Leadership, “Reputation Matters” Forbes, April 4, 2016
When you’re not at the table, you’re on the menu, former Governor of Texas Ann Richards used to say. She may have been referring to politics, but this is equally true in the worlds of business, academia, and nonprofits.
The biggest decisions about your career are often made when you’re not in the room. Whether it’s a decision about if you’ll be hired, promoted, or fired; whether you are put forth by a headhunter to a selection committee and then asked to join a corporate board or become a university trustee; whether you make Managing Director or are passed over; are awarded tenure; or offered the CEO slot, your professional fate is often determined in closed rooms where people are talking about – and evaluating – you, without the benefit of your input. […read more]