How to Make Sure Your Emails Give the Right Impression
by Shani Harmon Given the avalanche of email we receive each year — 121 messages per day, on average — it’s no wonder that we have become somewhat desensitized to its impact on our professional brand. We’ll spend hours polishing our LinkedIn profiles and revising our résumés, but hastily hit send on an unintelligible missive…
Yes, Smart Bosses Frequently Give Negative Feedback
by Geoffrey James Telling people what they’re doing wrong is an excellent way to get them to do things right. No one loves being the bad guy or gal. Luckily, there are easy guidelines that can make giving negative feedback much less stressful. There are many common misconceptions about giving negative feedback. Belief #1 Negative…
How to Improve at Work When You’re Not Getting Feedback
by Zenger Folkman Too many managers avoid giving any kind of feedback, regardless of whether it’s positive or negative. If you work for a boss who doesn’t provide feedback, it’s easy to feel rudderless. It can be especially disorienting if you’re new in the role, new to the company, or a recent graduate new to…
A CEO Says He Always Does the Same Thing Before Offering Anyone a Job
by Aine Cain This article is blunt and not meant to offend anyone. When it comes to hiring people, Luis Von Ahn, CEO of the language app Duolingo, has one strict rule. “We have a big ‘we don’t hire assholes’ rule,” he tells Business Insider. So, how can you ensure you don’t hire someone who’s a bad fit…
29 Annoying Words and Phrases on Your Résumé That Make Hiring Managers Cringe
by Rachel Gillett “Nearly everyone is guilty of using buzzwords from time to time, but professionals are evaluated increasingly on their ability to communicate,” says Paul McDonald, senior executive director for professional-placement firm Robert Half. Some of the major problems with using buzzwords, according to Mary Lorenz, a corporate-communications manager at CareerBuilder, are that they…
How the U.S. Marines Encourage Service-Based Leadership
by Angie Morgan and Courtney Lynch Many of us feel that we’re stretched to capacity at work and have nothing left to give. But according to a recent Gallup poll, 70% of the workforce is either “actively disengaged” or “not engaged,” meaning there are millions of professionals who have more effort that they could give…
What Not to Say to a Stressed-Out Colleague
by Holly Weeks I was recently stressed out and sleepless because I had to tell a difficult senior colleague something he was not going to want to hear — and I always dreaded his angry, high-volume pushback when it was directed at me. An acquaintance listened to me, nodded quietly, and said, “People have yelled…
Being a Strategic Leader Is About Asking the Right Questions
by Lisa Lai If you asked the world’s most successful business leaders what it means to “be strategic,” how many different answers do you think you’d get? Consider this number: 115,800,000. It’s the number of unique links returned when I searched online for “strategic leadership.” There’s a good reason for all of those links: Strategy…
10 Ways To Manage Your Relationship With Your Boss
by Forbes Coaches Council Most employees forget that it’s not just their boss who is managing them — they are also managing their boss. This doesn’t mean manipulating your boss. Rather, it means building a two-way relationship in order to best accomplish shared goals as a team. When you manage this dynamic well, you create…
Communication: The Most Important Key to Leadership Success
by Major General (Retired) Steven Hashem Effective leaders need to master the six basic functions of management: leading, planning, organizing, staffing, controlling, and communicating. But what’s the one golden thread tying all of those functions together – and the most important key to great leadership? Clear communication. Leaders need to be able to communicate well….
11 Signs You Have the Grit You Need to Succeed
by Travis Bradberry Grit is that “extra something” that separates the most successful people from the rest. It’s the passion, perseverance, and stamina that we must channel to stick with our dreams until they become a reality. Developing grit is all about habitually doing the things that no one else is willing to do. There…
Do You Have What It Takes? Developing Key Leadership Principles
by Brigadier General (Retired) Becky Halstead Leaders are defined by their actions and attitudes, especially during volatile times or periods of substantial change. Under pressure, leadership can be eroded by pessimism, lack of clear vision, failure to accept responsibility, or weak communication. The journey to becoming an effective leader, even under fire, begins inside. Before you…
60 TIPS FOR A STUNNINGLY GREAT LIFE
by Robin Sharma I want to shift gears from leadership to a pure focus on crafting an exceptional life for this blog post. Ultimately, life goes by in a blink. And too many people live the same year 80 times. To avoid getting to the end and feeling flooded regret over a live half-lived, read…
Developing an Attitude of Gratitude Can Help You Live a Longer, Happier Life
by Dr. Mercola Besides sharing time with family and friends over food, the primary ingredient of the American Thanksgiving holiday is gratitude. While it’s certainly good to have an annual holiday to remind us to express gratitude, there’s much to be said for the benefits of cultivating the spirit of thankfulness year-round. People who are thankful…
An Excerpt from “I Don’t Have a Job. I Have a Higher Calling.”
by Rachel Feintzeig Can a job just be a job? Not anymore. Faced with a cadre of young workers who say they want to make a difference in addition to a paycheck, employers are trying to inject meaning into the daily grind, connecting profit-driven endeavors to grand consequences for mankind. In part, professionals are demanding…
What to Say When a Conversation Heats Up – Adapted from “7 Things to Say When a Conversation Turns Negative”
by Kathleen Kelley Reardon When a conversation turns negative, it’s helpful to have a repertoire of replies at your fingertips. Consider these options: Reframe. Cast the issue in a different light. If someone says, “I don’t want to fight about this,” a useful reframe is, “This is a debate, certainly not a fight.” Rephrase. Rather…
What Great Listeners Actually Do
by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman Chances are you think you’re a good listener. People’s appraisal of their listening ability is much like their assessment of their driving skills, in that the great bulk of adults think they’re above average. In our experience, most people think good listening comes down to doing three things: Not…
Stop Making Gratitude All About You
by Heidi Grant Halvorson You read a lot these days about research showing that practicing gratitude — making a deliberate point of being grateful for the good things in your life — has all sorts of benefits for happiness and well-being. These articles usually end with a call to start a gratitude journal to reap the full…