You may have heard the saying, “When you’re in love, smoke gets in your eyes.” Well when you’re talking, smoke gets in your eyes and ears. Once you’re on a roll, it’s very easy to not notice that you’ve worn out your welcome. You may not even realize that the other person is politely trying to get a word in, or subtly signaling that they need to be elsewhere (possibly, anywhere else if you have been really boring).

There are three stages of speaking to other people. In the first stage, you’re on task, relevant and concise.  But then you unconsciously discover that the more you talk, the more you feel relief.  Ahh, so wonderful and tension-relieving for you… but not so much fun for the receiver. This is the second stage – when it feels so good to talk, you don’t even notice the other person is not listening.

The third stage occurs after you have lost track of what you were saying and begin to realize you might need to reel...

A 10-year study of more than 17,000 C-suite executive assessments looked at who gets to the top and how. A close look at “CEO sprinters” — those who reached the CEO role faster than the average of 24 years from their first job — shows that formative experiences play a key role. Specifically, these ladder-climbers made bold career moves that catapulted them to the top ahead of others. Three types of career catapults were most common. First, lateral or even backward moves allowed the future CEO to build something from the ground up (like leaving a large, prestigious company to start their own business). Second, big leaps allowed the future CEO to skip a level, or even two levels, even if they felt unready. And third, big messes brought the opportunity to turn around a failing unit or division.

Email has become the bane of the 21st century workers’ existence, but by making a few changes to how we process e-mail, we can take back time in our workday. For starters, move every email out of your inbox the first time you read it, so you don’t run the risk of re-reading it later, thus wasting time. Turn off distracting notifications and instead check your email hourly, setting aside 5 to 8 minutes per hour to do so. Instead of filing e-mails you want to keep in multiple folders, use just two:  One for e-mails that are just “reading” and don’t require a response, and one for e-mails that require a response. Set up automated filtering for newsletters you actually use, unsubscribe from those you don’t, and block spam and other emails that keep coming after you’ve tried to unsubscribe. Implementing these practices can help make e-mail a much more effective tool for getting work done.

Almost everyone’s work has ebbs and flows. Most people focus on how to stay productive during the busiest stretches. But doing the same in slower periods can have a dramatic impact on your output and well-being. There are five key ways to manage these slower times. First, make a plan to help you turn a potentially boring day into a series of mini-sprints. Next, focus on your professional development; this could mean brushing up your LinkedIn profile or taking an online class. You can also use the time to get ahead on work you know is coming down the road and  to build relationships with coworkers. And don’t forget to give yourself a break, too. This is an ideal time to take a vacation.

What working parent hasn’t felt guilty about missing soccer games and piano recitals? Almost two decades ago, though, researchers surveyed nearly 900 professionals about their relationships with their work and their children, and found that parents’ working, even for long hours, did not hurt children. What they did find was that parents who were distracted by, or obsessed with, their work, did see an impact on their children. This is likely only more problematic today when digital devices are omnipresent. The lesson: don’t worry about whether you attend every soccer game. But when you do show up, put your phone down and be there for your kid.

The popular media is full of examples of bad leaders in government, academia, and business. But the most common kind of incompetent leader isn’t the ranting, narcissistic sociopath that might immediately come to mind. Rather, it’s the “absentee leader” — those in leadership roles who are psychologically absent from them. These people were promoted into management, and enjoy the privileges and rewards of a leadership role, but avoid meaningful involvement with their teams. Absentee leaders kill engagement and productivity. Research shows that being ignored by one’s boss is more alienating than being treated poorly, and that the impact of absentee leadership on job satisfaction outlasts the impact of both constructive and more overtly destructive forms of leadership. The chances are good, however, that your organization is unaware of its absentee leaders, because they specialize in flying under the radar by not doing anything that attracts...

Engineering work demands creativity and innovation in order to solve complex, interdisciplinary problems. But creativity and innovation skills are not emphasized in many traditional engineering courses. So engineers enter the workforce with important analysis skills, but may struggle to “think outside the box” when it comes to creative problem-solving. New research shows that by promoting divergent thinking, mindfulness can help engineers strengthen their ability to generate new ideas, leading to new ways of thinking and better solutions.

You got the job. Now for the hard part: deciding whether to accept it or not. Start by doing your homework. Determine if the salary is worthy of your knowledge and experience and whether it’s in line with the local market. Use job search websites for benchmarks; also talk to recruiters in the industry. And think expansively about your objectives. Consider your professional development and quality of life. Ask yourself: Is this a place where I will be challenged and happy? Weigh the alternatives. Think about the costs and benefits of re-starting your job search, staying in your current job, and waiting to see what other offers materialize. Devise a negotiation strategy. Be constructive and positive. For instance, say: “I am happy with the role and responsibilities, but I would like to work from home one day per week.”

