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Managing up: professional skill or survival strategy?
Early in my career, in my very first role as in-house recruiter, my manager (HRD) gave me a piece of advice I did not question for a long time: always overstate your #hiring timelines when you open a new role. Give yourself more room than you think you need. She was right, in a sense, and it worked because hiring managers stopped chasing me so aggressively (and I saved myself from a #burnout). The problem I did not see at the time: I had just learned to negotiate, not collabo

Christina - Spark Back Coaching
6 days ago2 min read


How do you decide who is ready for a promotion - and how do you lead the ones who are not?
In all my years in HR, I’ve seen promotions used for the wrong reasons: to keep someone from leaving or reward long tenure that “felt right" or to make a team look stronger on paper (and the leader more successful) even when the person promoted wasn’t ready. None of this helps the employee and it certainly does not help the #team. Now, don't get me wrong - I wholeheartedly believe in development. It is one of the strongest motivators we have. It sits together with sense of pu

Christina - Spark Back Coaching
Dec 3, 20252 min read


The paradox of interim leadership
If you're a fractional/ interim/ consultant leader - or thinking of becoming one, then this is for you. Interim leadership role usually look like this: You’re brought in to make an impact fast, but the clock starts ticking the moment you arrive. The unspoken expectation is “deliver transformation, but don’t break anything.” That creates a strange tension: you must move decisively without the benefit of long-term trust or deep organizational context. The four biggest challenge

Christina - Spark Back Coaching
Nov 5, 20252 min read


Urgency Vs Strategy: when you need to hire, where do you look first?
Every #hiring decision feels urgent. Which is why many leaders skip the first, most important question: Where should I look? Inside the...

Christina - Spark Back Coaching
Sep 26, 20252 min read


Can you believe 2026 is almost 2 months away?! 😯
Disclaimer: the purpose of this post is NOT to stress you out but to prepare you. You can keep reading, it's safe (and optimistic!) For...

Christina - Spark Back Coaching
Sep 18, 20252 min read


No-Regrets Decision-Making: The key to being a successfully decisive leader
As a leader, you make hundreds of decisions daily, both big and small. Some are quick: Should this email go out today or tomorrow? Should...

Christina - Spark Back Coaching
Mar 12, 20252 min read


Your manager may be a lot of things but they are not a mind reader! 🔮
A manager wears many hats - coach, mentor, expert - but one thing they aren’t is a mind reader. Even the best leaders can’t support you...

Christina - Spark Back Coaching
Mar 6, 20252 min read


Navigating your internal career path: Are you ready to make a choice?
As we approach year-end #performance reviews, many of us find ourselves in the familiar swirl of self-reflection and goal-setting. It’s...

Christina - Spark Back Coaching
Oct 24, 20242 min read


Why is it so hard to find a new job lately? Why do I keep getting ghosted or rejected? What am I doing wrong?
Chances are that you're probably doing nothing wrong. The job market has stagnated over the past year or so. Just look at the statistics:...

Christina - Spark Back Coaching
Sep 26, 20242 min read
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