Our daily management tips newsletter remains one of HBR’s most popular newsletters. In this post, we list our 10 favorite topics for 2022—covering topics such as how to be a more inclusive leader, balancing the competitive pressures of compassion and performance, and taking control of your career trajectory , embrace failure, move on after being fired, shut down, and improve your written communication skills.
Life is noisier and more distracting than ever. As a manager, how can you create a team culture that truly respects quiet time? Start by talking about it on purpose. Start an open dialogue with your team, where each member has the opportunity to answer the following questions:
In what ways do I create noise that negatively affects others? The best place to start is to have everyone sign themselves in. Encourage people to question whether any given habit is necessary, or whether it’s really just an unexamined impulse — a default that needs to be reset.
Which noisy habits bother me the most? This is not an opportunity to point fingers, but to ask people to be honest about the things that disrupted their day the most. How can I help someone find the quiet time they need? This is an opportunity for everyone to step up and follow group norms like “No Email Friday” or “No meeting” Wednesday. ” This tip is adapted from “How to Build a Culture of Respect for Quiet Time” by Justin Zorn and Leigh Marz
Facing failure calmly We Been through it all: You made a New Year’s resolution and…it didn’t materialize. Why? It’s usually because we didn’t allow ourselves to do well in the first place. We failed a few times and then decided to give up. But developing any new Habits can feel clumsy at first. The key to accepting new things is to become more comfortable with failure. Here’s how. First make yourself immune to big disappointments by trying experiments that make you fail in tiny ways. For example, if you If your goal is to write every day, start by writing a short paragraph every morning. If you don’t like what you write, no big deal! It’s just one paragraph. Write another one tomorrow. Next, before your self-doubt creeps in and backs off Before, make your goals known to others. This layer of accountability will help you actually achieve your goals—no matter how badly you did the first time. Finally, document your efforts. Over time, you will Notice how far you have come. Instead of focusing on the inevitable small failures, appreciate your overall progress. This tip is adapted from Sabina “Create New Habits, Accept Failure” by Nawaz CREATE LUCK IN YOUR BUSINESS Every success story involves some level of luck. Contrary to popular belief, chance coincidences are not completely out of our control. HERE There are two ways to accumulate luck in your career. First, actively practice “accidental networking”—connecting with others to get to know them, their perspectives, and their stories. If you find yourself drawn to their stories or experiences, dig deeper. Ask them questions about how they discovered their passion, what they learned, and what they like or dislike about their role or industry. Their insights may spark a new drive or vision, Thereby guiding you into your next career move.Second, look at major changes in your life through the prism of possibility, not fear.Yes, change beyond our control can be scary, but try to see it as an opportunity. What can you learn? How can you take advantage of disruption? Go with the flow and trust that new opportunities will emerge over time. This tip is adapted From “Your Career Needs Take a little luck. Here’s how to cultivate it. ” By Thomas Roulet and Ben Laker
This tip is adapted from “Do you tell your employees you appreciate them? ” By Jack Zenger and Joseph Volkman
Don’t follow your passion When it comes to career advice, the adage “follow your passion” isn’t all that helpful and can be misleading. If you If you’re looking for a career that’s important to you, don’t just think about things that come naturally to you, things you enjoy doing, or things you’ve always been good at. Instead, think about activities that you return to again and again—even though they are important to you. Difficult, possibly even painful, for you. Think of this approach as “following your blisters”. These may not be your (currently) best activities – they are what challenge you, frustrate you, and draw you in at the same time Activity. Maybe it’s writing. Maybe it’s data analysis. Maybe it’s managing people. Whatever it is, if you follow your blisters, you’ll never be bored, and you’ll always be learning. Eventually, you’ll gain the expertise of the experts. Calluses. This tip is adapted from Dan Cable
- ) Balancing performance pressure with empathy for the team Many middle managers are now torn between the performance demands of leadership and the empathy of their employees. What can you do if you feel stuck in the middle? First, work with executives to change the conversation around performance. Helping them understand the needs of frontline workers puts data on the table about how many are going through hardship. At the same time, empower your employees. Remember, being sympathetic doesn’t mean you have to fix everything for them. Help them see their challenges with fresh eyes and facilitate the connections they need to build and expand their support network. Finally, don’t forget to take care of yourself. No manager can effectively help their employees if they, too, are burned out. This tip is adapted from Heidi K. Gardner and Mark Mortensen
Structure your writing around a core idea has a simple framework that can help you improve your writing by presenting your arguments in a clear, concise, and engaging manner. This is known as the “one thought” rule. In short, each component of a successful essay (pitch, report, presentation, even email) should express only one central idea. To determine what that is, ask yourself these questions: How much do I know about this topic? How does this topic inspire me? What can I say to interest or surprise someone? Use these questions to narrow your perspective. Next, find evidence (facts, anecdotes, data) that may be useful or surprising to others and support the point you want to make. Also, be aware of any evidence that refutes your argument. If you are able to ask and address counterpoint issues before the reader discovers them, you will strengthen your main point. Include relevant information only. Anything else would be a distraction. If all your examples are clearly thematically related, the next step will be relatively easy: organizing them into a story outline with a beginning, middle, and end. This tip is adapted from “(Very) Simple Ways to Improve Your Writing” by Mark Rennella