3 Tips to Build Better Relationships with Your Employees

When people feel connected to you, even difficult conversations feel less threating. Here are three tips to forge stronger bonds with your employees: 

• Relate whenever you can. View every interaction as an opportunity to get to know someone a little better. Make a habit of asking employees one question about their work or their personal lives each time you encounter them.
• Take note of subtleties. People seek emotional connection through countless small “bids” for attention—questions, gestures, or looks. Take stock of how much you notice these cues . You might also solicit some feedback from friends and family on how well you listen and respond to social cues in general.
• Regularly express appreciation. Research shows that the ratio of positive to negative interactions is 5:1 in a successful relationship. You don’t need to pay someone five compliments before offering criticism, but do be mindful of the ratio.

Adapted from the HBR Guide to Coaching Your Employees.

Management Tip of the Day: Make Good Decisions Faster

A simple approach can help replace your slow deliberations with fast decisions. Try this framework: 

• Know your ultimate objective. The biggest hurdle to fast decisions is criteria overload. Of the seven or eight possible objectives you would love to meet, which one or two will make the biggest impact? Consider which stakeholder you least want to disappoint—which goal would they care about most?
• Get a second opinion. Asking one other person can broaden your frame of reference and help eliminate judgment errors. Plus, the act of explaining your situation anew often gives you fresh insights.
• Do something. Select one option while letting go of all the other "good" ones. No amount of deliberation can guarantee that you have identified the "right" option, but remember: The purpose of a decision is not choose perfectly, but to get you to the next decision.

Adapted from “Make Good Decisions Faster,” by Nick Tasler.

Control Is the Key to a Workaholic’s Happiness

According to a recent study, more than 60% of executives, managers, and professionals work 72 hours a week. Blame it on smartphones. These folks are always connected, in other words — 67 hours during the week, 5 hours on weekends. But most of them don’t sweat it. As long as they have control of their workload, and when they can get it done, they don’t mind working long hours. But when their bosses are to blame for the overload — late meetings, demands for overtime — they aren’t too happy about it. It just goes to show: control is king.

SOURCE: Welcome to the 72-Hour Work Week by Jennifer J. Deal

The Best Leaders Are Both Tough and Nice

Leaders often ask themselves whether it's best to be tough or nice. If you're tough — a "driver" — you can push people to go beyond the limits of their abilities. If you're nice — an "enhancer" — you can better understand the needs, problems, and concerns of your charges. It's a hard choice. So which style results in the more highly-engaged employees? According study of 160,576 employees under the command 30,661 bosses, the tough-versus-nice battle is tight. Eight percent of tough-led employees are highly engaged. Nice? Six percent. So tough-minded leaders are the winner, right? Not so fast. The most effective leaders, it turns out, use both styles, and 68% percent — that's right, 68% — of their employees are highly engaged. That's impressive.