4 Desde HBR

Today’s Tip

Build a Team Culture That Honors Quiet Time Life is noisier and more distracting than ever. As a manager, how can you build a team culture that truly honors quiet time? Start by deliberately talking about it. Begin an open dialogue with your team in which each member has an opportunity to answer the following questions: In what ways do I create noise that negatively impacts others? The best starting point is to have everyone check-in with themselves. Encourage people to question whether any given habit is necessary or if it’s really just an unexamined impulse—a default that needs to be reset. What noisy habits bother me most? This isn’t an opportunity to point fingers but ask people to be honest about what most disrupts their day. How can I help others find the quiet time they need? This is an opportunity for everyone to step up and to commit to group norms such as “no email Fridays” or “no meeting Wednesdays.” This tip is adapted from “How to Build a Culture That Honors Quiet Time,” by Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz

 

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

When Your Direct Report Is Bullying You Bullying in the workplace can take many forms, including bullying of managers by people who report to them. If you’re feeling targeted by an employee who’s circumventing your authority, spreading rumors about you, and undermining your status, how can you protect your mental health and your career? First, don’t give in to shame—someone else’s toxic behavior isn’t a reflection of your leadership. Next, resist the temptation to avoid your bully. Burying yourself in work, isolating yourself from important support systems, and downplaying the severity of the issue won’t help you in the long run. Confront the reality instead, starting by documenting exactly what’s going on. Having detailed notes will help you clarify the situation—both for yourself and HR, if you choose to escalate and pursue mediation. As you’re going through these steps, monitor your feelings. A professional coach or therapist can help you cope with your emotions and ensure you don’t snap at your bully, adding fuel to the fire and making the situation messier. Finally, prepare yourself to stand up to them. Remember, you’re still the boss, and you still have influence over your bully’s career. Confrontation and accountability could save their career from derailing when (not if) their behavior backfires—and more importantly, it will help you reestablish your legitimacy, confidence, and position of power. This tip is adapted from “What to Do When a Direct Report Is Bullying You,” by Ludmila N. Praslova et al.

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Prioritize Yourself to Prevent Burnout It can be easy to equate hours spent working with productivity. But this fallacy that long hours = success often leads to burnout. Here’s how to prioritize your personal well-being without compromising your professional growth. Find time to do nothing. One way to build in a moment of genuine disconnection from work is to take some time at the beginning or end of each day to journal or doodle your thoughts. Think of this as a daily reflection or brain dump to release the pressure of your work life. Learn to say no. To get better at declining requests without feeling guilty, reframe saying no as setting boundaries. Ask yourself: Who am I willing (or not willing) to give time to? What do I want (or not want) to do or achieve? When do I need to protect time, and when do I want to make myself available? What kind of work will help me achieve my long-term goals? Become more intentional about space. Dedicate specific places to your work and reserve others for relaxation and relationships. Drawing clear lines between your professional and personal lives will help you thrive in both. This tip is adapted from “Don’t Feel Guilty for Prioritizing Yourself Over Work,” by Donna McGeorge

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Take These Steps After Getting Laid Off Being laid off is painful. But if it happens to you, you’re not powerless—you can take steps to move toward a brighter future. Here’s where to begin. Reconfigure your mindset. Being laid off is not a reflection of your value or skill set. It’s a reflection of your former company’s lack of proper planning during a turbulent economy or of its change in business strategy. Write down your accomplishments. This will help you calm any racing thoughts about the job-hunting process. Frame your accomplishments around how you solved a problem, accomplished a goal, prioritized under pressure, turned a failure into a win, completed a complex project, or overcame a roadblock. Identify what you want. Do you want to work for a small or large company? Do you want to make a career pivot, or stay in the same type of role? Do you need to stay in the same location, or would you consider moving to another city, state, or country for the right position? Answering these questions will help you start to craft a new beginning. Create a job-hunting schedule. Building a weekly or daily calendar will help you stay on track. Determine when you’ll network and how many people you’ll talk to, which days you’ll search for viable jobs, when you’ll revise your resume for the jobs you’re interested in, and how often you’ll practice answering potential interview questions. This tip is adapted from “What to Do After Being Laid Off,” by Marlo Lyons

