Articles

Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

There Are Many True Reasons to Leave a Job

Seven years ago, I made the leap from traditional employment to running my own business. From the outside, you might be tempted to make up a story about how brave and confident I was to make this leap. But it definitely didn't feel that way at the time.

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

This Will Make You Feel Official

Let’s have a look at how a prop can give you the confidence to walk into a new space with your head held high, or help a gatekeeper take you seriously.

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

Traveling Beyond Your Home Planet

Seven years ago, when Penney Leadership launched, I set off in my little solo spacecraft. I exited my home planet on Nonprofit and began my journey across the vast solar system.

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

You’re Right on Time

Even as I start my seventh year as a fully-fledged business owner, the pressure is on to get to a certain place. I actively resist it every day, and remind myself that I'm right on time. Where I am is developmentally appropriate.

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

Two Undervalued Leadership Skills That Could Be Useful Right Now

Continuing work as usual when there are layers of unthinkable violence and grief playing out is weird at best and completely heartbreaking at worst. Here are two undervalued leadership skills that might be supportive right now, whether you're a formal leader, a parent, or leading yourself through this difficult time.

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

Constantly Teetering on the Edge

Many of us feel the discomfort of uncertainty in our work, daily.
There's a word that describes the state of insecurity we feel around employment and income: precarity.

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

I’m a Beginner at the Wheel…Again

I’ve been driving for 22 years and it’s become second nature. I’ve been navigating my career for almost as long and it still doesn’t feel effortless. Maybe this is something you recognize too?

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

Growing Better, Not Bigger

Take a moment to step back from the given version of American success (grow forward & up!) and ask yourself: What truly feels like success to me?

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

How to Identify the Right-Fit Opportunities

Being strategic means having a filter to assess opportunities for the right fit. Before I say yes to anything these days, I turn to my “Strategy Screener,” which lays out a set of questions that help me understand if this opportunity is something I can merely fit in or if it’s the right fit.

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

Let’s Talk About Margins

Our culture normalizes overextension, even though it’s anything but normal. Your margins are the border around your capacity. Just like on your resume, they leave blank space to breathe. You need that space in order to absorb things that come up in the moment, adapt plans, or to renew and sustain yourself.

Read More
Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder Career Carole Ann Penney, Founder

Think Beyond What Is Just Barely Enough

The scrappy culture of nonprofits shaped my worldview not only at work, but in life. Now, as my own boss, I am trying to shift my habits and model what it looks like to operate beyond the bare minimum. I don't want to be scrappy. I want to have resources that match the challenges our business is taking on, and I think you, as my clients, want that, too.

Read More
Career Jessica Crowley, Strategic Career Coach Career Jessica Crowley, Strategic Career Coach

What Gets in the Way of Confident Decision Making?

We hear from clients all the time who are teetering on the edge of a choice, wanting to take the “right” path (whatever that means!) and worried about potential regrets down the road. Today, we’re hearing from Penney Leadership Coach Jessica Crowley on what it means to make a career decision with confidence.

Read More