Take Time to Explore What Success Looks and Feels Like
Describing the “feeling” of success is difficult in a world driven by measuring outcomes. It’s no surprise we have a hard time articulating our feelings considering how we greet each other. When we ask others how they are doing, the expected answer is, “I’m fine.” People say this even when they are not fine. The […]
7 Lessons I Wish I Knew Before Becoming a People Manager
I often have colleagues reach out to inquire how I made the transition from IC to People Manager and if I had any tips or lessons I could share as they contemplate making a similar change. Last month I celebrated 7 years at Facebook as a full-time employee. In honor of this milestone, I […]
How to Be a Good Manager
If you’re like me, you’ve had both good and not-so-good managers. There’s plenty to learn from both, whether it’s what to do or what not to do. Since I’m someone who likes to focus on the positives, I’ve decided to share a few traits that my favorite managers have in common. They Trust Their Team […]
Re-Engage Your Team With Virtual Team Building Activities
Zoom fatigue is real. Virtual team happy hours were fun for a while, but teams are now searching for more creative and engaging ways to stay connected and build rapport. After working from home for nearly a year (with many more months more to come), teams need more ways to connect, break from work, and […]
Having Difficult Conversations: How to Mediate Conflict Between Employees
How do you handle the less fun aspects of being a manager, like intervening when people are experiencing conflict? It’s not fun, but you know that if you don’t address it things will only get worse. Conflict can arise from something as common as creative differences, or at the other extreme when people aren’t treating […]
How to Stay Focused at Work
As if it wasn’t hard enough to focus in the office with coworkers joking in the background, the sounds of ping-pong, and the smells of mystery microwave lunches, this past year brought a whole new set of challenges. People are working from home in small spaces, parents are overseeing kids doing online school, and pets […]
The Benefits of Time Management That May Surprise You
There’s endless research on time management including David Allen’s famous book Getting Things Done. I once tried following his approach but felt like I had to choose between being efficient and being human. Eventually, I found a method that works for me which includes knowing when to say no. There are many obvious advantages to […]
Three Ways to Improve Relationships at Work: Tips from an Executive Coach
More and more, leaders are hiring executive coaches, also known as business coaches. The combination of the pandemic, America’s racial reckoning, and rise in political divisiveness are rapidly changing the role of leaders and managers. Leaders at all levels are quickly working to increase empathy, support employees’ mental health, and guide people through situations ranging […]
Criticism vs. Feedback: What’s More Effective
Getting personal and professional feedback is critical to everyone’s development, advancement, and ability to grow. However, if the feedback is given incorrectly, without clear intentions, it may sound more like criticism. This can damage the relationship between the leader and the employee, but it doesn’t have to be that way. The person providing feedback must […]
Virtual Teams: How To Be Productive From Home
In a survey of more than 500 tech companies, a study showed that remote work is a rising trend that will grow as we move toward the next decade. Attitudes among executives about how work can be accomplished have shifted. The mentality that employees must “come to work” and be in the same building as […]
