This Is Not The Career I Ordered™ Blog
Savvy Professional Career Wisdom by Caroline Dowd-Higgins
This is Not the Career I Ordered is read by thousands of careerists around the globe. With savvy tools, inspiration, and resources, this timeless book empowers you to enjoy your career, and love your life!
What do you do?
We typically ask a new acquaintance, “What do you do?” and default to probing about their career or work endeavors. I quickly share that I am a speaker and executive coach when I meet someone new because as an entrepreneur, business development is always top of mind. As a career driven and ambitious individual, I […]
Life Lessons from a Hound Dog
We adopted Brody, a Walker Hound when he was 5 years old from a very under resourced animal shelter. It was love at first sight and this dog who had been in a shelter for well over a year was undernourished with serious skin/fur issues because he was in desperate need of consistent food and […]
The Difference between Workaholics and High Achievers
There are healthier ways for you to work without sacrificing your professional values, relationships, or the expertise you provide to your organization or business. There is a cultural misconception that you must be a workaholic, perpetually going above and beyond, aka, the classic Over Achiever to reach peak performance. Workaholism is the only addiction we celebrate. […]
What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid?
As a leadership and company culture speaker and an executive coach in the trenches with professionals around the world, I often see people get stuck because they believe they need to be perfectly ready to move forward. Brave, Not Perfect One of my favorite phrases is, “Courage is fear walking.” It’s time to give yourself […]
A Career Letter to The Class of 2025
Dear Class of 2025: A multi-generational celebration is in progress as we celebrate learners of all ages heading into the career world. Even with a tumultuous economy and a lot of ambiguity, I encourage you to tap the power you have within you. You earned your credentials with a tremendous amount of time, effort, and […]
Hone Your Leadership Curation Skills
Curation is a term often linked to social media content. The concept has gained popularity for leaders who bring together people, ideas, expertise and resources to reach outcomes by collaborating. We can all benefit from a curator’s mindset, since no single leader can master every domain. I read a great piece in Fast Company that […]
Imposter Syndrome Isn’t a Disease
I get it, we all have moments of self-doubt that are daunting. It’s a normal response when we set very high standards. Imposter Syndrome isn’t a condition or an affliction. It’s simply a thought, a feeling of uncertainty that will pass. Consider it an Imposter Experience. Doubting yourself doesn’t mean you will fail – it […]
A More Inclusive Kind of Brainstorming
As an extravert and someone who loves to ideate, I’m in my happy place with an opportunity to brainstorm. As a former executive leader in organizations, and now as a speaker, executive coach and talent development consultant I am fully aware that brainstorming is not ideal for everyone. When teams or groups meet to brainstorm, […]
Sorry? Not Sorry!
We all know people who over-apologize. Research tells us that women tend to over-apologize more than men. As comedian Amy Poehler puts it, “It takes years as a woman to unlearn what you have been taught to be sorry for.” Harriet Lerner, Ph.D. wrote about why people over-apologize in a Psychology Today article. “It may […]
Savvy Leaders Celebrate Curiosity
Curiosity encourages questioning the status quo and seeking alternative approaches. By fostering a curious mindset, leaders inspire their teams to think critically, challenge assumptions, and uncover innovative solutions. Curiosity is a driving force that fuels exploration, innovation, and personal growth. Creativity wanes when we fail to celebrate curiosity. We reward people for getting the right […]
Don’t Get Stuck in the “It will Get Better When” Mindset
Life is precious and we often delay our sense of gratification, celebration, or contentment because we are focusing on what might happen someday. If you find yourself in the someday trap: It will get better when…I land the new role. It will get better when…my toxic boss moves on. It will get better when…the kids […]
Break Away from Meeting Palooza
Nobody enjoys endless meetings that suck the oxygen out of day and eliminate white space on the calendar to reflect, think creatively, and do the work. Savvy companies like Google have “no meeting weeks” and Slack’s “Maker Weeks” where people can turn notifications off and relish in meeting-free time to do focused work. You can […]
How The Future Works
This month marks the 5-year anniversary of the pandemic shelter-in-place order, which turned the traditional workday on its head out of necessity. The multi-year global case study in remote/hybrid work has irrevocably changed how many people want to work moving forward. With the Worker’s Market driving change, savvy organizations are rethinking the way we work […]
Don’t be a Career Loser – Take All Your Paid Time Off
As a recovering workaholic, I strive regularly to integrate life and career to honor my personal relationships and my professional ambition. My life often resembles a roller coaster with ups and downs of activity and never a consistent steady balance – and that’s OK. This reality check has allowed me to navigate the ultra-busy career […]
