Career
Living Apart for Work (via Harvard Business Review)
This lifestyle is something I hadn’t given much thought to. Technology has helped make this easier, but a key measure of success is the quality of your relationship before living apart. Two other interesting notes… 1) the more educated you both are, the harder it is to find the specialized jobs you’re qualified for, and 2) having kids makes things considerably harder.
Communication
To Overcome Your Fear of Public Speaking, Stop Thinking About Yourself (via Harvard Business Review)
Human genetics has us at a disadvantage — we perceive eyes watching us as a threat. To counteract the physical response from that stress, the author suggests getting outside ourselves… (1) think about the audience when preparing (instead of losing yourself in your topic); (2) mentally focus on how your talk will help others; (3) make eye contact with individuals while speaking.
What to Do When You’re Losing Your Audience During a Presentation (via Harvard Business Review)
- Move to a different part of the stage
- Speed up or slow down the pace of your remarks
- Lower your voice, or pause
- Introduce a story or analogy that makes your point
Culture
How to Keep Envy from Poisoning Your Team’s Culture (via Harvard Business Review)
Envy is rooted in inadequacy, and arises when we base our self-worth on others (where we fall short, or where we’re better than others). To keep this from harming others, we can (1) set an example we want others to follow, (2) learn to be satisfied with what we have, and (3) respond with kindness instead of bitterness.
Leadership
How to Support an Employee with Social Anxiety (via Harvard Business Review)
- Be their champion
- Set clear roles and expectations
- Help them manage their perfectionism
- Remind them how valuable they are
21st Century Recruiting (via Software Lead Weekly)
This post covers how people were hired in the early 1900s and covers the journey all the way through how we hire today. One takeaway — hire for aptitude, train for skill. “The key is to design your hiring process around the future of the company rather than its present and past, and to focus on the potential joint future of the person to be hired and the company; on how they can grow together.”