1-Minute Strategies: August ’14
Manage a micromanaging boss with a careful conversation … Stop stress with a bit of laughter … Make socks your ultimate work accessory.
Planning your first big event? Here’s what you need to know
When you think of planning an event, does your stress level rise? Event planning can be difficult, but there are ways to make it less so.
Make it easy for them to return your lost iPad
If you lose your iPad, chances are the person who finds it won’t be able to access your contact information to return it to you if you use a passcode. To keep the device locked but returnable, Lory Gil suggests a way to add contact information to the lock screen.
It’s definitely nepotism–but is it too risky to call it out?
Q: “Management allowed my boss to hire one of her relatives, even though this is against company policy. My manager and ‘Wendy’ were not close before, but now they carpool, eat lunch together, and even plan joint family vacations. My concern is that Wendy is not being properly supervised. Her work is often incorrect, but my boss constantly makes excuses for her. The executive who approved Wendy’s hiring has left, so our current management may not be aware of their relationship. I don’t know whether to report this policy violation or just ignore it and focus on my work.” Wendy’s co-worker
Prep for discussions before they happen
Leda Marritz writes that preparing for upcoming, tense conversations is a good way to avoid making a bad impression.
Add a sucker punch to your writing
One good way to really wake up your reader, no matter how dry the topic of your document, is to very occasionally drop a paragraph consisting of a single sentence between two larger bodies of text. It can provide a dramatic jolt and create a quick, laser-like focus on the topic of that sentence.
Get your team on the same editing page
The Convo app makes revising documents much easier by loading documents into a full-time chat room where group members can scroll sections.
Rx for stress: No work email at home
Checking email and doing other work outside of normal working hours may be increasing your stress levels, according to a Gallup survey of 4,475 U.S. working adults.
Does leadership = team success?
Po Bronson—The New York Times best-selling author of Top Dog: The Science of Winning and Losing—is a big fan of using small teams to tackle big projects. But surely the smaller the team, the more critical the role of the team leader, right? Wrong.
Have you paid it forward?
Remember the first day of your very first job? It might be hard to remember now that you are established in your career and feel competent, secure and confident.