Career Stewardship with Michael Melcher
by Michael Melcher
Career stewardship is about taking control of your career. Join Michael Melcher, one of America's best executive coaches, and learn the insights and practices that will help you be not just successful but also fulfilled. Each of our 20 episodes will introduce you to compelling new ideas that will help you create the career you want. Michael and his special guests go beyond conventional wisdom and dig into the nuances of topics like values, vision, relationship building, interviewing, career pivots, ageism and more–along with the special idea of "20 Minutes a Day." Grounded, motivational and funny, with plenty of real-world examples, the Career Stewardship podcast will help you shape your evolving career. Because why shouldn't you have the career you want?
Episodes
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45. Coaching Is Not an American Thing - with Ana Pliopas, Ph.D
There are coaches all around the world. In this episode, we examine executive coaching and career development from the point of view of someone who practices in a different hemisphere. Michael speaks with Ana Pliopas, Ph.D, a coach in Brazil who trained at the Hudson Institute, where Michael also...
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44. Even You Can Win at Power – with Michael Wenderoth
Career progress isn't just about how competent or hard-working you are. It can require the ability to attain and exert power within organizations. This is a scary thing because power tends to have a bad rap. You might think you can't attain it, or you might not want to attain it. As our guest...
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43. Curiosity, Relationships and Being a CEO - An Interview with Lara Sullivan, M.D.
In this episode, we speak Lara Sullivan, the CEO of Pyxis Oncology, and a friend of Michael's of many years. Lara has served as CEO since 2019 after roles at Pfizer, McKinsey & Co. and in private equity. No slacker, she also has both MD and MBA degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. In this...
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42. Coaching Realness with Jennie Nash
And we're baaaaaaaaack. Michael took a break to write a manuscript and manage some other life and career things, but here we are. We're kicking off this new season with an exciting Coaching Realness episode. Jennie Nash, America's favorite book coach and writing entrepreneur, last seen in Episode...
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41. The Inside View on Mentoring
What is really goes on inside a mentoring relationship? How do these unique relationships start, evolve, manage bumps along the road, and be useful to both parties? In this episode, Michael is joined by Lauren Laitin, the founder of Parachute Coaching who is -- spoiler alert -- Michael's mentee....
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40. She Hated Networking. Then She Ran for Congress.
In 2018, Lauren Baer ran for Congress from Florida's 18th District. She won the Democratic primary handily and came close to unseating her rival in a deep-red district. While she had a stellar professional background, including stints working directly for two Secretaries of State and for the...
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39. Coaching Realness with Meghan Daum
It's time for another real coaching session. Michael's client-for-the-day is Meghan Daum, host of The Unspeakable podcast and author of many bestselling and critically acclaimed books, including The Problem With Everything. Meghan is a writer who hit all the marks of literary success early in her...
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38. Are You Ready for Disability? Is Your Company?
We often plan our lives assuming best-case scenarios: the fastest commute, the home that will always rise in value, the jump to a new exciting job. But sometimes we have to deal with things that are not on our wish lists. One of these is disability. Disabilities can be temporary or permanent,...
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37. What You Can Do When You're Successful But Unsatisfied (and Why "Presence" Is a Loaded Word)
What if you end up achieving a big dream, but discover that it's someone else's dream, not your own? What do you do then? This week, we are joined by Executive Coach Jennifer Chow Bevan. Jenn and Michael talk about how putting your head down and working hard isn't always the best strategy for...
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36. What Is Awareness? And How Do I Get Some?
This week we go DEEP and ask: If you were really present in your life, as opposed to being stuck in your head most of the time, what might you experience? Michael is joined by executive coach Duncan Drechsel, who walks us through the subtleties of this thing called awareness: what is it, why it…
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35. Coach Your Brain
You have a brain and, guess what, it has an impact on how you function. What can you do to make sure it functions well? In this week's episode, we speak with executive coach Deb Elbaum about what we can learn from modern brain science. Deb trained as a physician before going into coaching, so…
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34. "You Can Do More Than You Know" Courage and Leadership in the Not-for-Profit World
Michael Roberts is the Executive Director of Comprehensive Youth Development (CYD) in NYC. CYD partners with three public high schools to give support to students from disadvantaged backgrounds so that they can complete high school and start adult life successfully. (Michael M has been on the…
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33. The Person You Cannot Disappoint Is Yourself: Talking Career Transition with Ailsa Chang
In this week's episode, we have a special guest, NPR host Ailsa Chang, who shares her own career story. Ailsa grew up as a high achiever, which led to a career in corporate law that she discovered she had no interest in. In her 30s, she enrolled in a Master's program in journalism and decided to...
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32. Be a Long-Term Thinker in a Short-Term World, with Dorie Clark
In our Pride Month special, Michael interviews bestselling author and general cool person, Dorie Clark, author of Reinventing You, Stand Out, Entrepreneurial You and, forthcoming in September, The Long Game. Dorie explores how to reorient ourselves to see the big picture so we can tap into the...
