Career coaches to the rescue

LUCY Stribley was a take-no-prisoners, no-excuse-for-mistakes kind of rising-star boss several years ago. Although she wanted her team to succeed, few would have considered her warm and fuzzy. In fact, the people she managed at consulting firm Booz Allen Hamilton Inc had dubbed her the “weedwhacker.” 

Stribley’s boss, by contrast, is what she calls a Care Bear. When her boss told her she needed to change the way she communicated with employees, Stribley, 35, just didn't get it.