Kinectara

Give Yourself a Break: The Power of Self-Compassion When we experience a setback at work, we tend to either become defensive and blame others, or berate ourselves. Neither response is helpful. Shirking responsibility by getting defensive may alleviate the sting of failure, but it comes at the expense of learning. Self-flagellation, on the other hand,...

Why Effective Leaders Get Branded as Problems When a leader creates friction, organizations default to a single explanation: the leader needs to change. In reality, that friction usually comes from one or a combination of four different sources—capability, perception, identity, or system. Because those look similar on the surface, organizatio...

Don’t Let AI Destroy the Skills That Make Your Company Competitive Artificial intelligence is often promoted as a force multiplier for organizations, but used carelessly it can erode the very capabilities that make firms competitive. As AI tools become embedded in everyday workflows, employees may rely on them instead of developing judgment, organizations may bury....

How to Help (Without Micromanaging) Extensive research shows that when employees get hands-on managerial support, they perform better than when they’re left to their own devices, but unnecessary or unwanted help can be demoralizing and counterproductive. So how do you intervene constructively? The authors share three key lessons lea...

How Humble Leadership Really Works Top-down leadership is outdated and counterproductive. By focusing too much on control and end goals, and not enough on their people, leaders are making it more difficult to achieve their own desired outcomes. The key, then, is to help people feel purposeful, motivated, and energized so they can bri...

Under-Management Is the Flip Side of Micromanagement — and It’s a Problem Too Micromanagement gets most of the attention, but under-management may be just as big a problem. This is the term I’ve given to a constellation of behaviors that I’ve seen occurring together often: weak performance management, a tendency to avoid conflicts with employees, and generally lackluster ...

How to Get Noticed by Your Boss’s Boss How do you get noticed by senior leadership without going over your boss’s head? One way to show how serious you are is to invest time outside of the office in learning skills that will help you grow and contribute to the company. This could mean taking courses that support the work you are doing,...

The Psychology Behind Meeting Overload Bad meetings are the bane of the corporate world — and yet despite what appears to be an overwhelming consensus that they’re often unnecessary and unproductive, many workplaces continue to struggle to avoid them. In this piece, the authors discuss the psychological pitfalls that lead us to sched...