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31. Are You Thinking of Writing a Book? with Jennie Nash
Sometimes career stewardship involves writing a whole entire book! This is not a task for the meek but it is doable – and maybe it's doable with less pain than is normally associated with the process. In this week's episode, we speak with author, publisher and book coach extraordinaire Jennie…
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30. Networking While Immigrant
Networking is a necessary part of career stewardship. It can be hard to find the time, know what to say, and overcome discomfort. But it's even harder if you don't have preexisting relationships, grew up speaking a different language, and are trying to make a career change. Yet, it's still…
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29. Your Email Inbox Should Not Be Your To-Do List – Productivity Best Practices
No matter how you slice it, work involves getting things done. "Getting Things Done" is the name of a bestselling book published nearly 20 years ago by David Allen, and it's spawned a community of ardent practitioners. In this week's episode, Michael Melcher is joined by Michael Dolan, a coaching...
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28. What You Don't Know When You Start Your Big Career - with Niki Khoshzamir
Just because you've spent years of effort and hundreds of thousands of dollars on your education doesn't mean you are prepared for your big career. Crazy, but true. The world of work is different in many ways from school; just because you've been successful in one doesn't mean you'll hit the…
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27. Interrupting Bias and Creating "Just Work," with Kim Scott and Trier Bryant
Career stewardship includes knowing how to navigate problems like bias, prejudice, and bullying, as well as doing our part to create workplaces that don't have those problems. Currently, there is a lot of talk about these kinds of problems, but what can you actually do? In today's episode, we…
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26. Careers in Politics, with Maria Robles Meier
Politics is one of those careers that is featured frequently in television and movies, but how much do we really know about it? In this week's episode, we examine ways you can get into politics and what it's like when you're there. Our guest is Maria Robles Meier, a political staffer and…
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25. Discovering You're a Venture Capitalist, with Soraya Darabi
In this episode, we interview Soraya Darabi, general partner and co-founder of the venture-capital firm, TMV. We learn about how one ends up as a VC when you're from a family that never read the business section of the New York Times, the value of doing a ton of internships when young, and what...
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24. The Courage to Have Good Meetings
How many bad, boring or ineffectual meetings have you attended this week? How many bad meetings do you expect to attend in your lifetime? It doesn't have to be this way. It's possible to have good meetings and if you know how to make them happen, your career will benefit. The question is: Do you...
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23. The Intergenerational Workplace and Rethinking Age, with Marci Alboher
Age doesn't mean what it used to. The current workplace contains as many as five generations. It's not uncommon to work alongside people who may be the age of your grandparents – or the age of your grandchildren. It used to be that you would move from being middle-aged to old, but now we have a...
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22. Angst About American-Style Self-Promotion
Do you feel uncomfortable with self-promotion? Join the club. Lots of people have hesitations, discomforts, or hang-ups about American-style career self-promotion. Yet talking about yourself, your capabilities, and your interests are not optional. It's a requirement of career stewardship. In this...
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21. Coaching Realness Special Episode
Season 2 of the Career Stewardship podcast kicks off with a bang. In Episode 21, we introduce a new, occasionally recurring feature: coaching realness. Michael has a coaching conversation with Liz, a 31-year old who is at a professional crossroads, and the convo is real, unscripted and human.…
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Bonus Episode: The Creative Life with Faith Adiele
Season 2 of Career Stewardship starts on January 6! In the meantime, here's one of Michael's favorite episodes from "Meanwhile." He speaks with noted author, teacher, citizen of the world, and now writer on the HBO series "Calm," Faith Adiele, who also happens to be his close friend of 30+ years....
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Bonus Episode: Dealing with Feedback
We're busy preparing Season 2 of Career Stewardship! In the meantime, here is a bonus episode from Michael's other podcast, "Meanwhile." In this episode, Michael speaks with coaching colleague Hanna Hart about receiving feedback – why it's so important and why it can be so hard! They offer tips…
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20. Why Not Tell Your Own Story?
"We want to hear from people who know things. And they are a lot of different ways of knowing." - Katie Orenstein In this episode, we speak with Katie Orenstein, founder, and CEO of the hugely influential organization, The OpEd Project. The goals of the OpEd Project are to change minds and change...
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19. Go Out Onto the Balcony and Coach Yourself – with Pam McLean
If you really want to grow in your career, it's going to take more than buying a book of tips from an airport bookstore. You need to examine your inner landscape, ask yourself what needs to change, and anticipate what's going to be hard about that change. In this episode, we speak with Pam…
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18. Not Doing What Your Parents Want
What do you do if what you want doesn't square with the dreams your parents have for you? This is a common problem – and it's even more intense when you are first-generation, the golden child, and the standard-bearer for an entire extended family or even community. What happens when you exchange...
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Bonus Episode: A's and B's
Michael Melcher has ANOTHER podcast – "Meanwhile: A Podcast to Improve Your Life" – and this week we are bringing you a sample episode for you to check. "Meanwhile" is a podcast that Michael created with another coach, also named Michael, and it covers all ways you can improve your career and…
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17. Career Stewardship, Hollywood Style
In this week's episode, we speak with Liz Craft and Sarah Fain, veteran TV writers/producers/showrunners who are also the hosts of the wonderful podcast, Happier in Hollywood. Liz, Sarah and Michael discuss the ingredients for thriving in a long-term, gig-economy career, the ingredients of...