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

You’re Ready to Change Jobs. Are You Ready to Change Your Identity? Changing jobs is a psychological journey. Before you can leap, you need to know where you stand. In other words, you need a detailed portrait of the “lingering identity” you would be bringing to your next professional role. To understand your lingering identity, reflect on what you value about your current job (the industry, the salary, or the prestige of your employer), what your job represents to you and others (if you’re in health care, you may see yourself as “essential” or “brave”), and the actions it necessitates on a daily basis (what you do, how you do it, and who you do it with). Then, use what you’ve learned to gauge the compatibility of a prospective employer. Identify where there will be overlap with your existing identity and where you might have to adapt. A good match will leave you feeling positive about how you’ll need to stay the same and how you’ll need to change. Once you start your new job, continue an honest and open identity dialogue with your manager. An effective manager will be able to use the information to anticipate challenges and help you adjust. This tip is adapted from “When Changing Jobs Changes Your Identity,” by Sarah Wittman

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Bring Intention to Your One-on-One Meetings The best managers recognize that one-on-one meetings aren’t an add-on to their role—they’re foundational to it. So, how can you make the most out of your face time with your direct reports? Set the tone. The mood and attention you bring to a meeting is contagious, so start out with energy, optimism, and focus. Turn off notifications and be present. Remind yourself as the meeting begins that it’s fundamentally about your employee’s needs, performance, and engagement. Actively listen more than you talk. Display genuine interest and acknowledge whatever your employee is bringing to the table. Ask questions to clarify and constructively challenge them. Stay vigilant about your body language and reactions to ensure that you’re creating a welcoming, safe, judgment-free space. Add your perspective. Once you’ve listened, give honest and specific feedback. Engage in collaborative problem solving by truly understanding the issue at hand, gathering information, identifying root causes, and creating a solution that you both feel good about. End well. Clarify takeaways and action items for both parties, including how you’ll support next steps. This will help build continuity between meetings and allow for needed follow-up. This tip is adapted from “Make the Most of Your One-on-One Meetings,” by Steven G. Rogelberg

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Adults Need a Bedtime, Too Have you felt tired this week? If so, the problem might not be that you're getting too little sleep—it could be that you're getting the wrong kind of sleep. Disorderly sleep (not enough some nights, too much others) is a recipe for exhaustion, volatile moods, and unproductive workdays. How can you establish a more consistent sleep schedule? The answer is painfully simple—and for many of us, painfully difficult to implement: You need a bedtime. The good news? Choosing the right bedtime only requires some quick math. Start by deciding when you need to wake up most days. Subtract seven or eight hours, depending on how much sleep you think you need. If you want to get up at 7 am, your bedtime should be 11 pm or 12 am. To hold yourself accountable, set a "wind-down" alarm for 30 minutes or an hour before your bedtime. Stick to it for a week. This week's fatigue will be last week's problem. This tip is adapted from “Why You Need a Bedtime,” by Laura Vanderkam

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Improve How You Recognize Your Team Showing recognition—when done well—has huge payoffs, boosting employee morale, productivity, performance, and retention. To get better at giving recognition, you want to focus on both the substance of the recognition and the manner and context in which you deliver it. To improve the substance, start by being specific. Describe to your employee what they did and the impact it had on you, the team, the organization, or your customers. While recognizing outcomes is valuable, it’s also important to recognize the positive actions that led to the outcome. To improve the delivery of your recognition, consider the employee you’re recognizing. Would they rather receive kudos in public or in private; verbally or via handwritten card? Tailor your delivery method to your employee's personality. Whatever method you choose, be timely. The sooner you give the recognition after the behavior, the higher the perceived value. This tip is adapted from “Do You Tell Your Employees You Appreciate Them?,” by Jack Zenger and Joseph Folkman

