Tag Archive for: New York Times

How to Approach Conflict in the Workplace

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Conflict is a natural element to any functioning workplace, but dictating its course can be the difference between healthy discourse and petty ad hominem attacks resulting in lost productivity. What is the best approach to ensuring a conflict becomes constructive? Phyllis Korkki gauges conflict in directness and intensity in her article in The New York Times. Here are a few key points from her piece:

  • Opt for unambiguous conflict resulting in debate: “The preferred form of communication is high directness/low intensity … With this method, people tend not to focus on any personal stake they could have in their positions. They listen to others’ views and take them into account while working toward a positive outcome.”
  • Avoid high intensity conflict, as employees will become defensive: “When conflict is expressed with high intensity, whether directly or indirectly, the issue can start to feel personal to the parties involved…people may respond by attacking others or defending themselves. They are more likely to dig into their positions without listening to other viewpoints and processing new information, meaning that an effective resolution is less likely.”
  • Make healthy conflict resolution part of your office culture: “When more people understand what healthy communication looks like at work, and the more that people practice it, the more likely they will exhibit it themselves.”

As a manager, it is your responsibility to maintain a harmonious office conducive to productivity and free of negativity. You should keep these points in mind in order to foster a healthy work environment, resulting in happier employees who feel respected and valued.

For the full article on the New York Times click here.

Pushing Beyond Comfort Zones

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Mitch Rothschild is the chief executive of Vitals , a website that connects patients with doctors and medical facilities. Adam Bryant from the New York Times sat down with Rothschild to discuss his early lessons from managing people, his leadership style, and how he hires. Here are some great points from the article:

  • Developing personal connections with your employees can be emotionally draining: “You always want to be one of those leaders who care deeply about their staff and look after them, but at some point you have to make the shift and say you’re going to do the right thing for the business.”
  • Don’t always assume that people know everything: “People just have this incredible thirst to be connected, and they need multiple reinforcing points of communication. I have to remind myself over and over not to assume that everyone knows something.”
  • Seek out a meritocracy: “If you find a meritocracy and you’re highly ambitious and you want to drive your career forward, then nothing’s going to get in your way.”
  • Don’t wear “busy” as a badge of honor: “We’ve become crazy about being crazy, and I’m stunned at how many people are absolutely exhausting themselves. It’s important to figure out how to be ruthlessly efficient and disciplined with your time, and do only those hings that matter.”

To read the article in it’s entirely, click here.

The Upside of Being Replaceable

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Kristin Muhlner is the chief executive of New Brand Analytics , a social-media-monitoring company used to improve brand loyalty and acquire new customers. Adam Bryant from the New York Times recently sat down with Muhlner and discussed what she learned from being a C.E.O, what to look for when hiring employees, and what culture means to her. Here are some great points from the article:

  • Developing personal connections with your employees can be emotionally draining: “You always want to be one of those leaders who care deeply about their staff and look after them, but at some point you have to make the shift and say you’re going to do the right thing for the business
  • Don’t always assume that people know everything: “But people just have this incredible thirst to be connected, and they need multiple reinforcing points of communication. I have to remind myself over and over not to assume that everyone knows something.”
  • Seek out a meritocracy: “If you find a meritocracy and you’re highly ambitious and you want to drive your career forward, then nothing’s going to get in your way”
  • Don’t wear “busy” as a badge of honor: “We’ve become crazy about being crazy, and I’m stunned at how many people are absolutely exhausting themselves. It’s important to figure out how to be ruthlessly efficient and disciplined with your time, and do only those hings that matter”

To read the article in it’s entirely, click here.

Wear Your Failures on Your Sleeve

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Cassandra Phillips, founder of FailCon, holds one-day conferences for technology entrepreneurs, investors, developers, and designers to study their own and others’ failures and prepare for success. Every October, 500 tech start-up websites gather with industry veterans who talk about their biggest downfalls and fails while providing constructive criticism. Failure is emerging as a badge of honor among Silicon Valley start-ups, and companies publicly dissect their own entrepreneurial failures on multiple blogs.

Of course nobody wants to fail with their business, but failing intelligently is an important skill when it comes to improving. Sometimes you have to fail first in order to succeed. In entrepreneurial circles, a start-up flop is now something to proclaim, not hide.

To read the article in it’s entirety, click here.