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16. The Onboarding Begins in the Interview Process
Episode 16 is the second of our two episodes dealing with starting off right. Coach Hanna Hart joins us again with her provocative idea that the onboarding begins in the interview process. While we often experience interviews as stressful, high-stakes situations where you just want future…
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15. Starting Off Right Doesn't Always Mean Relying on Your Strengths
We put a lot of effort into getting new jobs. But that's not the end of the story. How do we ensure things go well once we've started? Episodes 15 and 16 are both about starting off right. In this episode, Michael speaks with colleague Dennis Adsit, Ph.D., about misconceptions we can have in...
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14. Feel the Fear and Negotiate Anyway
Negotiation may not be something you do every day but doing it well can have long-lasting benefits. In this week's episode, Michael is joined again by his colleague, Rebecca Zucker, who lays down the law about why you should always negotiate – even if it gives you the heebie-jeebies. We learn why...
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13. Making Requests
When you are reaching out to meet someone or asking them for help of some kind, your success will often depend on how you make the request. We have a lot of hang-ups about asking for things: we often feel uncomfortable doing so, and we often have a limited idea of how others might help us. So...
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12. Vision and Experimentation
Vision is an important part of career stewardship but coming up with a career vision isn't always easy. You might not know where you want to be in the future or you might have lots of different ideas, none of which seems more than 15% likely. But there are specific practices you can undertake to...
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11. You Will Be a Cool and Relevant Elder – with Chip Conley
"We're living with five generations in the workplace for the first time. I like to think of it as an intergenerational potluck where we each bring to the table what we do best." -- Chip Conley, New York Times bestselling author In Episode 5, we talked about dealing with age at a tactical level.…
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10. Hard-Core Info Interview Prep
Informational interviews are one of the most important ways we learn about careers and jobs, build connections, and present ourselves as potentially wonderful hires. Info interviews might seem lower-stakes and less formal than actual job interviews, but the Career Stewardship podcast is here to...
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09. Interview Wow!
What really goes on in interviews? In this episode, Michael explains why you should take interview feedback with a grain of salt and why you shouldn't expect interviewers to do their jobs very well. We drill down into the specifics of "competency-based interviewing," which sounds pedestrian and a...
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08. How to Build Career Habits That Stick – with Gretchen Rubin
Spending 20 minutes a day working on your career sounds so manageable. So why is it so gosh darn hard to do every day and how can you actually get yourself to do it? Michael is joined by internationally bestselling author Gretchen Rubin to figure this out! Gretchen Rubin is the host of the…
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07. "Being the Protagonist of Your Own Story"
In this episode, we examine the narratives that we tell ourselves about our careers, particularly in times of stress and change. If your career is the movie Star Wars, are you a side character at that weird bar? Or are you Luke Skywalker? We always have some default narrative—the question is...
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06. "So What We Do With Values?"
In Episode 2, we talked about decoding your values. In this Episode 6, we explain how to apply your values for greater satisfaction and success in work, leadership, and life. Michael is joined again by coaching colleague buddy Hanna Hart. They talk about using values to identify what you want in…
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05. Dealing with Age
In this episode, we explore a big "ism" and investigate whether it's such a big deal: specifically, how to deal with your career when you are 40+, 50+ or beyond. Michael is joined by New York coach Sarah Stamboulie. They talk about myths people have about age and career change, how to deactivate...
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04. Career Pivots
Is it possible to make a big career change, even when you have a few years under your belt? The answer is a resounding YES . . . provided you keep a few key things in mind. Michael is joined by coach and fellow working dad Peter Gandolfo, and they discuss some of the ins and outs of making a…
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03. Decoding Your Values
Career fulfilment isn't really about following your passion. Instead, it comes from building something that is in tune with your personal values. We all have a set of core personal values, but we rarely take the time to identify what they are. Once we do, we have a magical decoder ring for…
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02. Relationship Building and "The Strength of Weak Ties"
Just because you don't have a big rolodex populated with powerful names doesn't mean you can't attain career success. In this episode, Michael and guest coach Hanna Hart talk about one of the most important ideas in careers, "the strength of weak ties," which means that people you barely know or...
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01. The Career Stewardship Framework
To get what you want out of your career, it helps to have a framework. Episode 1 lays out what career stewardship is all about. Michael lays out a four-part model for managing your career over time, and introduces the life-changing "20 Minutes a Day" concept. More info at...
About this show
Career stewardship is about taking control of your career. Join Michael Melcher, one of America's best executive coaches, and learn the insights and practices that will help you be not just successful but also fulfilled. Each of our 20 episodes will introduce you to compelling new ideas that will help you create the career you want. Michael and his special guests go beyond conventional wisdom and dig into the nuances of topics like values, vision, relationship building, interviewing, career pivots, ageism and more–along with the special idea of "20 Minutes a Day." Grounded, motivational and funny, with plenty of real-world examples, the Career Stewardship podcast will help you shape your evolving career. Because why shouldn't you have the career you want?
Hosted by
Michael Melcher
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