Communication+Management

When I was the business editor for a daily newspaper, some friends and I started a tradition. Every Friday, one of us would stop at our favorite doughnut shop on the way to work and pick up two dozen pastries to share with our colleagues. It was a delicious way to celebrate the end of another crazy week in print journalism. Later, when I was the assignment editor for the same newspaper, one of my jobs was to prepare a list of the stories that were available for each day’s edition. I would indicate which pieces were going to run on A1 and the front of the metro section, as well as the priorities for spots inside the paper. I sent this list to the staff each day, but I didn’t want it to be boring. So, as a lover of bacon, I started including a bacon- or pig-related joke or pun with each day’s email. Many of the funnies I used were real groaners—definitely in the “dad jokes” category—but my colleagues came to expect and (usually) appreciate their inclusion on the daily rundown. I left th...

I was stressed.  I was about two months into a three-month stint of filling in for a colleague who was on leave. She had trained me thoroughly before she left, but the tasks I needed to complete had nothing to do with my education, background, and experience. I did my best, but I was in over my head.  On this particular day, I was struggling to resolve a particularly confusing and irritating problem. I knew people were depending on me to find a solution so they could avoid delays in their work, but it wasn’t coming together.   I felt bad about myself and my predicament. I assumed everyone was upset with me. Then an amazing thing happened. One of my colleagues contacted me out of the blue to thank me. They said they wanted me to know how much they appreciated the work I was doing, even though it was well outside my wheelhouse, and they ended with a few words of encouragement. All told, the message was maybe four sentences. But it completely turned my day around. Inste...

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...

Most managers keep their primary focus on their teams, which makes complete sense. They spend a significant chunk of their time each day trying to help their people hit work-related targets and achieve personal development goals. This often means that they are unable to put as much effort into their relationships with peers on the same leadership level in their organization. However, I have found that taking time to build those ties can be vitally important to helping your team and the entire company succeed. Here are a few ideas to help you as you seek to strengthen bonds with your fellow managers: Get to know them . This is similar to what you do with your team members. Take the time to communicate with other managers. In addition to talking to them about work, find out about their interests outside of the office. Show that you care about them as people, not just colleagues. You likely won’t become best friends with all your fellow managers, and that’s OK. You should at least be good...

I was recently laid off after spending almost nine years at a company whose goals and mission I respect and support. It was a shock. I was working in my dream job, completing meaningful tasks, and striving to help both my colleagues and our clients. I looked forward to work almost every day. (I don’t think anybody looks forward to work EVERY SINGLE DAY .) And I had a fantastic team. Saying goodbye to them was incredibly difficult. On my last day with the company and the days that followed, I was touched to receive many messages of support from my former coworkers. I wasn’t surprised by this, because as I said, they are fantastic people. But hearing from them warmed my heart at a challenging time. I told my wife that hearing all the nice things people said about me was almost like attending my own funeral. However, as I reflected on their messages, I realized that they were also teaching—or perhaps, reinforcing—an important lesson. For the most part, these people who spent years working...