Work, success, and meaning at every stage of your career
Annette Simmons is the author of Whoever Tells the Best Story Wins: How to Use Your Own Stories to Communicate with Power and Impact. She says that humans have used storytelling to communicate since the beginning of time, and today is no different. Her book is intended to help you tell stories that are more … Continue reading Tell Me a Picture
Almost every team has one: the negative personality whose poison is starting to affect everyone. Whether it’s snide comments in team meetings, passive-aggressive information withholding, or acid emails, a negative team member can quickly cause irreparable damage to productivity, comradery, and, eventually, retention. But containing – or removing – a toxic team member can be … Continue reading Don’t Let Negativity Spread
In a great post, The Eblin Group refers back to an ancient method for building leadership capacity in your staff. Large organizations simply don’t have the ability to provide all the answers from the top down, they say. It’s critical to teach your employees how to think through problems on their own. The master of … Continue reading Asking Good Questions to Get Better Results
“I’m afraid being a jerk isn’t against the law, even if we wish it could be.” That’s a quote from yours truly when I worked as an executive for a regional nonprofit organization. I sometimes heard from employees outside my division, asking for advice on whether they should file a formal grievance about their boss. … Continue reading Being a Jerk is Not Against the Law (even if we think it should be)
In an online article, author Matthew Kirchner says (and this won’t be news to any of us) that attention spans are getting shorter. He writes, “Microsoft published a study that our attention spans had decreased by almost a third in the preceding 15 years, from 12 seconds to just eight. Goldfish, so we’re told, have an … Continue reading Tell Me Seven Times. No – Make that Three.
For many workers, the pandemic lockdowns meant they had to set up home offices overnight. Most believed (and hoped) that the setup would be temporary, so they carved out a place in the bedroom, on the dining room table, or the living room coffee table to call their “home office.” Others, with more means or … Continue reading The Best Home Office Setup
What time does a meeting start? The agenda may start at a specific moment (give or take 10 minutes, in my sad experience), but you can be very productive in the minutes before a meeting actually begins. Those of us who are always early know this. In fact, we’re early for two reasons. One is … Continue reading The Meeting Before the Meeting
In an article for The New York Times, Adam Grant says the advice women get to eliminate “soft language” is bad advice. He writes, “If you’re a woman, you’ve probably gotten this advice from a mentor, a coach or a teacher. If you want to be heard, use more forceful language. If you want a … Continue reading Soft Language Works for Women
What if there was one word – a simple word – that would increase your chances of persuading someone to do something by 50 percent? Sounds like magic, but it’s been tested and verified by social scientists for years. That word is “because.” Researchers have investigated persuasion for decades, and they’ve found that adding a … Continue reading Magic Words to Make you More Persuasive
When I was hiring team members, one of the most important interview questions came at the very end. “Do you have any questions for me?” was more than a courtesy; it was a way to see how a candidate’s mind worked. If a candidate didn’t ask any questions, it was a red flag for me. … Continue reading Curiosity is an Essential Trait for Success
