How Criticizing in Private Undermines Your Team

by Roger Schwarz

You are holding your weekly team leadership meeting. You are discussing with your direct reports how to handle the project delays that have caused the team to miss its quarterly numbers. You know that Ted — one of your direct reports — contributed to missing the numbers by missing two key deadlines. You’ve seen this kind of behavior before from Ted, and you’ve seen the team’s frustration with Ted. You decide to not say anything to Ted in the meeting, but afterward you privately tell him that how he’s letting you and the team down. Continue reading

Impact Players Make More Money

Gayle Hilgendorff  by Gayle Hilgendorff

We got two feet of snow in Boston last weekend.  It was an all out blizzard.  The city shut down on Friday at noon and reopened Monday morning.  It was like Christmas Eve – “Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse”.  As of Friday night, if you were caught driving on the road, you were given a $500 ticket and threatened jail time.  All public transportation closed at 3:30 – ALL of it.  Buses, trains, subways, everything.

There was nowhere to go and nothing to do but sit inside and wait it out.   Continue reading

Unplug Your Ears and Listen

by John Beeson

There’s a wonderful scene in The Odyssey when Odysseus prepares himself to steer his ship and his men past the treacherous Sirens, creatures who sing a seductive song that can lead a person astray. It’s a great moment in literature — and an extremely useful image for managers intent on ferreting out the feedback they need for career advancement. To prepare for his challenge, Odysseus orders his crew members to put wax in their ears, but to be able to hear the Sirens’ message, he leaves his own ears unplugged. But he asks his men to strap him to the ship’s mast to prevent him from recklessly heeding the Sirens’ call. Continue reading

Is It Time to Quit Your Job?

by Amy Gallo

Everyone has bad days at work or even long periods when they feel disheartened about their job. But how do you know the difference between ordinary, occasional dissatisfaction and a genuine mismatch? How do you know when you’re truly ready to move on? And how do you then get out gracefully?

What the Experts Say Quitting a job can negatively impact your career and disrupt your personal life. But staying in an undesirable situation can be worse. “I find a lot of people paralyzed by their unhappiness with their current reality,” says Leonard Schlesinger, the president of Babson College and coauthor of Just Start: Take Action, Embrace Uncertainty, Create the Future. It’s often easier to stay put. “Most people stay too long in bad jobs because the corporate world is geared towards keeping us in roles, not matching individuals up with their ideal roles,” says Daniel Gulati, a tech entrepreneur and coauthor of Passion & Purpose: Stories from the Best and Brightest Young Business Leaders. But don’t let yourself get stuck. Here’s how to decide whether it’s really time to quit, and if so, how to leave effectively: Continue reading