Put the kettle on + take a moment to in invest in yourself

woman on laptop drinking coffee with glasses

Connect with your audience when you’re presenting remotely

Good presenters know how to connect with their audience — which is really challenging in a virtual setting. To start, you have to adopt an engaged, active persona. Make “eye contact” with your participants by looking directly into the camera as often as possible. This can be hard to remember,...

woman talking

Create a “knowledge cascade” to capture institutional memory

Every business has subject-matter experts who are the keepers of critical information or who serve as the firm’s institutional memory. How do you ensure that they pass their knowledge on to the next generation, especially if you don’t want to burden the person with training lots of people? Try using...

girl working at desk

What NOT to do when you’re hiring new talent

One of the most important — and toughest — parts of being a manager is hiring. Too many of us look for talent in the same old (wrong) places or follow the popular trend of thinking the “best hire” is the “best culture fit.” It’s time to update your tactics:...

conference room

Design a better decision-making process for your organization

Unfocused meetings. Competing priorities. Confusion over who gets to make the final call. These are often signs that your organization has poorly designed decision-making processes. Rather than treating the symptoms, take on the system itself. Start by breaking down the types of decisions being made across your organization, then determine...

bed with flowers

Don’t let work stress keep you up at night

Work stress is inevitable, but it doesn’t have to get in the way of a good night’s sleep. Try these strategies during the day to avoid worrying about work at all hours of the night. Make a to-do list. The act of writing down uncompleted tasks allows you to put...

Book of entrepreneurs

Surround yourself with people who will push you to grow

When it comes to planning our careers, we carefully choose our companies and jobs. But rarely are we deliberate about selecting the advisers and confidantes who help us succeed. Cultivate a support group for your career by thinking about whose advice and expertise you wish you had on speed dial....

The greatest weapon against stress is our ability to choose one thought over another.
[William James]

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Nothing is impossible, the word itself says, ‘I’m possible!’
[Audrey Hepburn]

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female-manager

How to encourage + support your team from a distance

If your team just made an abrupt shift to remote work, it’s important to offer encouragement and emotional support. Acknowledge the pressure everyone is under, listen to their anxieties, concerns + empathize with their struggles. If a newly remote employee is clearly having a hard time, but not communicating stress...

boat on water

Protect your non-work time

Some jobs have very clear lines between when you’re “on” and when you’re “off.” But when you work in a role where the lines are blurred — or potentially nonexistent — it’s important to protect your non-work time. If you feel like work is taking over most of your waking...

Fall seven times and stand up eight.
[Japanese proverb]

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woman waiting to cross the road

Help your team make better decisions

Every manager wants their employees to have good judgment. The good news is that judgment is a muscle that you can help your team build. Start by talking through how you make important decisions. Explain the criteria and stakeholders you consider, as well as any risks and trade-offs you assess....

work-from-home

Are you and your team ready to work from home?

A crisis, like Covid-19, can impact how, when, and where you and your employees work. That’s why it’s important to be sure everyone on your team is prepared to work from home — perhaps on a moment’s notice. 1.      Map out which jobs and tasks can and can’t be done, even...

video-conference

How to encourage participation during virtual meetings

It’s hard to get people to pay attention in meetings when everyone’s in the same room — let alone if they’re all calling in from home. How can you get people to actually participate in a virtual meeting? The key is to create structured opportunities for attendees to engage. Do...

Open books

Don’t waste your time

We're all stuck at home. Conferences and events are canceled, restaurants and gyms are closed. You have more free time now than you may ever see again in your life. Don’t waste this time.  In 1606 a plague swept England, and Shakespeare was quarantined in his home. During that time, he wrote...

rowing

Think of delegating as a chance to teach your employees

For many managers, the hardest part of delegating is trusting that a task will be done well. But it becomes easier when you think of it as a chance to train your staff — not just get rid of some work. The next time you need to delegate something, start...

There are no limits to what you can accomplish, except the limits you place on your own thinking.
[Brian Tracy]

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Knowledge is the antidote to fear.
[Ralph Waldo Emerson]

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