspirational and motivating.

So where is the line between welcoming others into a vision for the future and outright fraud?

As we reflect on Dr. King's legacy today, I'm thinking about his role as a visionary leader.

It reminds me of a simple but powerful concept called Creative Tension, which was formed by Peter Senge, a professor of organizational learning at MIT's Sloan School of Management.

2021 by the numbers.

A client recently scheduled a session to strategize on how they can develop their skills at work.

At the beginning of the conversation, they were thinking small—constrained by working within the limited funds available for professional development at their organization.

Unfortunately, a lot of organizations offer limited (if any) financial support for professional development. But don't let that be the deciding factor on how or if you grow.

There are more resources and opportunities for professional development than ever before.

Get in the driver's seat of your own professional growth by exploring these creative ways to develop your skills (many of which cost $0)…

One of my clients anonymously shares her quitting journey, including five key takeaways that can guide your next job transition…

Often, when we quit a job or have a big change in our lives, we are told to “take good care of ourselves.” But what does that look like? I reached out to my friend, Shannon of Harmony on Hope Massage, and resident self-care expert, her thoughts. What I received completely changed the way I think about self-care.

Exiting a job gracefully can be one of the hardest parts of any job transition. Here, Serena Manna dives into how she handled the guilt associated with leaving, strengthened the connections she was worried about losing, and actually improved her sense of self in the process.

In this edition of #CareerDiaries, we'll hear from a 30 year-old nonprofit professional who, after seven years with her organization, is talking herself through the roller-coaster of putting in her notice and launching her own business.

Wondering how to know if it’s time to move on from your current position?

Here’s a guide to deciphering that feeling in your gut: The Scale of Loathing from Pamela Slim…

The Great Resignation: that's what they're calling this time, when 30-40% of the workforce is expected to leave their current positions.

I’ve heard from so many of you who are asking yourselves: Should I stay or should I go? (And if I do go, how do I face those unknowns?)

To help you navigate these career moves, I'm planning a full week of tips, resources, and tools for making a job transition—it’s called Quit Week. (In my head, it has all the hype of Shark Week plus the practicality of a how-to handbook.)

One thing that all of my career coaching clients have in common: Whirlwind minds.

Everyday, they're playing a game of mental ping-pong, trying to figure out what the heck they want, how or if they can make it happen, and whether they deserve it.

One day, a possibility sounds promising. The next, they're...not so sure.

Navigating career questions is confusing and lonely. You can't be open with everyone around you about your dreams, doubts, and desires.

When you do share your dreams with others, you get advice and guidance that is often well-meaning but misguided.

Even within your own mind, it's a constant dialogue of tamping down the self-doubt.

It can make you feel like you're out of your mind…

One of my clients is in the process of earning her graduate degree in organizational leadership and learning.

She’s taking a course this summer on leadership development, and she shared with me that the course materials included a list of 45 must-have core skills for leaders. She wondered about my take on the topic.

My eyes bugged out of my head for a second.

I definitely have a take: 45 core skills for leaders is an impossible standard. It sets all leaders up for failure. It’s unwieldy and overwhelming. And it puts leadership in a place where it will always be just out of reach.

My own leadership philosophy took a while to crystallize, but it's quite simple…

In a job interview, they ask you to "Tell us about a time when..."

Instead of rambling or worrying that you've given too much or too little detail, use this simple framework to structure your answer: the STAR method.

S – Situation. What was the challenge or situation you were in?

T – Task. What was your responsibility in the situation?

A – Action. What steps did you take to address it?

R— Result. What was the outcome that your actions achieved?

Read more about the STAR Method, including examples of what it looks like in action over at The Muse.

this time, when 30-40% of the workforce is expected to leave their current positions.

After my last essay about burning out from my nonprofit position, I heard from so many of you that the story resonated.

And right now, so many of my clients are asking themselves: Should I stay or should I go? (And if I do go, how do I face those unknowns?)

These conversations are bringing me back to a book that I read around the time I was thinking of leaving—David Whyte's Crossing the Unknown Sea: Work as a Pilgrimage of Identity.

There was this one idea from one chapter that felt like it was written just for me.

I felt called out and called forward at the same time.

I think that it might do the same for you:

Four years ago, I quit my job as the associate director of a statewide nonprofit to work at the front desk of a massage therapy studio. It made no sense. You won't see it on my resume. But it's the most meaningful career move I've made. Here’s why.