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Remind Your Team That Their Work Has Impact One often-overlooked way to motivate employees is to encourage them to consider how their job helps others. To nudge your team into this transformational mindset shift, turn their attention to one—or more—of these key groups their work may be serving each day. Clients or customers. Look for ways to make your employees' impact more tangible than just revenue and profit. Collect testimonials to share with your team, invite customers or clients to speak at meetings, and keep a running list of real people positively affected by your products or services. Colleagues. Ask your team: What would it look like if we all decided to serve each other the same way we serve clients or customers? Brainstorming around this question will lead to a culture of encouragement, support, and compassion. Community. Think about your organization's broader context. What opportunities does your team have to serve your community right now? Encourage and incentivize your employees to engage in these opportunities. Loved ones. Even on hard days, remind your team to take comfort in the fact that their work is an act of service to those they love—whether it's families they're supporting, people they're providing care for, or charitable works they're contributing to. This tip is adapted from “Feeling Demotivated? Consider How Your Job Helps Others.,” by John Coleman

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Lead Your Team Through a Big Change How can you get your team on board with a disruptive organizational change? It's all about making people feel a sense of belonging through the transition. To do this, start by being mindful of your own emotions. Are you feeling uprooted by the change yourself? If so, focus on unpacking why. This will help you manage your negative emotions and share them honestly with your employees. Next, identify what your people are afraid of losing. Look beyond what might seem like their reflexive resistance to change and seek to understand what they treasure and hope to protect. Then, talk about it. To help your team see not only what needs to change, but why it needs to change, lead conversations that explore their discomfort and envision a brighter future. Finally, validate people's trepidation. Being transparent about the costs of change, rather than falsely optimistic, will help you rebuild loyalty and trust through the process. This tip is adapted from “How to Get Your Team on Board with a Major Change,” by Deborah Rowland et al.

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Approach Work Relationships Strategically If You’re Trying to Make It to the Top As you advance in your career and climb the corporate ladder, your relationships with your peers are bound to get riskier and more complex; your collaborators can become, in many ways, your competitors. Here are three ways to effectively navigate these potentially messy — and critically important — relationships. Don’t always expect friendship. While it’s important to be cordial, there’s a limit to how much emotional bonding is healthy as you ascend to the top. Keep it friendly, but maintain boundaries. Oversharing personal information can cause conflict and awkwardness in the long term. Manage sideways. When you’re being considered for the executive ranks, leaders may ask your peers for their opinions about you. It’s often an informal dialogue and generally isn’t acknowledged as part of the formal performance review process, but it matters. So nurture your peer relationships, and stay attuned to how your colleagues experience you on a day-to-day basis. Assess the political landscape. Candidly evaluate the behaviors that are rewarded in your organization. Figure out who gets promoted and why. Be strategic — broker mutually beneficial relationships with colleagues who are in favor and influential, and pursue mentors who make decisions and can sponsor your development. This tip is adapted from “Navigating Peer Relationships While Climbing the Ladder,” by Amii Barnard-Bahn

4 Desde HBR

Today’s Tip

Can You Be Too Responsible as a Manager? Do you often pay attention to the needs of others but neglect your own, or say “yes” to most things you’re asked to do — but then feel resentful? If so, these could be signs that you have an overactive sense of responsibility as a manager. Don’t wait until you feel bitter and burned out to address this problem. First, think of turning over responsibilities as an act of empowerment. By allowing employees to struggle with a new task and learn to solve their own problems, you’re helping them develop greater competence and confidence. Start small by identifying one responsibility you can hand off to a specific person — for example, assigning a simple administrative task to a direct report. Expect a few hiccups at first, but resist the temptation to jump back in. Next, practice saying “no” to new requests when your plate is full — and saying “yes” when someone offers to take something off your plate. Finally, rather than taking on your team’s emotions, practice cognitive empathy: taking on another’s perspective to understand what they’re feeling, without feeling it yourself. This tip is adapted from “Are You Too Responsible?,” by Dina Smith