Government-mandated reporting of gender pay discrepancies has been a subject of much debate in the last 5-10 years. Those arguing for this legislation argue that it will help to address the persistent gender wage gap. Opponents insist that not only is that unlikely; it will also increase companies’ administrative burden and decrease profits. Until recently there has been no strong evidence to support either side. However, researchers have just conducted the first empirical study on the impact of mandatory wage transparency. That study’s results suggest that disclosing disparities in gender pay does in fact narrow the gender wage gap. The results showed that from 2003 to 2008, the gender pay gap at mandatory reporting firms shrank 7%, from 18.9% to 17.5%, while the gap at control firms stayed steady at 18.9%. This improvement came without a negative effect on firms’ net income.

Employees today are fed up. People are antsy for something better (and sometimes, simply new). They want to be seen, valued, and listened to. They want equity, dignity, security, balance, flexibility, and autonomy. They expect opportunities for growth, learning, meaningful contribution, and fulfillment. This may sound like a lot, but if we’re striving to help them reach their full potential and leave the world a better place, it’s actually pretty modest. For organizations and HR, however, navigating this landscape is fraught. Companies seek to win the “war for talent,” yet almost every aspect of the battlefield has changed. Many people are no longer interested in or inspired by climbing a career ladder that someone else built. Against this backdrop, there is one solution that aligns individual and organizational priorities, strategic objectives and self-actualization goals, and an uncertain present with an even more uncertain future. It’s time to shift how we think about...

The pandemic and other stressful events over the past few years have only made empathic communications even more desirable and necessary, especially as those expressions have become more virtual — including videos, social media posts, and emails. But just as each of us has varying levels of empathy, not every leader is equally empathic. So is a lack of natural empathy a showstopper when it comes to expressing and benefitting from empathic communications? No. The good news is that all leaders (even those who are not naturally empathic) can communicate messages of empathy as powerfully as they convey messages of unity and accountability. During challenging times, the most effective leadership communications are ones that deliver attention, acknowledge distress, demonstrate care, and — not necessarily at first, but eventually — take appropriate action to mitigate the situation or at least provide comfort. This article offers four touchpoints to focus on in your...

Ghosting is a common phenomenon in both personal and professional relationships. While it’s easy to lament being ghosted, it’s harder to admit that many of us have ghosted someone else. You promise to make a business introduction, offer to review a resume, commit to being a reference, volunteer to speak on a panel, or say you’ll provide feedback to a colleague — and you don’t follow through. Ghosting can have consequences that you may not immediately recognize — for example, you could miss out on great talent, partnership opportunities, revenue, or even your own next leadership role. Ghosting can also erode bridges in your networks, leaving others with the impression that you’re unreliable. Repeated ghosting can have a devastating impact on your leadership brand. The author presents five ways to strike a balance between managing your time and energy while at the same time following through on the commitments you’ve made.

If you’re struggling to let go of some of your perfectionistic tendencies, or managing someone who is, it can be helpful to remember the ways perfectionists can self-sabotage in the workplace. Among these are struggling to make decisions (because none of them seem optimal), worrying over sunk costs, avoiding challenges (to avoid failure), applying excessively high standards to others, and ruminating about failures or weaknesses. All of these will hurt performance at work. To overcome these kinds of challenges, perfectionists can develop heuristics for faster decision-making, focus on learning from past successes, try to focus on improving by 1% rather than being totally perfect, and learn strategies to disrupt rumination.

While it’s uncomfortable to resign without another opportunity lined up, there are two times when it’s important to just let go: 1) When you believe something illegal or unethical is going on at work and you are concerned it will reflect badly on you, and 2) When your current job is negatively affecting your health and your life outside of work. Before you quit, however, you should put together a plan that includes when and how you are going to resign, whom you are going to use as references, and, most importantly, what you are going to say about why you are resigning.

Successful change-agile leaders at all levels in the organization respond to changes in the business environment by seizing opportunities, including throwing out old models and developing new ways of doing business. They try to make change thinking contagious, embedding it into everything they do from the most fundamental daily interactions to the most complex strategy. Change-agile leaders demonstrate several integrated behaviors that, together, create a competitive advantage for the organization. They share a compelling, clear purpose with employees. They look ahead and see new opportunities.  They create a safe psychological space for teams to discuss the challenges of working together and of the integration overall. They promote calculated risk-taking and experimentation, and encourage cross-boundary collaborations to build products, attract customers, and achieve results.