A Good Excuse Doesn’t Fix a Problem

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Brent Frei is the executive chairman and co-founder of Smartsheet.com, a provider of online project management. In a recent interview with Adam Bryant of the New York Times, Frei talks about early management, what to look for when hiring employees, and advice for aspiring entrepreneurs. Here are some points from the interview:

  • Work together as a team to become a successful leader: “There are a lot of really successful ways to be a leader, but the only way I know how to do it is to be a part of the team. You get people on board, convince them about the right thing to do, get lots of input and ultimately drive to our goal.”
  • Hiring the right way will result in leadership: “If we hire right, there’s no managing; it’s just leading. And there’s a big difference between leading and managing. Leadership is: “We’ve got  problem everybody. We are all smart people. Lets figure out how we’re going to solve it. Let’s divvy up the pieces and lets go do them “.”
  • Intelligence and a quick understanding is valued: “I look for people who are bright and have a high “get-it” factor. That means they’re quick studies, so I’m talking about something really complex, they’ll say, “Got it”.
  • Don’t do it unless you really mean it: “If you’re not willing to eat rice and beans, and to get your wife and kids to eat rice and beans, don’t bother, because somewhere along the way, it’s going to be that hard. You have to have that mentality. Otherwise, it can be really difficult.”

Click here to view the full article from the New York Times.

Culture Always Comes First

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Robert Reid  is the chief executive of Intacct, a cloud-based provider of financial management and accounting software. In a recent interview with Adam Bryant of the New York Times, Reid discussed how his leadership style has evolved, his work culture, and how inspiration is key. Here are some interesting points from the interview:

  • Don’t just focus on strategy, focus on culture: “I found that execution was virtually equal to and maybe even more important than strategy. So I started reading a lot about execution, and I started working more closely with people on the front lines. And then I discovered that was a wrong approach, and what really mattered was culture.”
  • Create a workplace that inspires: “If you create an environment that inspires people in the good times and bad, good people will figure out the right strategy and will do the right things from an execution prospective”
  • Listen to your employees and help guide them: “If someone is not doing something the way you expect or you have a different viewpoint, you need to seek to understand what’s going on and help them.”

Click here to view the full article from the New York Times.

 

Picking Up and Running With Your Dreams

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Alastair Mitchell is the chief executive of Huddle, a cloud-based collaboration software company co-headquartered in London and San Francisco. In a recent interview with Adam Bryant of the New York Times, Mitchell spoke about his early management lessons, how to handle tough situations, and advice for college students. Here are some of the key points from the interview:

  • Learn how to empower people and give positive feedback: “knowing when to let them take risks and when not to criticize them too hard if things go wrong. You have to back them up and then say, That didn’t work, so how are we going to improve it next time?”
  • When faced with difficult decisions, what would we regret not doing in life?: “What would happen if I were to walk out across from your building and cross the street, and a big red bus is coming the other way and I don’t see it. In that brief moment before it hits me, what would be the thing that I would regret not doing? Whenever I’m faced with difficult decisions, I always apply the big red bus test. Instinctively, people know the right answer, but it can be buried under so many layers of doubt and questions. Starting my own business came from one of those moments. ”
  • Motivate yourself and think outside of the box: “I look for people who think big, who are motivated and who have the entrepreneurial instinct. In my questioning, I’m looking for almost the rough edges — the things on their résumé that look different or reveal an inner drive.”
  • Trust who you are and listen to your gut: “Go big or go home. And just trust yourself. Whatever your gut instinct is, you’ll probably be right seven or eight times out of 10. So just go with your gut. What you’ll regret more is the fact that you haven’t gone with your gut. ”

Click here to view the full article from the New York Times.

The Self(ie) Generation

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We seem to be experiencing a wave of liberal-minded detach-ees, a generation in which institutions are subordinate to the individual. Read the full article via the New York Times bellow.

“Although half of millennials describe themselves as independent, 57 percent say their views on social issues “have become more liberal” over the course of their lives.”

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Fred Hassan of Bausch & Lomb, on Managers as Ambassadors

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I came across this great interview with Fred Hassan, chairman of Bausch & Lomb in the New York Times Corner Office section. Hassan gives his take on how to hire, how to rise up the corporate ladder and the most effective way to mentor someone.

“I don’t think mentors are at their best if it’s only one way. Mentoring is also most effective when the person who’s being mentored really wants to soak it up. I don’t think it’s an easy “push” system. It’s a much better “pull” system.” 

Read the full article