Working with Someone Who Always Thinks They’re Right A colleague who always thinks they’re right can be extremely frustrating. There are a few ways to keep the relationship productive and professional. The next time you find yourself in a debate with this person, don’t fight back — escalating an argument won’t change their behavior. Instead,… Continue reading Working with Someone Who Always Thinks They’re Right

When You Make a Mistake, Forgive  Yourself If a friend tells you about an ordeal they’re facing or a mistake they’ve made, how do you typically respond? In all likelihood, you offer kindness and comfort. But how do you treat yourself when you make a big mistake? You’re probably much tougher — springing to self-criticism,… Continue reading When You Make a Mistake, Forgive Yourself

Don’t Let Criticism  Overshadow  Praise When you get feedback from your boss or your colleague, it’s tempting to focus on the criticism.  After all, that’s where you need to focus if you want to improve. But dwelling on the negative can be debilitating. You also need to make sure you hear the positive: Write down… Continue reading Don’t Let Criticism Overshadow Praise

Use Breathing to Stay Grounded in Stressful Moments Practicing mindfulness is as much physical as it is mental. Paying attention to your body can help you stay calm in stressful moments. This is called anchoring — noticing your physical experience rather than  avoiding it. The next time you’re feeling overwhelmed,  take a deep breath and… Continue reading Use Breathing to Stay Grounded in Stressful Moments

You Don’t Have to Be Helpful All the Time Most research shows that helping others makes us feel happy and energized. But the reality is that lending a hand to coworkers can often be exhausting, draining our cognitive and emotional resources and leaving us too tired and depleted to perform subsequent  tasks. So how can… Continue reading You Don’t Have to Be Helpful All the Time

Don’t Let One Bad Experience Stop You from Giving Feedback It can be tough to get up the nerve to give a colleague — or your boss — constructive feedback,  even if they’ve  requested it. And if the person becomes defensive, it’s easy to shut down and tell yourself that offering your thoughts is a… Continue reading Don’t Let One Bad Experience Stop You from Giving Feedback

Use Social Media to Learn More About Your Industry Social media may seem to be an endless  stream of selfies, political rants, and clickbait articles, but there’s a lot you can learn from it. In fact, you can use social media to build professional skills, knowledge, and relationships. Start by thinking about what you want… Continue reading Use Social Media to Learn More About Your Industry

Three Good Reasons to Admit You’ve Failed As a leader, admitting  failure is critical. Many people try to shrug off mistakes as things that happen to everyone. Although  doing so  might  seem harmless, there are many good reasons why you should admit you’ve messed up. Here are three: To connect with your employees. While it’s… Continue reading Three Good Reasons to Admit You’ve Failed

Create Smarter Return Policies New research  shows that offering a lenient  return  policy can increase the number of items  purchased more than it increases the number of items returned. But in the real world, most companies impose  restrictions to try to prevent too many returns. This is understandable, but companies should take a more balanced … Continue reading Create Smarter Return Policies

Two Ways to Leave Work Stress Behind After a long day, it can be a struggle to leave work behind you. Too often, we take out  job-related stress on our friends, children, or partners.  Here are two ways to make sure your work troubles   stay at the office: Have an end-of-work   habit.   Signal to your… Continue reading Two Ways to Leave Work Stress Behind