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Great Managers Conduct Great Performance Reviews It’s tempting to treat performance reviews like a perfunctory management task. But, when you do them well — with care and intention — they can help your employees not only perform better but feel valued and engaged. Here are five steps to lead a productive conversation. Convey positive intent. Whether you’re speaking with an all-star employee or a chronic underachiever, start by stating that your goal is to set them up for future success. Describe specifically what you have observed. The more specific and descriptive your feedback, the more likely your employee is to understand what you’re hoping they’ll start, stop, and continue doing. State the impact of their behaviors and actions. Lay out the cause and effect. For example, rather than saying, “You didn’t connect with the buyer,” try, “You interrupted people in the meeting, and this resulted in the buyer being less open to listening to your ideas.” Ask how your feedback is landing. This isn’t simply a polite thing to do. It allows your direct report to challenge your assumptions, add relevant context, and communicate important information that you might not have been privy to. Address the question: Now what? Be clear about next steps and what exactly you will be tracking, measuring, and assessing in the coming year — as well as what kind of support you can offer moving forward. This tip is adapted from “How to Conduct a Great Performance Review,” by Frank V. Cespedes

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Run Better Virtual Meetings Today’s Tip  Run Better Virtual Meetings Leading productive meetings is an essential skill for managers — especially when you’re managing a remote or hybrid team. But many people have gotten lazy about keeping up good meeting practices, especially when they’re virtual. Here are some tactics to use. Ahead of time, prepare a detailed agenda. Think about what you want to accomplish during the meeting: What questions need to be answered? What outcomes do you expect? How will you delegate the tasks among attendees? Before you start the call, take five minutes to make sure your internet, microphone, and camera are all working properly. Then begin the call by checking in with everyone and introducing any new team members. You can also use the first few minutes to set a clear protocol for how to speak up or share ideas. For instance, remind people to use the “raise-hand” emoji or to use the chat feature. As you speak, ensure your talking points are actionable and that your expectations for the meeting are clear. Close with a concise summary of what needs to be done next and how you plan to track the outcomes or deliverables discussed. And finally, after the meeting ends, organize your notes and send them to the team so that your next steps are documented. This tip is adapted from “How to Lead Better Virtual Meetings,” by Shyamli Rathore

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Take Care of Yourself and Your Team in the Wake of a Tragedy In the aftermath of a tragedy like the recent shootings in Laguna Woods, Buffalo, and Uvalde, everyone’s mental health is affected. And as a manager, you may be wondering how you can support your people and yourself through these devastating events. Start by acknowledging the tragedy immediately, whether via email, Slack, or in a meeting. It’s important that your team hear from you so they don’t feel alone. Make space for compassionate, vulnerable conversations, both in one-on-ones and group discussions. Be sure to consider your own identity as well as those to whom you’re speaking. Are you talking with a team member whose demographic group was the target of the violence? Are you part of a different community that has been targeted recently? Reflect on how you might tailor your approach accordingly. Don’t make assumptions about what your team members are feeling. Then, proactively offer specific solutions, whether that's shifting priorities and deadlines or offering flexible work hours. For example, in a one-on-one, you could say, “I realize that you have a lot of deadlines to juggle in the midst of everything going on.” Follow that with a question like, “How can I support you?” Finally, don’t forget to take care of yourself and your own mental health at work. You deserve the same care as your team. This tip is adapted from “Supporting Your Team’s Mental Health After a Violent News Event,” by Kelly Greenwood

4 Desde HBR

Today’s Tip

Go Beyond Superficial DEI Efforts The DEI initiatives of many organizations only create the “illusion of inclusion,” rather than bringing about actual, substantive change. How can you ensure that your team’s efforts at creating an inclusive work environment go beyond the superficial? Start by asking yourself these three questions. Are we providing equitable access to growth? While representation at all levels in the organization is critical, it’s even more important to pay attention to the opportunities afforded to employees of color. Are they given equitable access to professional development, mentorship, sponsorship, pay, performance reviews, networking, and opportunities for advancement and promotion? Go beyond keeping a “scorecard” to understanding the actual experiences of individuals within the organization. Are we promoting a culture of allyship? Leaders must be vocal and transparent about what allyship means within your workplace and how every individual can practice it. You should have a reward structure in place that acknowledges the impact of authentic allyship on workplace culture. Do we know how we’ll measure our progress (or lack thereof)? This may mean tracking the racial and gender breakdown on teams, promotion rates, and who is assigned key projects. Then tie those metrics to outside requirements that force your organization to be transparent and hold itself accountable. This tip is adapted from “Are Your Organization’s DEI Efforts Superficial or Structural?,” by Tsedale M. Melaku and Christoph Winkler Diversity, Equity & Inclusion       DEI

