Being brave can truly pay off. A typical work day for most of us is filled with conversations. Managers and direct reports discuss what work needs to be accomplished, by when, and what success should look like. Colleagues talk about the impact that recent changes are having on their roles and their teams. Leaders articulate their vision for the company's future,
Having conflict at work is inevitable. With all of us managing so many competing priorities, negotiating limited resources, and aiming to be both tactical and strategic, it's amazing that any work gets done at all. And despite the fact that so many situational, organizational, and systemic issues in our companies contribute to our stress, we tend to point to other people
People aren't going to approach you to tell you you're unapproachable You're busy. You're stressed. You're overworked and under-resourced. It's one thing to feel that way. It's another thing to share those feelings with your colleagues honestly, openly, and without blaming others. Neither of those will likely undermine your impact and credibility as a leader. What will? Acting
Since we all know that managing multiple priorities will always be a challenge... I have yet to meet the professional who has declared, "Time management? I've got that handled." (And if that's you, please send me a DM on Twitter so I can interview you for a future article). Most busy professionals struggle with assessing how
Avoiding the subject isn't an option if you care about your future. People managers wear many hats: delegator, goal-setter, accountability-partner, brainstorming buddy, performance evaluator, obstacle-mover, resource-allocator, and more. (This, of course, is all in addition to their day jobs of actual work.) And there's one critical role for managers that often doesn't get addressed: career developer. According to research by Right
Apologizing may just ruin your presentation. Every presentation is an opportunity to demonstrate your confidence, competence and character. You have the chance to prove that you understand your audience's concerns, and show how you can meet their needs. And, when you do it well, you also get to boost your personal and professional credibility. Until you say, "I'm sorry." Saying, "I'm
Meetings should educate, motivate, and develop your people. The late, great fashion designer Karl Lagerfeld once remarked, "I don't do meetings." And if you were Karl Lagerfeld, you didn't have to. For the rest of us, however, meetings are a part of getting work done, even if they often feel like an interruption of our real work. No matter what you think of meetings in
You may be thinking about time management all wrong. Despite the ubiquity of technological advances, for many of us, time management is more of a problem than ever. Whether you keep postponing finishing your client presentation because your boss keeps throwing new projects at you, or you can't schedule your family vacation because you have too many high-priority tasks,
You want to be compassionate without philosophizing When you see your friend or colleague at work, you hopefully get a warm smile, a friendly hello, and maybe a little chat about your favorite TV show that was on last night. But at times, as soon as you see him, you know something's wrong. His shoulders are slumped,
You can't change someone else's behavior, but you can change your mindset Working with a difficult person (and, often, more than one) is as expected in the workplace as attending pointless meetings. We've all desperately tried to get a colleague to behave better, like the one who complains every time a change is announced, or who nitpicks at every