We know from research (and common sense) that people who understand and manage their own and others’ emotions make better leaders. They are able to deal with stress, overcome obstacles, and inspire others to work toward collective goals. They manage conflict with less fallout and build stronger teams. And they are generally happier at work, too. But far too many managers lack basic self-awareness and social skills. They don’t recognize the impact of their own feelings and moods. They are less adaptable than they need to be in today’s fast-paced world. And they don’t demonstrate basic empathy for others: they don’t understand people’s needs, which means they are unable to meet those needs or inspire people to act.

One of the reasons we see far too little emotional intelligence in the workplace is that we don’t hire for it. We hire for pedigree. We look for where someone went to school, high grades and test scores, technical skills, and certifications, not...

As a manager, a central part of your job is to develop people. But when you delegate a task to someone — with no prior training — simply because you are unavailable to do it, their chances of succeeding are slim. Managers need to stop thinking of passing off responsibilities as delegating, and start taking on the mindset of a trainer. If you do, you will naturally look for ways to give a little more responsibility to the people who work for you. Start by gauging who on your team genuinely wants to move up in the organization, and identify their main areas of interest. Create a development plan for them and write down the skills they will need in order to reach their goals. Then, focus on giving them assignments that require those skills. Help them work their way up to a challenging task by starting with a series of practice sessions. The first time you introduce a task to someone, let them shadow you while you explain some of the key points. Then, give them a...

Several years ago, colleagues and I were invited to predict the results of a start-up pitch contest in Vienna, where 2,500 tech entrepreneurs were competing to win thousands of euros in funds. We observed the presentations, but rather than paying attention to the ideas the entrepreneurs were pitching, we were watching the body language and microexpressions of the judges as they listened.

We gave our prediction of who would win before the winners were announced and, as we and the audience soon learned, we were spot on. We had spoiled the surprise.

Two years later we were invited back to the same event, but this time, instead of watching the judges, we observed the contestants. Our task was not to guess the winners, but to determine how presenters’ non-verbal communication contributed to their success or failure.

We evaluated each would-be entrepreneur on a scale from 0-15. People scored points for each sign of positive, confident body...

To understand how profitable a business is, many leaders look at profit margin, which measures the total amount by which revenue from sales exceeds costs. But if you want to understand how a specific product contributes to the company’s profit, you need to look at contribution margin, which is the leftover revenue when you deduct the variable cost of delivering a product from the cost of making it. To calculate this figure, you start by looking at a traditional income statement and recategorizing all costs as fixed or variable. This is not as straightforward as it sounds, because it’s not always clear which costs fall into each category. And this is where most managers get tripped up. But going through this exercise will give you valuable information. Analyzing the contribution margin helps managers make several types of decisions, from whether to add or subtract a product line to how to price a product or service to how to structure sales commissions. But never look at...

Companies often believe they should make their customers’ experiences as effortless and predictable as possible. But the authors’ research shows that this approach is overly simplistic—and can even backfire. While in some instances (say, watching movies on Netflix) customers want their journeys to be easy and familiar, in others (working out on a Peloton bike or playing World of Warcraft) they want to be challenged or surprised.

This article outlines four kinds of journeys: Routines are effortless and predictable and are suited to utilitarian products. Joyrides are effortless and unpredictable and work with products that deliver an on-demand thrill. Treks are effortful and predictable and are associated with products that help people achieve challenging long-term goals. Odysseys are effortful and unpredictable and are perfect for products that facilitate customers’ passion projects.

Each type of journey has its own design principles. Routines...

Despite their reputation in the 1980s as corporate raiders, most private equity firms attempt to improve the performance of their portfolio companies through better corporate governance. But while the G in ESG (environmental, social, and governance) has always been important in the industry, the E and the S have been virtually nonexistent. Private equity has been comfortable seeking returns with little concern for the long-term sustainability of portfolio companies or their wider impact on society. That needs to change, the authors write, because PE has grown so large that society’s most urgent challenges can’t be addressed without the industry’s active participation in the sustainability movement. Having interviewed a large sample of executives who run PE firms and the asset owners that fund them, the authors offer recommendations for how private equity can emerge as a leader in the ESG field—to benefit the wider world as well as its own long-term...

Employees today are fed up. People are antsy for something better (and sometimes, simply new). They want to be seen, valued, and listened to. They want equity, dignity, security, balance, flexibility, and autonomy. They expect opportunities for growth, learning, meaningful contribution, and fulfillment. This may sound like a lot, but if we’re striving to help them reach their full potential and leave the world a better place, it’s actually pretty modest. For organizations and HR, however, navigating this landscape is fraught. Companies seek to win the “war for talent,” yet almost every aspect of the battlefield has changed. Many people are no longer interested in or inspired by climbing a career ladder that someone else built. Against this backdrop, there is one solution that aligns individual and organizational priorities, strategic objectives and self-actualization goals, and an uncertain present with an even more uncertain future. It’s time to shift how we think about...