Communication+Management

My son, Max, is about to graduate from high school. He’ll spend this summer working a part-time job to earn some money (or at least, he’d better!), and then he’ll be off to college in the fall. This is an open letter to him with advice for his time in school and the workplace, based on my experiences—and my hopes. Dear Max, Congratulations on your graduation! I’m so proud of you! I know you’ve thoroughly enjoyed your high school years and made the most of them. You worked hard in classes and earned good grades. You found a passion for acting and the theater. You’ve been friendly and kind to classmates and teachers. And you’ve started to discover who you are. As you prepare to take your first big steps into the adult world, I’ve got a few words of advice. I promise these suggestions are more important than my frequent, nagging reminders that you need to clean your room. I hope you’ll find them useful. First, always remember that little things matter . You have a gift for kindness—you ge...

Managers are responsible for helping employees meet business-related targets, but good leaders also want the people who report to them to achieve personal development goals. Doing so builds stronger workers and better teams, and seeing your employees succeed is one of the joys of middle management. However, just as a manager needs to help employees create and follow through on career development plans, it’s also vital that managers do the same for themselves. Especially if you’re in middle management, your boss may not have the time to help you do this, so you need to take the initiative and make your development a priority. Here are a few ideas to help: Spend time thinking about your short- and long-term goals . What do you want to accomplish in the next quarter, the next year, and the next five years? What are other people in your position doing to advance in their careers? Think of someone who sets an example you would like to follow in your professional or personal life and conside...