 

4 Desde HBR

Today’s Tip

Write Concisely — and Clearly When you have something complicated to say, take the space you need to say it. But unnecessarily wordy or repetitive writing is more likely to confuse your point rather than elucidate it. Here are three ways to edit yourself, so you can get your message across more clearly. Delete words that don't add anything. Consider these: generally, basically, actually, kind of, really, virtually, totally, essentially, completely, literally, and just. If one of these words is essential to the meaning of your sentence, keep it. If not, let it go. Cut the overlap. When you’re thinking through your idea as you’re writing, there’s a good chance that you’ll repeat yourself. To find redundant sentences, read your writing out loud, and listen for any repetition that you can remove. Don’t tell the reader what you're going to do. Just do it. Take this sentence: "I want to point out a few problems with our onboarding." You won't lose anything by cutting those first few words and being more direct: "Our current staffing problems are X, Y, and Z." This tip is adapted from “How to Write Concisely,” by Jane Rosenzweig

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip  Listen, Absorb, and Act on the Feedback You Receive We all receive feedback from time to time. But are you able to process and act on it? No matter how the feedback is delivered (that’s out of your control), there are several things you can do to take it in and make it work for you. Start by stepping into your feedback session with a neutral mindset and little expectation. This will allow you to be a more open-minded listener. Then, before responding to what you hear, take time to metabolize the input. This means allowing yourself to feel your emotions and investigate what’s at the root of them. Negative reactions are normal but sit with them before reacting. Next, consider the feedback provider’s motives, position, and intent. Do you believe they genuinely want to help you? Do you trust them? With this in mind, reflect on how you’ll move forward and what changes — if any — you want to make. Finally, periodically ask people you respect what they think of your performance to ensure that you’re making the most of the feedback you’ve received and are truly heading in the right direction. This tip is adapted from “The Right Way to Process Feedback,” by Cameron Conaway

4 Desde HBR

Today’s Tip

Interrupt “Benevolent” Sexism on Your Team As a leader, you have a responsibility to address "benevolent" sexism: attitudes, practices, and actions that seem positive but undermine supporting women at work, often under the pretense of helping, protecting, or complimenting them. (For example, not offering a high-visibility project to a woman because she has young children.) To interrupt benevolent sexism, start by increasing your awareness. Reflect on how ideas such as "men are responsible for protecting women" or "men and women are different and complementary" can actually be harmful. Check your assumptions about how people should or shouldn’t act based on their gender. Then, if you hear others making benevolently sexist comments, challenge them. For example, if a colleague wants to “save” a woman from a complex project, help them zoom out by asking: “What are the consequences of not involving her in this project? Wouldn’t it be better to ask her directly instead of assuming she won’t want it?” Finally, model equitable behavior by focusing on women’s competencies. Give feedback related to work results, instead of characteristics stereotypically associated with women, such as warmth or likability. This tip is adapted from “Dismantling 'Benevolent' Sexism,” by Negin Sattari et al.

 

4 Desde HBR

 

Today’s Tip

Your Employee Tells You They're Quitting. How Should You Respond? An employee giving their notice doesn’t have to feel like the end of the world — or the relationship. Here's how to respond in a constructive and professional way when a direct report tells you they’re quitting. First, take a moment to digest the news. It’s okay to show you’re surprised or to say something like, “Wow, I wasn’t expecting that.” The last thing you want to do is react impulsively and say something you might regret. Show your support and genuine interest in why they’re leaving and what they’re going to do next. And make sure to get clarity on what they need from you — and what you need from them — before they leave to ensure a smooth transition. This may involve some give-and-take and could include finishing a specific project, training others, or even hiring their replacement. Even if you’re upset, you want the person to leave with a good impression of you and the organization so you can all move on in a positive way. This tip is adapted from “How to Respond When an Employee Quits,” by Rebecca Zucker