Antoinette Oglethorpe author of the COMPASS Journal blog, wearing a black shirt and blue jeans, sits smiling on a white sofa with magazines and papers spread out in front of her in a bright, minimalist room.

The Compass Journal: Navigating Careers & Leadership

Fresh thinking for forward-focused organisations

Explore practical insights, thought leadership, and real-world stories on career development, leadership, and the evolving world of work. Each article is designed to spark ideas and support you in creating a culture where people and performance thrive.

Get these insights delivered to your inbox by signing up for our newsletter.

Newsletter sign up

Blog: Career Conversations

A thoughtful woman stands in front of a wall with colourful doodles of a lightbulb, arrows, clouds, and the words “PLAN” and “IDEA”, symbolising creativity and brainstorming.

July 9, 2019

Picture This! Harnessing the Power of Visualisation in Career Conversations

You want your employees to be successful, don’t you? In fact, you and they have probably used that word. But do you know what success really means to them? Have they truly thought about it and discussed it with you? People talk about success all the time. But rarely do they define it in a

Two people sit at a small round table with notebooks, pens, and mugs. A woman in a blue blouse smiles whilst talking to the other person, who is writing in a notebook.

June 27, 2019

Why Career Conversations are Important

“Don’t ask what the world needs – ask what makes you come alive because what the world needs is people who have come alive.” Howard Thurman It’s a competitive environment, and organisations need to gain advantage through their people more than ever. But there’s a challenge. While organisations want to maximise employees’ performance, employees want

A woman with glasses and a long plait sits at a desk, shrugging with both hands raised. She looks confused or uncertain. Behind her are shelves with red and black files. A plant and a cup are on the desk.

June 19, 2019

Career Management. Whose Responsibility is it Anyway?

Organisations and employees agree that whereas organisations owned careers ten years ago, employees are now responsible for their careers. But is it really possible for an employee to take full ownership of their career when they are reliant on their manager and their organisation for opportunities? In this blog post I’ll explore the roles and

Five hands giving a thumbs-up gesture, raised against a bright, blurred indoor background, suggesting approval or agreement.

May 19, 2019

Five Benchmarks of a Powerful Career Management Strategy

Are you trying to improve career management in your organisation? Are you keen to respond to employee questions and concerns over their career opportunities? Are you committed to helping managers support employees with their career development? If so, you should have a documented career management strategy that is known and understood by employees, managers and

March 25, 2019

The Seven Biggest Mistakes Companies Make With Career Management

The only effective, sustainable approach to career management involves the whole organisation. Attitudes and behaviours filter down from leaders with reinforcement from policies and procedures. Alongside any training, information and support, it’s important to create a culture that promotes growth and career development. When clients contact us, it’s often because of their engagement survey results.

Two people in business attire are having a discussion at a desk. One stirs coffee while the other gestures over documents, demonstrating how to have a career conversation in a professional setting.

November 27, 2017

How to Have a Career Conversation: The Five Stage Structure

If you read this blog regularly you will know by now that it’s important to have career conversations with employees if you want to keep and develop your best people. You will know that the most valuable questions are well-crafted solution-focused ones that provoke insight and reflection. You may even have purchased your own Career

Tall glass skyscrapers reflecting sunlight and blue sky with clouds, viewed from below. Bright sunlight shines between the buildings, symbolising career development in a modern urban cityscape.

November 6, 2017

How to Create a Culture of Growth and Career Development

Employee engagement and organisation culture are so intertwined that it is difficult to mention one without the other. And career development is the glue that binds the two together. If an organisation wants to engage its employees, the culture needs to support their professional growth. Develop talent or risk losing it Employee engagement is an

Two women in business attire sit at a desk, engaged in friendly career development conversations. One has grey hair and a suit, the other has brown hair in a bun and a light blouse. A coffee cup and laptop are on the desk.

October 30, 2017

How to Develop Confidence for Career Development Conversations

Career development conversations come under that category of conversations we describe as challenging. Why is that? Well, they’re personal, they’re important and they’re full of implied meaning and promise. For all those reasons, there is a risk that managers won’t have them in spite of their benefits. So how can you help managers develop the

A signpost with six arrows pointing in different directions, labelled

October 5, 2017

Role of a Mentor: How to Give Advice

A common question we get asked in our masterclasses is “How do I provide insight without direction? I want to help. I know they’re coming to me for advice. But I don’t want to tell them what to do?” And quite right too. This Huffington Post article says it well. “While mentors can offer valuable

Prev 1 … 6 7 8 9 Next