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Where thriving cultures take root, practical insights on leadership, toxic workplaces, and work-life balance.

Jun 17, 2026

HR and Toxic Leadership: Understanding the Role, the Reality, and What You Can Do

HR is often talked about as ultimately protecting the company versus the employees. In reality, it is far more complex than that. In my two decades as an organizational psychologist, and through years of research on toxic leadership across North America, I’ve seen how misunderstood HR’s role can be, especially when toxic leadership is involved. People often assume HR is either the “fixer” or the “problem,” when in truth, HR is usually operating inside constraints most employees never see....

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Jun 17, 2026

HR and Toxic Leadership: Understanding the Role, the Reality, and What You Can Do

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May 19, 2026

Resilience Through Rejection: How to Keep Moving in a Tough Job Market

Lately, I’ve been speaking with the media quite a bit about how difficult this job market feels for many people. It’s competitive, unpredictable, and emotionally draining. You can prepare carefully, interview well, and still hear “no,” or, what is becoming increasingly more common: utter silence. That kind of rejection hurts. And when it happens repeatedly, it starts to wear down your confidence and motivation. Many people begin doubting their skills and replaying every interview,...

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Apr 27, 2026

I Wish I'd Quit Sooner: Three Months In — What I've Learned from my Valued Readers

It’s hard to believe that my book, I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Escaping a Toxic Boss, has now been out in the world for three months. When I first wrote this book, my goal was simple: to give people language for something many were experiencing but did not have the right language to name. I wanted readers to feel less alone, and more equipped to do something about one of the most damaging dynamics that exists in professional life. What I didn't fully...

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Mar 18, 2026

How to Stay Grounded When Work and the World Feel Unstable

The world around us is chaotic, and that chaos translates into uncertainty in our work and lives. Many of us are absorbing a constant stream of outrage, tragedy, and fear. We are processing scary news and heartbreaking wars—between meetings, deadlines, performance targets, and the next “breaking news” notification. It’s no wonder so many people feel worn down. The pressure is not just emotional; it is structural. Across the U.S., workplace stress has become the norm, with 79% of employees...

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Feb 17, 2026

Toxic Leadership and Women at Work: Why the Impact Is Not Equal

As we get closer to International Women’s Day, I feel compelled to share a less comfortable reality that continues to surface in my research and in my work with clients across North America: women are disproportionately impacted by toxic leadership at work. Let me be clear: toxic leadership is not gender-specific. Anyone can work for a toxic boss, and anyone can display toxic behavior. My research and experience points to the fact that a female leader is just as likely to be a toxic boss as a...

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Jan 19, 2026

My New Book, I Wish I’d Quit Sooner, Is Officially Out!

Over the past several years, one theme has surfaced repeatedly in my work as an organizational psychologist, coach, and speaker: people don’t leave jobs—they leave toxic bosses . And yet, so many professionals stay far longer than they should, convincing themselves that things will improve, that they’re being “too sensitive,” or that this is simply the cost of success. That’s why I wrote I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Escaping a Toxic Boss, which is out NOW...

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Dec 16, 2025

Liar, Liar, Pants on Fire! Working for a Dishonest Manipulator

In my years as an organizational psychologist and career coach, I’ve listened to countless stories about bosses who bend reality, shift blame, and create chaos through deception. The Dishonest Manipulator is one of the most insidious toxic boss types you’ll encounter in the workplace. Their tactics might not always be obvious at first, but the impact on your well-being and career can be profound. What Is a Dishonest Manipulator—and How Do You Recognize One? This toxic boss persona thrives...

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Nov 21, 2025

Recognizing and Protecting Yourself from a Narcissistic Boss

Toxic leaders don’t all look the same. Some command the room with charisma, and others quietly drain your confidence over time. Through my research and work with professionals navigating unhealthy workplaces, I’ve come to recognize eight distinct toxic boss types, and the Narcissistic Boss is one of the most common of them all. The American Psychological Association describes narcissism as a “pervasive pattern of grandiosity (in fantasy or behavior), need for admiration, and lack of...

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Oct 22, 2025

Why Networking Isn’t Enough: The Art of Building Allies in Your Career

In today’s challenging labor market, “networking” has become a common recommendation to cut through the masses of people applying online. We’re told to build our networks, grow our contacts, and “get ourselves out there.” But after years of coaching leaders and professionals across industries, I’ve come to see a profound difference between networking and building allies , and I want to share these differences in this month’s blog. Both are useful—both can open doors—but they serve different...

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Sep 16, 2025

The Toxic Boss Who Won’t Let You Breathe: Life Under a Control Freak

Continuing my series on the eight types of toxic bosses, and leading up to the release of my upcoming book, I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Escaping a Toxic Boss (releasing January 13, 2026, and available now for preorder HERE )—I want to shed light on another destructive leadership style I’ve seen repeatedly in my research and work with thousands of professionals across North America: the Control Freak . If you’ve ever had a boss who hovered over your every...

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Aug 21, 2025

Mind Games at Work: Surviving the Gaslighting Boss

This blog is part of my ongoing series on toxic bosses, and the eight distinct personas I’veidentified through my latest research on the behaviors and impacts of toxic leaders. Each type is expanded upon in my upcoming book, I Wish I’d Quit Sooner: Practical Strategies for Navigating and Escaping a Toxic Boss , releasing January 13, 2026. In it, I explore the patterns, behaviors, and impacts of these toxic bosses, and most importantly, how to navigate and recover from them. Let’s turn our...

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Jul 18, 2025

Top 10 Health Reset Gems to Heal Your Mind, Body, and Spirit: What I Learned From Mountain Trek

What does it mean to be healthy ? It’s about balanced health : being mentally , emotionally , physically , socially , and spiritually well. If any of these components are lacking, our overall feeling of well-being is gradually depleted . If you’re like me, you focus on various components more or less often at certain points, and sometimes you’re just too busy to even consider these aspects. This is exactly why I was grateful to do a health-reset retreat in early July at the amazing Mountain...

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