Leadership
Create an uncompromising work culture (before it’s too late)
Don't compromise on respect unless you want to see people quit in droves. Learn more about those compromises and what a better workplace culture looks like.
Leadership
Leadership
King of the road
More employers are looking to hire people with criminal records. Former felon turned business owner Tyrone Gladney details what you need to know about recruiting these individuals -- and why they might be the secret to your success.
Careers
What quitting your job won’t fix
How is your "inner defeatist" hurting your career? Learn more about better conversations with your boss and better managing up.
Inspiration
The employee engagement strategy you need during the Great Resignation
Leaders can't force motivation, but you can help people find their purpose at work. Be warned: This process won't be easy.
Leadership
4 choices smart leaders make
Why do leaders struggle, and how can they recover? Here are four straightforward tips for getting started from Chick-fil-A executive Mark Miller.
HR
Employees get real about HR and reveal secrets to retention
What does the workforce like about human resources? What should HR improve on this year? Learn more from APQC
Leadership
How you can become more resilient this year
Resilience isn't a quick fix like "bouncing back," as you might have heard. But the right practices can make you resilient in the long run. Learn more.
HR
Forget the Great Resignation, this is the Great Re-Evaluation
Why are people quitting jobs during the pandemic, and what does it mean for rethinking the workplace. Learn from DISQO's consumer insights.
Communication
The “I have a dream” line that almost wasn’t
We might not be the orator that Martin Luther King Jr. was or be in situations with the same gravity, but we can still learn something about his public speaking approach.
Careers
Career planning in the age of uncertainty
Traditional career ladders are harder to find, but that just means new opportunities to create your own leadership path and success story.
Leadership
Focus on excellence, not perfection
Trying to achieve perfection at all costs is counterproductive and hurts your leadership and productivity. Here's how to cultivate excellence instead, both in yourself and in others.
Leadership
3 competencies you need to lead this year
Learn why today's leaders need emotional intelligence, people development and integrative thinking to build great organizations.
Communication
What a health scare can teach about EQ and social awareness
Empathy is especially important because, as our author learned after a health scare, people are quick to make negative assumptions or judgments of others.
Leadership
Hubert Joly: Put your heart into your business
Former Best Buy CEO Hubert Joly shares lessons learned from reviving the retailer and why the workplace needs to evolve to be more employee-focused.
Inspiration
Empathy: It’s your game-changer
How can leadership convert empathy from pity into action? Learn more about what empathetic, effective leadership looks like.
Management
The secret of great companies is chemistry, not alchemy
Leaders can't dictate corporate culture, but employee chemistry isn't alchemy! Learn why corporate chemistry is within your control, unlike Rumpelstiltskin's alchemy.
Management
Difference-makers for setting and achieving your goals
There are many ways to set personal and professinoal goals for the year, but it's all about how you execute them. Here are 6 tips for being a better leader and achieving your goals.
Communication
How can leaders improve connection in the new year?
Resolve to improve your communication and connection by sharing more, creating space for others, listening better and more.
Leadership
How attractive is the employee benefits package offered by your organization?
The most recent SmartBrief on Leadership poll question: How attractive is the employee benefits package offered by your organization?
Management
Think deeply about the leader you aspire to be
How can you be a better leader? Explore, reflect, document, aspire. Learn more about becoming a better leader.
Careers
Learn to write accomplishment statements as success stories
Self-conscious about documenting your achievements? You needn't be, especially when you show objective data about the business and finnacial impact.
Management
Start small: Simple steps for growing as a leader
Becoming a good leader isn't an instant process. One of the best ways to grow as a leader is to learn by doing each and every day.
Leadership
More than just a cup of coffee: Boost morale with a better break room
Office perks like a better break room can help make employees’ return to the office a little easier, and customizable beverages let office managers offer something to suit every taste.
Careers
Here are 5 ridiculous reasons you feel like an imposter at work
Most people will experience imposter syndrome at some point. Here are some archtypes of imposter syndrome and what you can do about it.
Leadership
What SmartBrief’s top leadership posts of 2021 tell us
What were SmartBrief's most read leadership blog posts this year? Find out in our annual SmartBrief on Leadership recap.
Leadership
As the year-end approaches, how did the year turn out for you versus expectations?
The most recent SmartBrief on Leadership poll question: As the year-end approaches, how did the year turn out for you versus expectations?
Leadership
2022 trends that may make living amidst chaos easier
2022 trends that may make living amidst chaos easier
Management
Reflecting now to create a successful year ahead
A formal exercise of reflection can help you sum up the year that's ending and refocus yourself to a better year ahead. Learn how.
Leadership
Office managers: Is your break room ready for the return?
As more employees return to the office after working from home, office managers can perk up the break room with beverage options that offer something for everyone.
Strategy
How to thrive in uncertainty: Separate crisis from predicament
Crisis and predicament have different meanings -- and huge consequences for your business depending on which you embrace.
Management
4 ways to kick off the Great Retention
Instead of worrying about everyone's who quitting in the Great Resignation, get started with retaining who you have. Here are some tips from a chief people officer on better retention.
Management
Redefining purpose to meet your mission
Purpose isn't a one-time commitment, as military veterans are familiar with. Our purpose must be reexamined and should evolve as we evolve.
Communication
Elevate workplace conversations with these 2 words
An invitation to "say more" can bring out the best in your workplace conversations, whether you're curious, caught off-guard, unsure or even upset. Learn more about this communication technique for leaders.
Management
Say “no” to unimportant meetings
If you can protect your time, keep yourself from being dragged into unimportant meetings that keep you from maximal productivity.
Management
What can one manager do about the Great Resignation?
The Great Resignation isn't about lazy people avoiding work, which offers hope to leaders looking to keep their people and survive this difficult era of work.
Productivity
Managing the impact of surprises in the workplace
To prepare for the unforeseen, here are some actions to take in advance.
Management
Creating stability in a hybrid work environment
Workplaces succeed or fail based on how good the management is, not whether work is in person, remote or hybrid. But hybrid work does presen different challenges for communicating clearly and resolving conflict.
Management
How this leader learned inclusion up close
A CEO describes her journey toward inclusion and offers advice for how other leaders can learn and model inclusion in their workplaces.
Strategy
AI vs. humans, part 1
AI and the metaverse won’t make humanity better; they will augment and intensify what we all already are, for good and for ill. Here's what that means for leaders and companies.
Careers
“Gray zone” leadership: A path to personal and organizational success
Gray zones are difficult to navigate but offer prime opportunities for career growth, leadership development and organizational success.
Management
Combating the Great Resignation with an invitation conversation
An invitation conversation is one way to increase retention by reimagining the optimism and hope of the recruitment progress, but with your existing talent.
Management
My leadership journey started at home
A longtime corporate executive shares why her parents' influence was so powerful and what it means for diversity and inclusion efforts.